Huddie William Ledbetter (January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949) was an American
folk and
blues musician notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the
twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced. He is best known as
Lead Belly. Though many releases list him as "
Leadbelly", he himself wrote it as "Lead Belly", which is also the spelling on his tombstone and the spelling used by the Lead Belly Foundation.