Today, Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter (1888-1949) is regarded as one of America’s greatest and most influential folk musicians. Lead Belly and his recordings have been the touchstone and inspiration for thousands of musicians, painters, sculptors, writers and just plain folk. Born before recordings, Lead Belly’s career spanned the era of minstrel shows, the Blues craze of the 1920’s, and the dawn of the singer/songwriter. He was musically influenced by Blind Lemon Jefferson, the most popular solo blues guitarist/vocalist of the 1920’s and his musical and personal influences on Woody Guthrie helped form the way in which all American singer/songwriters write and play to this day. Lead Belly’s repertoire was as varied as a solo musician could hope to encompass.

In this DVD lesson – the first to ever show how Lead Belly played his booming 12-string guitar – Harry Lewman explores the stories behind the songs, and explains in detail the unusual way in which Lead Belly tuned, strung, and played the 12-string guitar. Rare footage of Lead Belly is also featured in this lesson.

Titles presented include: Where Did You Sleep Last Night, Midnight Special., Goodnight Irene, Good Morning Blues, Bourgeois Blues, Silver City Bound, Fannin Street and You Know I Got To Do It.

81-min DVD / Level 2/3 / 40 page tab/music booklet

Read a review    

gw 809dvd   $29.95