Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter (1888-1949) is regarded as one of America’s greatest and most influential folk musicians. Lead Belly and his recordings have been the touchstone and inspiration for thousands of musicians, painters, sculptors, writers and just plain folk. Born before recordings,

Lead Belly’s career spanned the era of minstrel shows, the Blues craze of the 1920’s, and the dawn of the singer/songwriter. He was musically influenced by Blind Lemon Jefferson, the most popular solo blues guitarist/vocalist of the 1920’s and his musical and personal influences on Woody Guthrie helped form the way in which all American singer/songwriters write and play to this day. Lead Belly’s repertoire was as varied as a solo musician could hope to encompass.