Last Week of Mississippi John Hurt: Leadbelly Next. (10.13.11) Week 8

Song of the week: Goodnight Irene with Martha Promise Ledbetter.

Leadbelly: I never knew he went to prison so many times. Yet, he was constantly released, one crime after another, because of his music? His good behavior? Who knows. Can crimes go unpunished because someone is musically gifted? I watched the short clip from Gordon Parks film (1976), of the depiction of Leadbelly as an inmate, who was discovered by John and Allan Lomax. In it, Leadbelly nonchalantly talks about killing a man and moves quickly on to talk about the songs he just knows. Why is this film impossible to find? The film is depicting an ex criminal that creates beautiful music because of his release. Yet, his past can cloud his music? Or is it part of him that people just accept because he is a musical genius?

In the film, Lomax came to the prison to “collect songs” and Leadbelly responded, “I know lots of songs, some I made up and some I changed from other folks’.” When he was asked what he was in for, Leadbelly said, “ Murder. I call it self defense. He stuck me with a knife but I stuck him better.” Leadbelly had never sung into a microphone before, but he sang songs he used to sing in Louisiana, where everyone knew everyone. Leadbelly also grew jealous of Martha (or Margaret?) dancing with Archie, who he later tried to shoot with a pistol. Is Leadbelly as violent as the film depicts? I think the film intended to dramatize Leadbelly's life for the sake of film and entertainment, yet what I primarily got out of it, was that Leadbelly lived a pretty rough life....no doubt about it.

In the Leadbelly newsreel clip, Leadbelly was singing in front of the inmates and later met Mr. Lomax after being released from the Lousianna Prison. The fact that Leadbelly was singing in his prison uniform again goes back to this rough life of his. Lomax said, “you cant work for me, you are a mean boy, you killed 2 men.” Again, Leadbelly is depicted as a criminal, yet Lomax still signs with him because he creates beautiful music.

The last clip that I watched showed Leadbelly singing with Martha. What a treat. When he sang to Martha, while playing on his antique, weathered guitar, Leadbelly appeared to be a very sincere person. He had the qualities of Mississippi John Hurt, where I could feel the genuine nature of his voice and his passion for singing. Possibly his passion for Martha? At that point, he did not seem like the hard edged person he earlier was portrayed as. While his face is naturally bold and stern, that seemed to fade. He became soft and genuine in my eyes, as he brushed Martha's chin with his hand while singing to her in his handsom suite.