Author(s): Tiny Robinson, Van Morrison

Music

'Lead Belly', born Huddie Ledbetter on a Louisiana farm in 1888, won international fame as an interpreter of African- American folk songs and blues. Between 1935 and 1949 he displayed his mastery of his big 12-string guitar and sang folk songs, spirituals, blues and ballads to enthusiastic audiences at universities, nightclubs, political rallies, concert halls and private parties. 'Lead Belly' wrote or rearranged and performed some of the best loved songs still sung today: The Midnight Special, Cottonfields, Rock Island Line, Where Did You Sleep Last Night? as well as his signature song, Goodnight, Irene, which became an international hit in 1950 just eight months after his death and sold 2 million copies.