Time for the folksy-blues of Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly. Lead Belly was a beast on the 12-string guitar and a bit of a problem child around town. He ended up in jail for carrying a concealed weapon (I guess no 'open carry' laws at that time?) only to escape and get arrested 3 years later for murdering one of his own relatives over a lady (that is some blues street cred right there). After 10 years in the clink he wrote a song to the Governor asking for release and was subsequently pardoned and set free. Then in 1930 he was arrested for attempting to stab a man and sent to the infamous prison called 'Angola'. There he won over hearts and minds of officials and was released after serving the minimum sentence in 1933. For the next few years Lead Belly toured around, trying to scared up some acclaim and notoriety. He had a brief stint at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, but that failed to stir up any attention, but started piquing the interest of white leftist folkies. Then in 1939 he was arrested AGAIN (for - guess what? Stabbing a guy) but upon release in 1941 became a regular on a CBS radio show called Back Where I Come From and made friends with the likes of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Lead Belly also started to see some success in Europe and embarked on a tour there in 1949 but before completing it he fell ill and was diagnosed with ALS. He died later that year.
The Song Gallis Pole (also known as Gallows Pole) is an olde Englishe ballad that Lead Belly had adapted, made popular and recorded in 1939. The song tells of a man trying to collect gold and silver to bribe officials and keep him from being hanged. Lead Belly is heard playing his style of 12 string guitar here, a style that would go on to influence pretty much everyone ever, including Elvis, Brian Wilson, Pete Seeger, The Animals, Frank Sinatra, Van Morrison, Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, shit even RAFFI. People will probably recognize the song reworked by Led Zeppelin and heard here.
Holly times:
The Gallis Pole (Lead Belly): This is the second reverse-cover we’ve listened to! Meaning that I know a cover of this song much much better than this version. Led Zeppelin does a version of this too that I really like. Anyway, I digress. Leadbelly is another artist I’ve definitely heard of but never really listened to. I really like this upbeat, high-energy version of this song! I’m not as versed in guitar terms as my sister is, so I’m going to say I really like the jangly sound of the guitar in this one. It goes so well with Leadbelly’s voice. As an aside, I’m looking forward to the point in history where people put some forethought into how they end songs! 4/5
Kelly:
Oh, I know this song. Well, I know the Zep version, from my fave Zep album (Zeppelin III). Anyway, I really like this version. I like that I can barely understand what he's saying, and I feel like his frantic, energetic guitar playing matches the desperation of a person who is trying not to get hanged. The guitar sounds big and he definitely has a mastery of those 12 strings, and I don't think it would sound as good if there was any other instruments playing. You can definitely hear how he's not quite as bluesy as Robert Johnson and how he's definitely more folky. He kind of reminds me of Richie Havens. His singing is great, his voice is strong and in control. I even like the random person throwing in a few random 'yeah' and 'uhhn' from time to time. 4/5
Gallis Pole - Lead Belly
In the 1930's the Library of Congress sent the musical historians the Lomax brothers out to capture as much of American "folk music" tradition as possible. One of their best resources for this was the southern states penitentiary system. While visiting the notorious Angola Prison Farm (the worst of the worst) they discovered and recorded Huddie Ledbetter AKA Lead Belly. Although having definite blues cred he is more widely recognized for his folk styling such as Rock Island Line and Goodnight Irene for example.
ReplyDeleteThis high energy cover of the blackly humorous Gallis(Gallows) Pole is remarkable for it's frantic guitar style.
If your looking to kill 2 musical birds with one stone the Smithsonian buts out a CD with both Lead Belly and his contemporary Woody Guthrie. 4/5 RD