On Time.com's March of Time section, Lead Belly, the King of the 12-string guitar, is highlighted with a newsreel featuring the story of his amazing life.


Lead Belly, born Huddie William Ledbetter, in Mooringsport, La., in 1889, was discovered by the Library of Congress' John A. Lomax while recording songs at Angola Farm prison. Time.com's video is a recreation of the musician's journey.

Lead Belly, who was hailed by the Library of Congress' music division as its "greatest folk song find in 25 years," asks Lomax to speak on his behalf so that he may be released from prison.

When Lead Belly is released, he goes straight to Lomax, proclaiming, in jubilation, "I came here to be your man. I got to work for you the rest of my life. ... You my big boss, and I'll be your man."

Watching Lead Belly in the newsreel gave me chills. Hearing "yes, sir," "no, sir" and "boss" conjured up a time no black person would want to return to. More importantly, watching Lead Belly say he would work for Lomax for the rest of his life illuminates, in real time, just how hard black people in this country had to work to have their own identities, let alone their own destinies. And don't be fooled, this video was not that long ago.

Another point that cannot be overlooked, though, is how savvy Lead Belly was in getting pardoned twice, at a time when the opportunity to gain one's freedom, especially as a black man, had to be particularly bleak.

Lead Belly died on Dec. 6, 1949, due to illness, but you have to wonder about a black man singing negro spirituals and ballads at institutions of higher learning, such as Harvard and Yale, and being honored by the Library of Congress while he was still alive. I'll say it again, in that time period. Lead Belly would go on to write more than 500 songs that fell into children's, field, folk and blues genres, among others. His massive contribution has been lauded by a variety of writers and artists, including Alex Haley, Bob Dylan, Kurt Cobain and Janis Joplin.

Writer, lawyer, athlete and activist Paul Robeson said:

Our American negro folk songs span directly out of our lives -- our working lives -- like John Henry ballads and countless others so superbly sung by Lead Belly.