Leadbelly (film) and a drunken friend are playing around with a gun, and Leadbelly accidentally shoots him. He is thrown in prison where he is forced to work in a chain gang. When he tries to escape, he is caught and put in a box. His father arrives and tries to bail Leadbelly out, but fails. Before leaving, he manages to convince the warden to get Leadbelly a twelve-string acoustic guitar. After getting the new guitar, he plays a song for Governor Pat Neff who reassures Leadbelly he will be set free. After he leaves prison, he returns to Fannin Street, sees
He Was a Friend of Mine like It Is" album in 1969. A rare Bluegrass treatment of the song. In 1963, the Greenbriar Boys recorded "He Was a Friend of Mine" with singer Dian James on their Elektra Records album "Dian & the Greenbriar Boys". The Briarwood Singers, a five-piece folk group, released a version of the song that reached #126 on the "Billboard" charts in December 1963. Bobby Bare also recorded "He Was a Friend of Mine" in 1964, in memory of air crash victim Jim Reeves. That same year, Petula Clark released a French version of the song under the title "Toi qui m'as