The theme on this edition of Stranger Songs is The Legacy of Lead Belly.
Pictured: Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter)
Click on LISTEN NOW to hear this show. Click on LISTEN to hear the current CKCU broadcast.
| fragment of The Stranger Song Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen - Columbia/Legacy 
|
| Lead Belly – whose real name was Huddie Ledbetter – was one of the most important and influential blues and folk singers of all time. Lead Belly was born in Louisiana in 1888 or 1889 and died in 1949 at age 60 or 61. Lead Belly was known as the King of the 12-String Guitar, and he recorded and performed prolifically in the 1930s and ‘40s, Many of his songs – both songs he wrote – and many traditional songs he adapted, have been recorded and sung by countless artists.
This show includes some of Lead Belly’s recordings, versions of songs from his repertoire by many other artists, and a couple of tribute songs to him. |
| Good Morning Blues #2 Lead Belly - Bourgeois Blues: Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 2 - Smithsonian Folkways |
| Rock Island Line Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Blues Masters, Vol. 5 - Storyville |
| Take This Hammer Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi - Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train - M.C. |
| Pick a Bale of Cotton Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder - Get On Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Nonesuch |
| Cotton Fields Harry Belafonte - Belafonte Sings the Blues - RCA |
| Governor Pat Neff (Sweet Mary) Lead Belly - Shout On: Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 3 - Smithsonian Folkways |
| Huddie Ledbetter was Helluva Man Pete Seeger - Pete - Living Music |
| fragment of The Stranger Song Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen - Columbia/Legacy
|
| In the Pines Odetta - Lookin’ for a Home: Thanks to Leadbelly - M,C. |
| Old Hannah Dave Van Ronk - Somebody Else, Not Me - Philo |
| The Midnight Special Sweet Honey in the Rock - A Tribute: Live! Jazz at Lincoln Centre - Appleseed |
| Bring a Little Water, Sylvie Eric Bibb & JJ Milteau - Lead Belly's Gold - Stony Plain |
| Alabama Bound Lead Belly with The Golden Gate Quartet - Take This Hammer – When the Sun Goes Down, Vol. 5 - Bluebird |
| John Henry Howard Armstrong - Louie Bluie - Blue Suit |
| Ella Speed Ian & Sylvia - Four Strong Winds - Vanguard
|
| Duncan and Brady Elijah Wald - Street Corner Cowboys - Black Rose |
| When I was a Cowboy Andy Hedges featuring Dom Flemons - Roll On, Cowboys - Andy Hedges |
| Diggin’ My Potatoes Lead Belly with Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Bourgeois Blues: Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 2 - Smithsonian Folkways |
| House of the Rising Sun Cathy Winter - Next Sweet Time - Flying Fish |
| Silver City Bound Nina Simone - Folksy Nina - Colpix |
| We’re in the Same Boat Brother Long John Baldry - Remembering Lead Belly - Stony Plain
|
| We Shall Be Free Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, Sonny Terry & Cisco Houston - Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection - Smithsonian Folkways |
| Best of Friends Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry Sing - Smithsonian Folkways |
| Irene (Goodnight Irene) Lead Belly - Where Did You Sleep Last Night: Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 1 - Smithsonian Folkways |
| fragment of The Stranger Song Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen - Columbia/Legacy
|
Subscribe to Stranger Songs
Great show for the last Tuesday of February !! Long winter this year and sure a lot of people with the blues ! GOOD MORNING BLUES !!
12:38 PM, February 23rd, 2026