Playlist
Lead Belly Essentials
Apple Music Blues
Tracks: 1548:16
Blues shouts, folk energy and proto-rock from an American icon.
Updated Jun 5, 2017
Tracks 15
- 1Midnight Special: The Library of Congress Recordings, Vol. 1 (Recorded by Alan Lomax)3:11
- 2Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection2:44
- 3Leadbelly Vol. 4 1939-19472:57
- 4Where Did You Sleep Last Night: Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 12:08
- 5The Essential Blue Archive: Diggin' My Potatoes2:53
- 6The Slide Guitar - Bottles, Knives, Steel2:53
- 7Bourgeois Blues: Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 23:32
- 8The Library of Congress Recordings: Leadbelly - Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In, Vol. 24:12
- 9Midnight Special: The Library of Congress Recordings, Vol. 1 (Recorded by Alan Lomax)4:54
- 10The Library of Congress Recordings: Leadbelly - Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In, Vol. 25:37
- 11Leadbelly Vol. 4 1939-19472:45
- 12Midnight Special: The Library of Congress Recordings, Vol. 1 (Recorded by Alan Lomax)2:57
- 13Where Did You Sleep Last Night: Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 12:09
- 14Midnight Special: The Library of Congress Recordings, Vol. 1 (Recorded by Alan Lomax)2:50
- 15Where Did You Sleep Last Night: Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 12:26
About this playlist
This American icon started out as a blues troubadour with singles like “Packin Trunk” from the ‘30s. But he made his true mark as a folk innovator with a forceful voice and strumming technique that looked ahead to rock ‘n' roll: Tunes like “Rock Island Line” developed rollicking textures that would influence skiffle acts, and tracks such as “Jim Crow Blues” were early examples of folk music topicality. The Library of Congress sides from the ‘40s give us a window into his performance style—driving, sensitive and humorous. Without him, popular music as we know it wouldn't exist.