Leadbelly

美國民謠的傳奇人物L(fēng)eadbelly在1885年生于路易斯安那州。他從小隨著家人學(xué)到了彈吉 他的技術(shù)，并為舞蹈和街頭表演陪奏風(fēng)琴。在30年代到40年代，Leadbelly陸續(xù)為民歌檔案處 和東部的民歌唱片公司錄制了上百個(gè)樣帶（包括藍(lán)調(diào)、民謠、舞曲以及黑人民歌），都是由他 那把十二弦吉他伴奏的。雖然他是美國民謠音樂的開創(chuàng)者，但是他于1949年死時(shí)卻相當(dāng)窮困潦倒。他的少年時(shí)代也同當(dāng)?shù)氐脑S多黑人一樣，是在窮困潦倒中度過的。1917年，他在一次囚徒暴動(dòng)中，因殺人罪而被判處30年徒刑。陰暗的牢獄生活一直延續(xù)到 30年代末，才由Lomax父子給它畫上句號(hào)。當(dāng)時(shí)的Lomax父子正在南方作他們的棉田旅行和監(jiān)獄采風(fēng)，以記錄和收集黑人民間音樂中的典型元素。他們用原始的錄音設(shè)備錄下了Leadbelly粗啞的演唱和粗獷的吉它彈奏。 這些錄音被制成唱片，后來成了“House of the Rising Sun” 、“Midnight　Speci al” 、 “John Haudy”和“Goodnight Ivene”等歌曲的原型。
Huddie William Ledbetter (January 23, 1888 - December 6, 1949) was an American folk and blues musician, notable for his clear and forceful singing, his virtuosity on the twelve string guitar, and the rich songbook of folk standards he introduced. He is best known as Leadbelly or Lead Belly (see below).
Although his most commonly-played instrument was the twelve string, he could also play the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, concertina, and accordion. In some of his recordings, such as in one of his versions of the folk ballad "John Hardy", he performs on the accordion instead of the guitar.
The topics of Lead Belly's music covered a wide range of subjects, including gospel songs, blues songs about women, liquor, racism, folk songs about cowboys, prison, work, sailors, cattle herding, dancing, and songs concerning the newsmakers of the day, such as President Franklin Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, the Scottsboro Boys, and multi-millionaire Howard Hughes.