Food for Thought II

I was curious about the Beatles, because I always wondered what was important about them, and really didn’t and still don’t know. Obviously, I also mentioned the Beatles because Lead Belly’s legacy was tied to them. Why is their importance relevant? Probably it isn’t.

Most popular music before The Beatles was either ballads or dance music. When they released "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" it introduced the idea that pop music could be made just to be listened to. After that there was an explosion in the variety of music being produced. Most pop music has returned to its ballad or dance origins. The difference now is that there is a myriad of other genres that branched off of rock. We just didn't have names for them back in the day. Everything (rock, pop, fusion, emo, progressive, heavy metal,...) was all called rock.

I've had too many people tell me they thought Nirvana wrote "Where Did You Sleep Last Night". And it only took four or five musicians to sound almost as good as Leadbelly.

Nice!!

I don’t believe most music before Beatles was dance or ballads. Think Elvis, Chuck Berry, Bo Didley. But I think the part about Sgt. Peppers is spot on. I guess I was confused because like Nirvana I assumed the Beatles were important as SOON as they arrived (like or hate Nirvana it’s hard to argue they didn’t crush glam rock and usher in grunge) as opposed to BECOMING important later. Well enough about the Beatles.

I made this posting a short time ago: Out on the Western Plain

Ledbetter had a fascination with the Old West.  In his late 50s he even traveled out to Hollywood hoping to get a part as a cowboy in a western film.  With him being black and, well, 58... they producers didn't exhibit much interest in the idea.

Mmm lead belly... someone I assume has a belly full of lead... mmm

Nobody seems to agree how he got the name Leadbelly, which is a obviously a play on his last name. Wikipedia even had a theory I hadn't heard before. Here's their take:

"There are several conflicting stories about how Ledbetter acquired the nickname "Lead Belly", but he probably acquired it while in prison. Some claim his fellow inmates called him "Lead Belly" as a play on his family name and his physical toughness. Others say he earned the name after being wounded in the stomach with buckshot.[14] Another theory is that the name refers to his ability to drink moonshine, the homemade liquor that Southern farmers, black and white, made to supplement their incomes.[citation needed]

Blues singer Big Bill Broonzy thought it came from a supposed tendency to lie about as if "with a stomach weighted down by lead" in the shade when the chain gang was supposed to be working.[19] Yet another theory is that it may be a corruption of his last name pronounced with a Southern accent"

His sponsors, the Lomaxes, actually sensationalized the prison aspect to the extent that they filmed him in prison garb playing in a staged reenactment of their first meeting with him. I'm not sure if they tried to pass it off a real or not.

The press also sensationalized that part:

Here are a couple snips I made from the aforementioned reenactment film:
Lead Belly and John Loman:

This is some of the recording equipment used as a prop -they made sure to get a close-up- to make it look authentic:

This says something about Hollywood at the time. As if in the real 19th century west there were no black cowboys (or 50+ year old coyboys for that matter).