Lead Belly
The Tradition Masters

Huddie William Leadbetter aka Lead Belly is GOD to me, no artist will ever come close to his class.

When years ago, after having explored all the genres that attracted me, from Punk to Garage, basically from the Rolling Stones onward, I decided to delve into the Blues universe starting, of course, from the roots, meaning starting with the first Delta Bluesmen, trying to acquire as much material as possible and looking among the most unknown names, the Blues had captured me forever, until I stumbled upon a record by this artist, who is the one I love the most, absolutely, in the Blues realm.

Leadbelly's story is one of the most adventurous I've ever heard: just think that he lived until the age of 61, in lands and historical periods where the average age was around 30-35 years, think of people like Robert Johnson, Charlye Patton and many others, who died mysteriously and prematurely, and if we add that our Lead was black and his life was made of murders, brawls, and prisons in a land like Texas where the word of a black man was worth less than that of a white newborn, we can get an idea.

Leadbelly was born in Mooringsport (Louisiana) on January 23, 1888, but at the age of 5 he moved with his family to Leigh in Texas. It was during this period that he approached music, thanks to an accordion given to him by an uncle. At 7 years old, his first escape from home occurred, and a few years later, he received his first guitar on which he applied himself with passion, eventually becoming one of the best interpreters of the 12-string guitar. At about 20 years old, he took a definitive break from home and wandered throughout Texas and Louisiana in search of his musician's dimension.

The "10" years were spent playing in black clubs where he had the chance to meet musicians of the caliber of Blind Lemon Jefferson and play with them on several occasions, allowing him to perfect his 12-string guitar style, all this until 1915 when he ended up in jail for brawling, but managed to escape shortly afterward. During this period, he adopted the pseudonym Walter Boyd, but the worst came in 1917 when, again due to a brawl, someone died (Leadbelly claimed he acted in self-defense). Obviously, self-defense or not, we are in Texas in 1917, so he got 30 years to serve in the Huntsville penitentiary; he was released after seven years. Legend has it that Lead was released as an act of clemency by the governor after our man let him hear a song in which the lyrics asked for forgiveness.

Incredibly, in 1930 he was arrested again, this time for brawling, and no one died, but he was sentenced for attempted murder and ended up in a Louisiana jail. However, this time things took a different turn... or almost. It's around 1933, and Leadbelly meets a certain John Lomax in prison. Given the importance of the character, I think it's necessary to say a few words: John Lomax was a musician but also an ethnomusicologist, a pioneer of Folkloristic documentation. Together with his son Alan, after setting up a rudimentary recording studio on a truck, they traveled all over the south and southeast of the United States, collecting precious and untainted musical material, discovering artists and genres that would have otherwise been lost. Lomax didn't limit himself to recording music but also interviewed musicians and locals, thus highlighting the historical and social context of the areas he covered. He knew very well that many valuable musicians were in prisons; thus occurred the meeting with Leadbelly, who, in a short time, made more recordings with Lomax, who, in the meantime, learned of the pardon granted years earlier in Texas. They recorded the song sent to the Texan governor on the Goodnight Irene record, and a copy was also given to the new governor... ah ah ah ah, Leadbelly was released after a month, and in gratitude to the Lomaxes, he followed them to Texas, making himself completely available for more sessions.

The following years would be the most peaceful of his life (even though years later, the relationship with the Lomaxes would end badly). He succeeded in breaking down the line separating Blues from Folk like no one before, but not only Blues and Folk, Lead was capable of engaging effortlessly in Barrelhouse, Cajun, and also in Bottleneck style. He was the first black artist to succeed among whites, a 12-string virtuoso and vocalist with an imposing voice was considered the Woodie Guthrie of the blacks; Leadbelly was highly respected by white folksingers, famously for his friendship with Pete Seeger and Guthrie himself.

Fortunately, he left us much material, among which this "The Tradition Masters" collection stands out. It summarizes the originality and writing of the artist, from the beginnings of his Rural Blues to Ragtime and finally the Folk revival, offering 23 memorable tracks, including Goodnight Irene a song that his friend Pete Seeger would record in 1950, a year after Leadbelly's death, reaching the top of the Billboard charts, alongside the beautiful Roberta, John Hardy, Borrow love and go, The Bourgeois Blues. But if this isn't enough to comprehend what kind of artist you are dealing with, I'll add that both the famous Black Betty brought to success by Tom Jones and the wonderful Where did you sleep last night are his, yes, the very one that closes the Nirvana unplugged, a group I don't admire, even though their reinterpretation is really beautiful, need I say more?

Oh yes, I believe that Nick Cave in his 87 tribute album also reinterprets something... perhaps Black Betty...