Lead Belly - The Remaining ARC and Library of Congress Recordings, Volume 1 (1935)

"C.C. Rider" by Lead Belly


During his time in New York, Woody Guthrie performed often with others in the New York folk scene of the time both on and off stage. He would both record and busk with one particular blues singer and king of all trades, Lead Belly.

Huddie Ledbetter probably got his nickname in prison. This could have been at any point in his youth because Lead Belly found himself in and out of prison a number of times. He paid only minimum sentences each time as he would be let out for his good behavior (in due part thanks to his role as song leader). It was during one of these incarcerations at Angola Prison Farm where he was "discovered" by musicologist John Lomax and his son Alan in 1934. By then, however, he'd already developed a reputation for his skill on the twelve-string and his command of a vast library of traditional (gospel, work songs, blues,...) and original songs. Lomax recorded several performances for the Library of Congress and in return sent a "sung plea" to Governor O.K. Allen from Lead Belly. After his release in 1935, Lead Belly joined the Lomaxes to help them record other folk musicians while still performing for them himself.

The discography for Lead Belly is a mess and has never been properly collected leaving it largely incomplete. Of course, his recordings come from a time before the full length album, so my usual methods of measurement used on the tour don't apply. Instead, I'm pulling together recordings from various early sessions that have been haphazardly collected by different record companies (Document Records and Rounder Records in this case). The recordings come from the earliest he did in 1933, fragments of his Library of Congress recordings for John Lomax, and finally a recording session with the American Record Company. Though rough and poor quality, these recordings reveal Lead Belly at his most relaxed and his most emotive.

Here is the discography surrounding Lead Belly's first batch of recordings:

Field Recordings, Vol. 5: Louisiana, Texas, Bahamas (compilation album featuring seven 1933-1934 tracks)
The Remaining ARC and Library of Congress Recordings, Volume 1 (1934-1935)
Library of Congress Recordings, Volume 1: Midnight Special (1934-1935 recordings)
Library of Congress Recordings, Volume 4: The Titanic (1934-1935 recordings)



If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!