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Huddie Ledbetter

Object Details

Exhibition Label
Playing his signature twelve-string guitar, Huddie Ledbetter was instrumental in introducing African American traditional music to national audiences. Known popularly as Lead Belly, a nickname given to him by a prison chaplain, he amassed a vast song repertory that ranged from the blues to early jazz and ragtime. Ironically, although a series of arrests in Louisiana and Texas almost cut short his career, they gave Ledbetter the break that transformed his life while he was in prison. In 1933, Ledbetter met folklorist John Lomax, who was traveling through the South recording folk songs from inmates-among others-for a music archive at the Library of Congress. Lomax helped to secure his parole and then accompanied him to New York. There, Ledbetter became a star, performing and recording for large audiences, many of whom had never encountered such music before.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Artist
Sid Grossman, 25 Jun 1913 - 31 Dec 1955
Sitter
Huddie Ledbetter, 15 Jan 1888 - 6 Dec 1949
Date
c. 1946-1948
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image/Sheet: 42.9 x 35.2 cm (16 7/8 x 13 7/8")
Mat: 71.1 x 55.9 cm (28 x 22")
Type
Photograph

Featured In

  • 1948: A Year in the Colletions
  • The Blues
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