Product Description
A two-disc album (strictly limited edition) coupling studio and live recordings of Lead Belly, a giant of pre-war folk and country blues! Disc 1 includes studio recordings of classics such as "Midnight Special" and "Goodnight Irene," as well as live recordings. Disc 2 contains six previously unreleased tracks from a 1948 New York radio session, and live recordings from Austin and Chicago in 1949. 40 precious historical recordings featuring plenty of his voice in his later years. DISC1: Original Masters 1. Midnight Special 2. The Gallis Pole 3. Dekalb Blues 4. John Hardy 5. Goodnight Irene 6. The Bourgeois Blues 7. Pretty Flower In Your Backyard 8. Borrow Love & Go 9. Big Fat Woman 10. Julie Ann Johnson 11. Be So Glad When I Get Home 12. Old Ship Zion 13. I Don't Want No More Army Life 14. Ella Louise 15. Backwater Blues 16. Rock Island Line 17. Mary And Martha 18. Go Down Old Hannah DISC2: In Cocert 1. Goodnight Irene 2. Ho-day / Ain't Going Down To The Well No More 3. Rock Island Line 4. Go Down Old Hannah 5. Shine On Me 6. What Can I Do To Change Your Mind 7. Skip To My Lou 8. Mary And 9. Martha 10. C'est Bon, Les Oeufs (Scrambled Egg Song) 11. Whoa Back Buck 12. John Henry 13. Blackwater Blues 14. Ella Lousie 15. I Don't Want No More Of Army Life 16. Relax Your Mind 17. Goodnight Irene (Version 2) 18. Old Ship Of Zion 19. I Will Be So Glad When I Get Home 20. Old Black Crow 21. Jean Harlow 22. Borrow Love Blues 23. Good Morning Blues Lead Belly, whose real name was Haddy William Leadbetter, was born in 1888 on a plantation in Mooringsport, Louisiana. As a child, he was a troublemaker and was always getting into fights, but he had exceptional musical talent and could play not only the guitar but also the accordion, piano, harmonica, and mandolin. In 1917, Lead Belly met Blind Lemon Jefferson in Texas and learned the country blues style. However, he committed numerous serious crimes, including murder, and was repeatedly in and out of prison. During one of his prison sentences, he met the Lomax father and son and recorded hundreds of songs while incarcerated. Released at the behest of the Lomax father and son, Lead Belly moved to New York in 1934 and recorded for ARC Records and other labels. In the 1940s, he met Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger in the burgeoning folk scene in New York and developed mentor-student relationships with them. In 1944, he recorded many sessions at Capitol Records in California. In 1949, he embarked on his first European tour, but fell ill and the tour was canceled. He later died from that illness.
