The Life and Legend of Leadbelly

Huddie Ledbetter (18891949), known to millions of fans simply as Leadbelly, was arguably the most famous black singer in American history. His close musical associations included such towering figures as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and John and Alan Lomax. He helped lay the foundations for blues, modern folk music, and rock 'n' roll. This definitive biography draws on a wealth of new archival material, interviews, and previously unknown recordings to detail Leadbelly's proud, tumultuous, and often violent life.

Three-time Grammy nominee and author of twelve books on American vernacular music, Charles Wolfe is a professor of english at Middle Tennessee State University. He lives near Nashville. Kip Lornell is an associate professorial lecturer at George Washington University, a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution, author of five other music-related books, and the recipient of a 1997 Grammy for his work on the Anthology of American Folk Music. He lives in Washington, D.C.