Leadbelly (1888-1949)
Born as Huddie Ledbetter in Louisiana, Leadbelly's music and tumultuous life would have a profound effect on both blues and folk musicians alike. Like most performers of his era, Leadbelly's musical repertoire extended beyond the blues to incorporate ragtime, country, folk, popular standards, and even gospel songs. Leadbelly performed for a while with his friend Blind Lemon Jefferson in Texas, honing his skills on the twelve-string guitar. Leadbelly's temper often landed him in trouble, however, and after killing a man in Texas, he was sentenced to an extended term in the notorious state prison in Huntsville. While in prison, Leadbelly wrote a song for the governor that led to his early release.
A few years later, though, the singer was convicted on an assault charge and sentenced to a term in Louisiana's Angola Penitentiary. It was while in Angola that Leadbelly met and recorded for Library of Congress musicologists John and Alan Lomax. After his release, Leadbelly continued to perform and record, eventually relocating in New York City, where he found favor on the city's folk scene spearheaded by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. After his death from ALS in 1949, Leadbelly songs like "Midnight Special," "Goodnight, Irene" and "The Rock Island Line" became hits for artists as diverse as the Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, and Ernest Tubb. The best CD for the new listener is Midnight Special (Rounder Records), which includes several of Leadbelly's best-known songs and incredible performances captured in 1934 by the Lomax's.
Lonnie Johnson (1899-1970)
In an early blues field that boasts of a number of innovative guitarists, Lonnie Johnson was, quite simply, without peer. With a sense of melody unmatched by pre-war players, Johnson was equally capable of knocking out both dirty blues and fluid jazz phrasings, and he invented the practice of combining rhythmic passages and solo leads within a single song. Growing up in New Orleans, Johnson's talent was seeped in the city's rich musical heritage, but after the flu epidemic of 1919 he moved to St. Louis.
Signing with Okeh Records in 1925, Johnson recorded an estimated 130 songs over the next seven years, including several groundbreaking duets with Blind Willie Dunn (actually white jazz guitarist Eddie Lang). During this period, Johnson also recorded with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Louis Armstrong's Hot Five. After the Depression, Johnson landed in Chicago, recording for Bluebird Records and, later, King Records. Although he scored few chart hits of his own, Johnson's songs and playing style influenced both blues legend Robert Johnson (no relation) and jazz great Charlie Christian, and Johnson songs have since been recorded by Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. The Steppin' on the Blues CD (Columbia/Legacy) includes several of Johnson's best recordings from the 1920s.
Robert Johnson (1911-1938)
Even casual blues fans know the name of Robert Johnson, and thanks to the re-retelling of the story over the course of decades, many know the tale of Johnson allegedly making a deal with the devil at the crossroads outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi to acquire his incredible talents. Although we'll never know the truth of the matter, one fact remains - Robert Johnson is the cornerstone artist of the blues.
As a songwriter, Johnson brought brilliant imagery and emotion to his lyrics, and many of his songs, like "Love In Vain" and "Sweet Home Chicago," have become blues standards. But Johnson was also a powerful singer and a skilled guitarist; throw in his early death and the aura of mystery that surrounds his life, and you have a bluesman ready-made to appeal to a generation of blues-influenced rockers like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. Johnson's best work can be heard on the King of the Delta Blues Singers (Columbia/ Legacy), the 1961 album that influenced the decade's entire blues revival.
Son House (1902-1988)
The great Son House was a six-string innovator, haunting vocalist, and powerful performer that set the Delta on fire during the 1920s and '30s with scorched-earth performances and timeless recordings. A friend and colleague of Charley Patton, the two often traveled together, and Patton introduced House to his contacts at Paramount Records. House was also a lay preacher and remained conflicted throughout his career, with one foot in the Gospel and one in the profane world of the blues. After his early records sold poorly, House essentially retired from recording for the better part of a decade.
House's few Paramount label 78s remain among the most highly-collectible (and expensive) of early blues recordings, but they caught the ear of Library of Congress musicologist Alan Lomax, who traveled to Mississippi in 1941 to record House and friends. House virtually disappeared in 1943 until he was rediscovered by a trio of blues researchers in 1964 in Rochester, New York. Re-taught his signature guitar licks by fan and future Canned Heat founder Al Wilson, House became part of the decade's folk-blues revival, performing live into the early-1970s, and even returned to recording. Although many of House's early recordings remain lost or difficult to find, Heroes of the Blues: The Very Best of Son House (Shout! Factory) includes a diverse selection of material from the 1930s, '40s, and '60s.
