Lead Belly Sings for Children

Lead Belly Sings for Children

by Lead Belly

Lead Belly's music is rich with culture, diversity, and history. The songs include African American church songs like By and By When the Morning Comes, which children join in singing on the second verse. One of the most famous American folk songs, John Henry; and standard children's favorites, like Skip To My Lou will delight both you and your child. Some of Lead Belly's personal history is included in songs like Pick a Bale of Cotton and Cotton Fields, as he grew up in Louisiana and used to help his parents pick cotton. Although the majority of songs on the album include just Lead Belly, his guitar, and perhaps a group of children singing along, Pick a Bale of Cotton stands out with the Oleander Quartet creating a beautiful harmony. Another exceptionally melodic song is Midnight Special, which listeners may be surprised to learn is actually a prison song. Led Belly presents Blue-Tailed fly (a.k.a Jimmie Crack Corn) in a very organic nature, without any instruments or back-up. Another fun aspect of Lead Belly's presentation style is the creative effects he made with his mouth; in the work songs, Julie Ann Johnson and Take This Hammer, where he includes a "Wha" or "Wah" after each line, symbolizing the swing and strike of an axe against wood. Lead Belly encourages the children in the audience to join him in the "Wah"s and you can hear the children giggling at the noise. One of Lead Belly's most famous songs, Rock Island Line has another surprisingly pleasant sound effect when he unexpectedly drops the last note of the chorus very low.

Although Lead Belly certainly has some songs that address mature topics, there are plenty of songs to captivate and engage young listeners. One of his strong influences is blues music, where he takes the opportunity to teach children about in When a Man's a Long Way From Home. Lead Belly explains at the beginning of the song that 'the blues is a feeling', and he felt that being away from home was a feeling children could identify with and help them understand the experience of 'the blues'. Does your child know what 'the blues' are? Good Morning Blues shows another side of the blues, as it is certainly a get-up-and-dance song; it has more instruments than any other song on the album, with a kazoo, piano, trumpet, and trombone. There are also multiple play-songs, such as Ha-Ha This a-Way , Red Bird, and Sally Walker. Lead Belly explains how to play the accompanying game to each song, and the rhyming and repetitive choruses make them easy and fun to sing. And let's not overlook one of the most interesting and fun songs to sing along with on the whole album, the Pig Latin Song, which literally is sung all in Pig Latin! This is a fun learning experience; if you don't know how to speak Pig Latin, it is explained in the cover booklet, so you can teach your little one and have a fun new way of communicating!

I listened to this album with my three-year-old friend, Sam, and just about fell off the couch when Lead Belly sang, Little Boy, How Old Are You? And Sam automatically answered, "Three." As soon as he heard me giggle, he did it again a little louder. The next time Lead Belly posed the question in the song, I continued to laugh, and the harder I laughed the bigger Sam's smile got and the louder he yelled, "I'm THREE!"

--Audra

Huddie Ledbetter, a.k.a. Lead Belly, born in 1888, was one of the most important American folk musicians of this century. Although he usually played the 12-string guitar, he could also play the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, concertina, and accordion. He and his wife had an apartment in New York that became a hub for local musicians, and people like Woody Guthrie, Sonny Terry, and Brownie McGhee. Lead Belly recorded for a number of different record companies, but Moses Asch, who ran Folkways Records in New York from 1948-1986, was the person who recorded more of Lead Belly's music than anyone else. Lead Belly estimated that throughout his life he collected about 500 songs in his head. He became afflicted with Lour Gehrig's disease and eventually could not continue with his tours. He died in 1949.

In modern music Lead Belly has been covered by huge names of varying genres, including The Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Harry Balafonte, Van Morrison, Led Zeppelin, Johnny Cash, Gene Autry, Rod Stewart, Nirvana, The Doors, The White Stripes, Grateful Dead and many more!

Smithsonian Folkway Recording is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. Their mission is the legacy of Moses Asch, who founded Folkway Records in 1948 to document music, spoken word, instruction, and sounds from around the world. The Smithsonian acquired Folkways from the Asch estate in 1987, and Smithsonian Folkways Recording has continued the Folkways tradition by supporting the work of traditional artists and expressing a commitment to cultural diversity, education, an increased understanding.