Shout On: Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 3

Performer: Leadbelly
Artist: Woody Guthrie; Brownie McGhee; Willie "The Lion" Smith; Sonny Terry
Engineer: Moses Asch; Frederic Ramsey, Jr.
Distributor: Ryko Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Leadbelly (vocals, guitar, slide guitar); Woody Guthrie (vocals, guitar, mandolin); Brownie McGhee, Cisco Houston (vocals, guitar); Sonny Terry (vocals, harmonica); Willie "The Lion" Smith (piano); George "Pops" Foster (bass). Recorded between 1941 and 1948 in New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Pete Seeger, Jeff Place and Kip Lornell. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Volume 3 of a 3-volume set of the classic Smithsonian Folkways Archive recordings from the 1940's, SHOUT ON is indispensable Leadbelly. Remastered from the original source material, this collection includes unreleased tracks, bibliographies, discographies and liner notes with extensive annotations and remarks by Pete Seeger. The range of emotion and tone Leadbelly displays on these tracks is notable: unmistakable tenderness on "Little Children's Blues," seductive crooning on "Come Sit Down Beside Me," sheer manic energy on "John Henry." The album also includes topically relevant songs about the Second World War (including "National Defense Blues"), collaborations with Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston (including "Ham and Eggs" and "Midnight Special") and songs for children (including "Rooster Crows at Midnight" and "What Are Little Boys Made Of"). His experiences in life and love (including his days as a physical laborer and a penitentiary inmate) make up a great deal of the material and Lead Belly relates them with the ease of a fine story-teller by means of his loose, simple guitar playing and warm, expressive vocals. Excellent throughout, SHOUT ON (either alone or as part of the set) is quintessential for any folk music collector.

The embodiment of the link between folk and blues, Lousiana-born Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter) possessed a powerful voice and the creative fervor to fashion his observations and heartfelt passions into riveting songs. An itinerant singer/guitarist, he performed in between working odd jobs and spending time in prison for his violent outbursts. Twice he gained pardon from long prison sentences with his songs. After Leadbelly's second pardon, in 1934, the recordings folklorist Alan Lomax made of him brought the singer national success. Whether conscious of his influence or not, nearly all folk and blues singers can trace their musical lineage back to him. He's responsible for many songs that have become part of America's cultural heritage.

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