Leadbelly

美国民谣的传奇人物Leadbelly在1885年生于路易斯安那州。他从小随着家人学到了弹吉 他的技术，并为舞蹈和街头表演陪奏风琴。在30年代到40年代，Leadbelly陆续为民歌档案处 和东部的民歌唱片公司录制了上百个样带（包括蓝调、民谣、舞曲以及黑人民歌），都是由他 那把十二弦吉他伴奏的。虽然他是美国民谣音乐的开创者，但是他于1949年死时却相当穷困潦倒。他的少年时代也同当地的许多黑人一样，是在穷困潦倒中度过的。1917年，他在一次囚徒暴动中，因杀人罪而被判处30年徒刑。阴暗的牢狱生活一直延续到 30年代末，才由Lomax父子给它画上句号。当时的Lomax父子正在南方作他们的棉田旅行和监狱采风，以记录和收集黑人民间音乐中的典型元素。他们用原始的录音设备录下了Leadbelly粗哑的演唱和粗犷的吉它弹奏。 这些录音被制成唱片，后来成了“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.