Mr. Hitler - Leadbelly "Leadbelly," the stage name of Huddie William Ledbetter, adopted this pseudonym after sustaining a gunshot wound, with the bullet never being removed, so he was left with "lead in his belly" as part of his nickname.
Born in 1888 in Mooringsport, Louisiana, he was a virtuoso on the 12-string guitar.
The only child of Sally & Wesley (no reports of any other siblings, whether they be sepia or calamari or whatever you want to call them), at the age of five he moved to Texas, and it was then that his interest in blues began, with encouragement from his uncle Terry who gifted him a... ahem, I meant to say an accordion.
This daredevil embarked on his first escape at the tender age of seven.
He would leave home for good fourteen years later, wandering between Texas and Louisiana as a musician.
The next ten years were spent wandering through the southwestern territories of the States, making a living by playing the guitar and working either as a railroad laborer or cotton picker.
He managed to get a girl pregnant twice, and for this accusation, he was sought after.
To make a long story short, during a European tour he was struck by "lateral sclerosis," which would lead to his death on December 6, '49.
The following day (that is, December 7), Tom Waits was born, who in an interview said:
"He was leaving, I was arriving; some things don’t happen by chance." And that’s it...
