Talk:Lead Belly

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Contents 1 Lead Belly or Leadbelly? 2 "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" 3 Date of Birth 4 Date of Birth #2 5 Photos 6 O.K. Allen Pardon

[edit] Lead Belly or Leadbelly?

Ok, for once and for all: is it Lead Belly or Leadbelly? -- Face 18:53, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

Who ever said it was "Lead Belly"? If they did I missed it. Leadbelly has about 6 times as many ghits. Leadbelly vs. Lead belly. Mak (talk) 18:58, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

Well, this article is named Leadbelly, the infobox lists him as Leadbelly, but the rest of the article calls him Lead Belly. Most people and AMG may call him Leadbelly, but his grave says Lead Belly. -- Face 19:26, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

He called himself Lead Belly. The Lead Belly Foundation insist on the name Lead Belly, not Leadbelly. As with all nicknames I suppose spelling is open to interpretation. 26-09-06. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 213.2.152.143 (talk • contribs) at 14:35, 26 September 2006 (UTC).

Ok, shouldn't we just call him "Lead Belly"? Even though most people call him "Leadbelly"? I will mail the Lead Belly foundation and ask their opinion about this. -- Face 12:09, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Sorry for my slow reaction, but it seems that the e-mail adres (mailto:leadbellymusic@leadbelly.org) on the Lead Belly Foundation isn't reachable anymore. Still, I think it should be "Lead Belly", because of his grave and because the foundation calls him that way. Is there more evidence? -- Face 19:21, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

I don't know. "Leadbelly" is much more common, and used on the albums an whatnot. -- Cúchullain ^t/c 22:02, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

According to the liner notes of the various Smithsonian/Folkways CDs, the proper spelling is "Lead Belly". The original Folkways releases also had this spelling, and all subsequent Smithsonian/Folkways CDs also feature this spelling. I don't personally think that an encyclopedia should boast an incorrect spelling for an article's title simply because of public perception (should an article on Marven Gardens be titled Marvin Gardens simply because of Monopoly boards?). With this in mind, shouldn't the article be retitled in recognition of this? -- Kevinloy 01:29, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

Looking at my albums, you're correct. We definitely should move it.--Cúchullain ^t/c 19:45, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

I've moved the page and changed the spelling from "Leadbelly" to "Lead Belly" throughout (except in reference to the film title), as well as adding a passage about the debate. I don't have time to check for double redirects, though. Can somebody else handle at least part of that? (If so, thanks in advance) Kevinloy 17:57, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Agree. I have gone through the listed songs and all redirects and changed what I can. That was some work. I hope it is worth it, cause I am still not entirely sure about this. The foundation insists on Lead Belly, and his grave calls him that. But isn't Elvis' grave misspelled too? Some of his records call him Lead Belly, but the majority says Leadbelly. But ofcourse, the majority isn't always right. -- Face 10:24, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks! As far as his name goes, if it were only on his grave, I would understand your concern. However, here is the compiler's note from one of the Smithsonian/Folkways CDs, which should (hopefully) put this to rest -- "Lead Belly's name has been frequently spelled Leadbelly over the years. We have spelled it Lead Belly at the request of the Ledbetter family. This is the way Lead Belly wanted it. Moses Asch spelled it that way on his earliest recordings of Lead Belly." -- Kevinloy 16:06, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Okay, I think I've taken care of the rest of the redirects. I think this is definitely the appropriate title; despite it seeming less known on the internet (for now, anyway), "Lead Belly" is preferred by his estate as well as major releasers of his works, and apparently the artist himself. Either way, the spellings are only slight variations that aren't different enough to really matter. This is similar to Sacagawea/Sacajawea; until a few years ago the latter spelling was best known, though it is clearly an error, and now almost all authorities on her use the "g" spelling.--Cúchullain ^t/c 07:36, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Whew, I'm glad that it's clear now. Thanks for the good help guys! Oh btw the category Leadbelly songs still needs to be moved. -- Face 13:03, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Where Did You Sleep Last Night"

I think "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" was originally written by Lead Belly. Can anyone else confirm or deny this?

Did you consider checking the article Where Did You Sleep Last Night? It addresses this question.

It is good form to sign your contributions, by concluding it with four tildes ~~~~. -- Geo Swan 23:37, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Date of Birth

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives Lead Belly's DOB as January 21, 1885. I'm not sure if there is or can be an accepted DOB for him, but I usually look to this source for the "official line" on such matters.Makemi 06:16, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Date of Birth #2

I'm not sure why Wiki keeps listing Lead Belly's birthday as January 21, 1885, but according to the Lead Belly Foundation [1] he was born on January 20, 1889. His tombstone says 1889, so 1885 is definitely wrong. See photo here: http://www.deltablues.net/lead3.jpg

Because the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians lists it as January 21, 1885, and I usually take the New Grove as authoritative. The fact is, probably Leadbelly didn't even know his own birthdate, so it wouldn't be surprising if his tombstone was wrong. I have no idea how to judge which is correct, since neither source gives its source for the birthdate, that I know of. Mak (talk) 00:36, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

One problem, though; leadbelly.lanl.gov/leadbelly.html and The Leadbelly Web list his birthdate as January 29, 1885, and others list it as the year 1888 or 1889. So apparently his birthdate is a matter of debate, not on the accuracy of your source. Like Mak said, Leadbelly himself probably didn't know when he was born. --Kschwerdt514 20:30, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

I can settle this, once and for all, beyond any shadow of a doubt. "Hudy" Ledbetter, son of Wes and Sallie Ledbetter, is listed in the 1900 census in Harrison County, Texas. That census lists Hudy Ledbetter as being born on January, 1888, and being twelve years old. The 1910 census has Hudy Ledbetter married to Aletha. His age is listed as 22 which is consistent with 1888. The census of 1930, which finds him as an inmate,lists him as 42 (1888). There is no reason to doubt three census takers. The myths that Huddie helped create in order to spice up the details of a life that required no spicing up because he lived quite a life, may have created confusion about his birthdate. Confusion in remembering one's age or in calculating one's age occurred more frequently before ID's and Driver's Licenses. What evidence do you know of that suggests other years? What evidence does anyone offer that Leadbelly didn't know his own birthday. Who actually has evidence of a birthday differing from the date Leadbelly gave on his World War II draft registration? I am Daviddaniel37 (Family Quest), genealogist in Los Angeles.

[edit] Photos

It would be better to include a picture of Lead Belly in which he is holding a guitar. This, not the accordion, was his primary instrument. -- takthemud, 8:10, 29 Jan 2006 (UTC)

I wholeheartedly agree. Surely there is something in the public domain more appropriate? OldDaedalus 02:50, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

Just so you know, I have changed the picture of Lead Belly from the one of him holding his accordion to the one of him holding his guitar. --Kschwerdt514 20:26, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] O.K. Allen Pardon

This, like many aspects of Lead Belly's legend, is disputed; there is no evidence to prove that Allen ever listened to Leadbelly's song. The "pardon" was in fact in response to a petition for release on good behavior, as budgetary restraints due to the Depression were causing prisons to look for ways to cut costs. I'd be more than happy to rework it, but I won't have opportunity to do so for a few weeks. If someone else wanted to fix it up in the meantime, that'd sure be swell.  :) OldDaedalus 08:44, 28 February 2006 (UTC)