Leadbelly's redemption: music, imprisonment, and second chances in America

Wolfe, Charles and Kip Lornell. (1992). The Life and Legend of Leadbelly. NY: Harper

Collins.

While it is often said that America loves to give people a second chance, there was perhaps no more unlikely 'second chance' than that of the blues and folk singer, the master of the 12-string guitar, known as Leadbelly. In 1934, Leadbelly was incarcerated in the notorious Louisiana prison of Angola for stabbing a white man. In 1935, despite of the fact it was the height of the Great Depression, the African-American guitar player was in New York, living the life of a celebrity musician, the toast of the town, and the guest of some of the most prestigious (white) academics. This sudden shift in fortune was due to the fact that during his time in prison historian and musicologist John Lomax went to the Southern state prison with the interest of recording and collecting traditional African-American songs for the Library of Congress. The book shows that the power of a second chance and finding a calling, in this case the calling of music, can be redemptive for a convict, as can the trust of another individual. It also shows how the racism of Leadbelly's day caused African-Americans to more often be accused, and be harshly judged of crime, without ignoring the violent environment and that were a part Leadbelly's life and attitude.

Summary

Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter had worked as professional itinerant musician before the time of imprisonment that lead to his fateful meeting with Lomax. From his wanderings and roaming through the Deep South he knew almost every conceivable folk, country, and traditional African-American song -- plus a great deal of popular music. The often-overlooked influence of Tin Pan Alley style music on Leadbelly forms one of the central musical claims of the book, given that Leadbelly has at times been inaccurately been portrayed as a kind of 'pure' artifact of traditional folk culture (Wolfe & Lornell 1992: 89).

After getting out of jail, Leadbelly went to New York City and asked for a job with Lomax. At first, he worked as a handyman, chauffer, and assistant/'warm up act' to Lomax's archival project. But gradually the ex-convict began to become famous as a musician in his own right. During his relatively short career as an artist of national fame, he created such hits as "Good Night Irene" "Midnight Special," and "Pick a Bale of Cotton" and his influence lingers on in music to this day.

Reaction

Today, the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, although not directly inspired by the story of Leadbelly and his legacy, has infused some of the hope that Lomax's prison journey created in the hearts of inmates by creating rehabilitative programs. Lomax gave inmates dignity by taking a real and heartfelt interest in their culture. He did not do so by regarding them as exotic, as curiosities, but as human beings. His relationship with Leadbelly he saw as an education, and Leadbelly furthered the success of Lomax's project by enabling the academic to have a better rapport with inmates.

In a way, the book is just as much a story of Lomax's emotional and intellectual journey as Leadbelly's because without Lomax, Leadbelly would never have found an audience and redemption through a lucrative musical career. But Leadbelly also taught Lomax about the culture that fascinated the academic. Lomax was genuinely interested as a musicologist to hear what African-American inmates had to say and give to the world as a result of his contact with Leadbelly. Lomax's interest and first visit to Angola encouraged Leadbelly to take proactive action and change his life. Leadbelly who sought Lomax out up North, looking for a second chance. For the other inmates Lomax encountered on his journey through the prisons of the South and collecting songs, Leadbelly was an example of hope. Leadbelly's impromptu concerts loosened up the inmate's memories, hearts, and tongues, so they shared and opened up to others.

In Louisiana today, rather than simply force convicts to work and toil with sweat and tears on chain gangs the department takes a new vision of humanity and punishment. It has switched from retribution to a philosophy of restorative justice, which stresses rehabilitating the criminal by enabling him to give back to the community. By doing something good for the community, the criminal gains a sense that he is repairing the harm he did through his behavior, and thus can repair or redeem his own soul. This is an important step in the criminal's rehabilitation -- accepting responsibility and working to mitigate some of the harm done to the community, even if the harm to the actual victim cannot be undone ("Rehabilitative Justice," 2008, Louisiana Department of Correction).

None of the current restorative innovations of the Louisiana Department of Correction involve the arts, but even though the initiatives are not musically related, these efforts do create bridges between the community and inmates, to lessen the shock of transitioning into the world again (a shock evidenced by Leadbelly's belief he still needed to protect himself with a knife, even when with a man who had given so much to him, whom he called 'boss'). These include bagging food and toys for distribution to disadvantaged children and families during the Christmas holidays, repairing bicycles intended to be the gifts of poor children, making toys, knitting blankets and clothing for the poor, and community clean-up projects. However, Leadbelly's example suggests that artistic programs to spiritually enrich inmates can be particularly beneficial, in making them productive members of society. In the United Kingdom, the "Music in Prisons" program works "with are some of the most socially disadvantaged and excluded" members of society in prison and teaches them how to create and perform music. "Music in Prisons raises their life aspirations, enabling them to play a positive role in their communities. By providing individuals with the chance to develop new skills, both musical and personal, Music in Prisons gives them the chance to leave prison with more than just the stigma of having been there" (Music in Prisons," 2008, the Irene Taylor Trust). American prisons might consider adopting such a program into their own philosophy of rehabilitation, remembering the name of a great, uniquely American artist -- Leadbelly.