Episode 130: "Three Songs By Leadbelly"

Continuing on with our celebration of Black Music Month (I don't know who thought it up...but I'm embracing it), I present to you...the king of the 12-string guitar...the legendary Leadbelly! I put out a few episodes featuring Leadbelly before (go back and check out episodes 96 and 97), but this one is my favorite. First of all it's in color, even though it was filmed in 1945. Secondly, it's a music video and thirdly, it's of Leadbelly singing and playing three classic songs ("Pick a Bale of Cotton", "The Grey Goose", and "Take This Hammer"). But aside from the music (and a mighty fine pickin' and a singin' it is), just the direction/cinematography of this film is extremely interesting to me. As a whole it's beautifully creepy...from the graveyard scenes at the beginning and end, to the way ol' Huddie Leadbetter was filmed. It makes me wonder if the director/cameraman was trying to make Leadbelly look kind of scary and dangerous...or maybe Leadbelly was just a hard and scary looking man. He undoubtedly had a hard life, but the lighting and camera angles are also peculiar. The way the colors, shadows, movement, and editing work together create a soulful, haunting effect. But it is this stange look to the film that's about half of the appeal of it to me. So...here it is...bluesman Huddie Leadbetter AKA Leadbelly performing three songs. Enjoy. Peace.