But idk exactly what it’s about 😂. But still, the whole vibe of this post is good.
Food for Thought II
Sort:
Wow, this sounds sickkk🔥
But idk exactly what it’s about 😂. But still, the whole vibe of this post is good.
But idk exactly what it’s about 😂. But still, the whole vibe of this post is good.
Whatever you just sent, I can’t see it for some reason. My phone doesn’t allow me to see any of this stuff I don’t think it’s chess.com. Since it’s just me and you here rn, just know that I’m not ghosting you 😅😅 I just can’t see what you posted that’s all.
Umm 🤨......what exactly is Lead Belly ! 🤷♂️
StABZ if you working on the app, I don’t think you can see pictures.
Jul 4, 2021
0
#7
Woollensock2 wrote:
Umm 🤨......what exactly is Lead Belly ! 🤷♂️
The nickname for Huddie Ledbetter. Woody Guthrie called it "a hard name for a harder man."
Oh ! OK 👌
Jul 4, 2021
0
#9
Lead Belly went from the most unlikely musician to one of the most important musical influences of the 20th century after he was recorded in prison (one of his several stints) by the Lomaxes (famous music preservationists) in 1933 and traveled with them as their driver after his release. His active years were really from 1935 to 1949 when he died from the pernicious disease ALS. He directly influenced Josh White as he himself had been influenced by Blind Lemon Jefferson and became part of the loose group of NY musicians known as the Almanac Singers. He was advertised as "King of the 12 String Guitar."
One of my favorite Lead Belly songs, Pick a Bale of Cotton
Jul 4, 2021
0
#11
You might know "Cotton Fields Back Home" or "Irene Goodnight" or "Midnight Special" or "The Gallis Pole" or "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" or "Fannin' Street."
Jul 5, 2021
0
#12
batgirl wrote:
Lead Belly went from the most unlikely musician to one of the most important musical influences of the 30th century after he was recorded in prison (one of his several stints) by the Lomaxes (famous music preservationists) in 1933 and traveled with them as their driver after his release. His active years were really from 1935 to 1949 when he died from the pernicious disease ALS. He directly influenced Josh White as he himself had been influenced by Blind Lemon Jefferson and became part of the loose group of NY musicians known as the Almanac Singers. He was advertised as "King of the 12 String Guitar."
One of my favorite Lead Belly songs, Pick a Bale of Cotton
A good summary!! By all accounts he had an amazing memory for, and ability to reproduce songs, so that his legacy is one of the most important in music. Interestingly Pete Seegar referred to him as 'Old Hughie', rather than Huddie and talks of him being 'on welfare most of the time'. Rock Island Line seems to have been a common song in prisons.
Jul 5, 2021
0
#14
Thank you @batgirl. Love hearing and seeing how what we know today grew and evolved from earlier beginnings 
Jul 5, 2021
0
#15
If only Lead Belly's skill with a 12 string hadn't been matched by his skill with a knife....
Jul 5, 2021
0
#16
simaginfan wrote:
<<Alan Lomax recording of Rock Island Line>>
Yes. Lead Belly learned the song in prison. I think his version was the first recording of the song. It was recorded by John and Alan in 1933. However this video you provided has to be my new favorite Rock Island Line. It's better than the Weaver's interesting version.
"talks of him being 'on welfare most of the time'"
I think the Lomaxes kept 50% of Ledbetter's earnings -- the idea, I suspect was that he was black, an ex-con, it was the depression and he should be grateful for anything. But even Dr. Rex M. Ellis, Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture,, said however much one might criticize the Lomaxes from our modern perspective, without them there would have been no Lead Belly and he believed Lead Belly used them as much as they used him. A lot of people recorded his music but I don't think residuals were a thing back then.
Jul 5, 2021
0
#17
I have to say that it is my favourite version too, although I like the Terry/McGhee/Seeger one from Rainbow Quest too.
Jul 5, 2021
0
#19
I prefer later Chicago Blues. And I know very little about musical history but I have 2 questions.
1) Isn’t the a>b>c thing is music a little too clean? I mean a group has a lifetime of influences that they bring, any one of which taken away changes the person and thus the group.
2) Ok tell me why are the Beatles so important. (Being serious, and I do like the Beatles). I mean rock existed before the Beatles (Elvis, Ritchie Valens, Isley Brothers). And in the UK contemporaries were playing similiar music (The Kinks, a personal favorite). So why are the Beatles so important?
Jul 5, 2021
0
#20
I'm not sure what you're asking.
This post simply recognizes George Harrison's acknowledgement of the Beatles' debt to Lead Belly, a musician most people never heard of. Hopefully a few more people are now aware of him and his legacy.
Why are the Beatles important? Why is Magnus Carlsen important? Why is their importance or lack thereof even relevant here?
In researching a broader topic I read an article in the Smithsonian Magazine (online) called, The Incomparable Legacy of Lead Belly (Feb 23, 2015) which gives this rather astonishing admission:
"The legacy of Lead Belly is clear in the film [Legend of Lead Belly], when John Reynolds, a friend and author, quotes George Harrison as saying, 'if there was no Lead Belly, there would have been no Lonnie Donegan; no Lonnie Donegan, no Beatles. Therefore no Lead Belly, no Beatles.'”