Leadbelly Newsreel

This is an excerpt from a 1935 March of Time newsreel (produced by Time magazine) which re-enacts Leadbelly's release from Angola Prison, Louisiana. John Lomax plays himself, and Leadbelly performs 'Goodnight Irene'.

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  Music

[lifestraight]

If that's really Leadbelly why does it say reenactment? I'm guessing the guys are real and the scenario is reenacted?

[colujomes]

Exactly. The newsreel producers made Leadbelly and Lomax re-enact these moments.

[Neil Jacobson]

So wait, Leadbelly wrote the Declaration of Independence, too?

[verdatum]

I had no idea there was video of Lead Belly. I love YouTube. I love the Internet.

[1blastman]

Trivia question: What other famous New Orleans musician spent some time on the Angola Ponderosa?

[deja vu]

his yes sir boss bit must have inspired eddy murphy.

[deja vu]

black dont crack. he must have been over 50 by that time. say why are there so few leadbelly classics on youtube?

[THINGLEADER]

Sure was. Sure fuckin' was.

[QuintinPenola]

leadbelly is a bad mofo

[kerpin09]

The reaction to the language is understandable but one must take into context the times. In that context Lomax would have been a "liberal". He was hardly a redneck- taking a scholarly approach to exposing African American music to a wider audience.

[easyfatchick666]

Nigra songs, huh..

[Rabbit InRed]

Right on, and they knew better they were just racist southern pieces of shit.And I'm white from Birmingham,AL but this shit is messed up,can't believe people talked and acted like that, "I never heard such good negro songs"? What the hell?! Who says that?! And this was what they put on the news! This was business s usual for these people.I HOPE people got past all the racism shit,this one fat white racist guard on here makes all of us look bad..But I feel you,man! Peace...