Lead Belly’s impact on music is immense. Huddie William Ledbetter was born in either 1898 or 1899 in Louisiana. The 12-string acoustic guitar playing blues singer would be a legend for the story that he twice gained release from prison for writing songs to governors. But there’s so much more to his creativity and legacy. He’s responsible for so many classic songs that are still performed by bands today. If you were around for Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged special, you’ll remember Kurt Cobain singing Lead Belly’s version of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” Lead Belly: The Man Who Invented Rock & Roll is an insightful and entertaining documentary on how his music that changed the world.
The documentary examines Lead Belly’s life as a performer and prisoner. There is discussion from interview subjects about his time in prison on various charges including murder. He once escaped from a chain gang. But trouble found him and brought him back behind bars. One time he did get pardoned by a governor after writing a song. There is a bit of conversation about his second pardon that supposedly also came from a song. John Lomax and his son Alan were collecting songs for the Library of Congress and recorded Lead Belly while he was incarcerated. The story was that Lomax left a recording at the governor’s office and soon Lead Belly was freed. Some say that Lead Belly’s time was up anyway for good behavior. Others say the governor didn’t want to admit it was the song and made it seem like an already arranged early release. But the story of the recording session leading to his release caught on with the press. The documentary has the News Reels that recreated Lead Belly getting sprung from a Texas prison by performing “Goodnight Irene.” It’s really Lead Belly in black and white stripes. More disturbing is the Life magazine article with a really racist headline describing Lead Belly. More appropriate are clips from the Lead Belly feature film directed by Gordon Parks (Shaft) and starring Roger E. Mosley (Magnum P.I.) as Lead Belly.
There is quite a bit of discussion on the controversial relationship between Lead Belly and John Lomax. Archival footage from Alan Lomax gives his perspective on the family’s time with their musician.
Arlo Guthrie remembers meeting Lead Belly when he was only two years old. We learn of the relationship between his father Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly. Arlo even shares the photos of his visit to Lead Belly’s grave. It seems natural that Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie would be such good pals and playing clubs in New York City. They were the pillars of the folk movement that would explode in the late ’50s and early ’60s. If you’ve seen the Bob Dylan biopic Complete Unknown, you really need to see this film. The late Pete Seegar gives insight to his time with Lead Belly and explains what made his music so special. After Lead Belly’s passing, his group The Weavers had a major hit with his “Goodnight, Irene.” There’s vintage footage of the folk group talking about Lead Belly and the song before they play it. They weren’t passing it off as their own music.
Lead Belly didn’t get to live long enough to see how he inspired quite a few musical moments. Alan Lomax recounts going to England and finding a Lonnie Donegan album filled with Lead Belly songs except Lonnie claimed he wrote the songs. Lead Belly basically birthed the Skiffle craze in England which is how Jimmy Page became a noted guitarist before forming Led Zeppelin. Skiffle is also what brought the Beatles together as a band. George Harrison once said, “No Lead Belly. No Beatles.” Paul McCartney performs “Midnight Special” in concert. Later we get to see Tom Jones’ electro dance cover of “Black Betty.” The ghost of Lead Belly conquered England.
Lead Belly: The Man Who Invented Rock & Roll is a well-rounded portrait of the influential musician. Director Curt Hahn and his crew weave together the story of how Lead Belly’s colorful life led to songs that are still being played by bands. If you’ve ever sung along to “Midnight Special” or “Goodnight, Irene,” this is the perfect way to understand how those songs got inside you.
The Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. A lot of the interviews are from archival sources since Pete Seeger Harry Belfonte, B.B. King and others have passed. The Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Because of the archival nature of so much in the documentary the quality varies, but everything sounds good in the film.
Trailer #1 (2:15) has B.B. King, Joan Baez and others talk about the impact of Lead Belly.
Trailer #2 (1:44) has a great effect where the names of artists and bands that recorded Lead Belly’s music are turned into a portrait of Lead Belly.
Wienerworld and Pop Twist present Lead Belly: The Man Who Invented Rock & Roll. Directed by Curt Hahn. Featuring Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte, Odetta, B.B. King, Joan Baez, Paul McCartney and Janis Jopin. Running Time: 80 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: April 11, 2025.
