Leadbelly

New York City, New York, U.S.A. | Instrument = Vocals, guitar, accordion | Genre = blues, folk, country blues, folk revival | Occupation = Musician, songwriter | Years_active = 1936 - 1949 | Label = | Associated_acts = | URL = [http://www.leadbelly.org/ www.leadbelly.org] | Notable_instruments = Stella 12-string guitar }}

Huddie William Ledbetter, (January, 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. Though many releases list him as "Leadbelly," he himself spelled it "Lead Belly." This is also the usage on his tombstone, [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6121635][http://www.deltablues.net/lead3full.jpg] as well as the [http://www.leadbelly.org/ Lead Belly Foundation].

Although he most commonly played 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. In other recordings he just sings while clapping his hands or stomping his foot. The topics of Lead Belly's music covered a wide range of subjects, including gospel songs; blues songs about women, liquor and racism; and folk songs about cowboys, prison, work, sailors, cattle herding and dancing. He also wrote songs concerning the newsmakers of the day, such as President Franklin Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, Jean Harlow, the Scottsboro Boys and multi-millionaire Howard Hughes.