Leadbelly (film) Leadbelly (film) Leadbelly is a 1976 film chronicling the life of folk singer Huddie William Ledbetter (better known as "Lead Belly"). The film was directed by Gordon Parks, and starred Roger E. Mosley in the title role. The film focuses on the troubles of Lead Belly's youth in the segregated South including his time in prison, and his efforts to use his music to gain release. Huddie Ledbetter leaves his father's house just barely into his twenties and arrives at a brothel on Fannin' Street ran by Miss Eula, who nicknames him Leadbelly and has him play at the bar.
He Was a Friend of Mine He Was a Friend of Mine "He Was a Friend of Mine" is a traditional folk song in which the singer laments the death of a friend. Alan Lomax, first to collect the song, in 1939, described it as a "blues" that was "a dirge for a dead comrade." The earliest known version of the song is titled "Shorty George" (Roud 10055). A performance by African-American inmate Smith Casey, who accompanied himself on guitar, was first recorded by musicologist couple John A. and Ruby Terrill Lomax in 1939 at the Clemens State Farm in Brazoria County, Texas. The professional singer