LEADBELLY

John Lomax, a folklorist and music collector, had the good fortune to find Huddie Ledbetter, serving hard time in Angola Penitentiary in Louisiana. This was after Ledbetter spent time in a Texas Penitentiary for killing a man (in self-defense). The facts of Ledbetter's life were wrapped in lurid tones, and with his huge repetoire of songs, the Lomaxes (John and his son Alan) created the legend of Lead Belly. Pretty soon, Lead Belly was playing Carnegie Hall and commanding huge fees. His songs (and renditions of songs picked up through his travels) became famous and ingrained in the social fabric of United States history: "Rock Island Line," "Pick A Bale Of Cotton," "Midnight Special," and, of course, "Goodnight Irene." Eight of the recordings embodied on Goodnight Irene were made in New York studios of Musicraft Records in 1939 and comprised the first Lead Belly album to be available commercially and was long out-of-print. Two of the tracks also contain performances by Sonny Terry and Josh White Sr. The Tradition reissue of this album includes new comprehensive liner notes. The mastertapes were sonically cleansed and digitally remastered for this release.

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