Did Lead Belly’s music leave a lasting influence on 20th century American blues, particularly on its modern guitar masters?
At the conclusion of his awesome live performance with Oz Noy, Will Lee, and Steve Ferrone at the Bitter End on Dec. 17, I was fortunate to begin a fascinating conversation backstage with modern blues guitar master and music historian Joe Bonamassa.
Back in the Village View October 2024 issue I wrote a full review on Curt Hahn’s 2021 independent authorized documentary film Lead Belly: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n Roll that centers on the life and legacy of the early 20th century folk singer, prolific composer, and 12-string guitar virtuoso Huddie William “Lead Belly” Ledbetter.
Since rock-n-roll was birthed from the blues, after originally covering this fascinating story, I’ve deeply pondered this burning question. Somehow, I knew I needed to speak directly to Joe Bonamassa to delve deeply into this murky topic. Bonamassa is an advanced music historian, esteemed guitar collector and perhaps the most well-known modern blues guitarist today. He is undoubtedly one of the most qualified people on the planet to give his opinion about Lead Belly and his influence on American blues.
Passing years have proven time and again that Lead Belly’s astounding catalog of folk songs have left such a profound and lasting impact on the great enduring music of rock-n-roll, through legendary folk and rock-n-roll artists including Pete Seeger, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Credence Clearwater Revival, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana.
Although our limited conversation backstage had to end quickly, I am very grateful to Joe and his team for helping to make our full interview happen in order to dive deeper into this fascinating subject.
What’s Bonamassa’s Opinion on Lead Belly?
Bonamassa’s answers to my questions about Lead Belly’s direct influence on the American modern blues genre at first sort of surprised me. However, after sourcing supplemental historical information, I now believe he is spot on.
In short, he doesn’t think Lead Belly’s music influenced the early 20th Century American modern blues artists as much as it did the British blues revival movement. Clues to Joe’s sentiments were once proposed by George Harrison, who famously said, “No Lead Belly. No Beatles.”
Was There a Direct Line from Lead Belly to the British Blues Revival?
Think of two of the most famous rock-n-roll bands from the 60s and 70s I mentioned earlier who were influenced by Lead Belly: The Beatles and Led Zeppelin.
Bonamassa told me he believes that since Lead Belly was an early 12-string virtuoso guitarist coming from a folk singer / blues ancestry, his music would have lent a greater influence to early 1960’s British Invasion and Revival Bands such as the Beatles and the Byrds.
“When was the first time most of us ever heard a twangy 12-string electric guitar before in pop music?” Bonamassa proposed. “It was likely on the Beatles 1964 album A Hard Day’s Night, or the Byrd’s 1965 cover of Bob Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man.
Here he is viewing history strictly from the lens of an instrumentalist and in this context he is absolutely correct. However, my own research shows there is much more. That sound and sensibility originates from Lead Belly. But even while transferring from Lead Belly to the 1960’s British Revival bands, it was not as direct of a line as we may think.
Take for instance John Lennon’s first band formed in Liverpool circa 1957 with his local high school classmates “The Quarrymen.” The Quarrymen were originally a British skiffle band, a genre of British folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz.
You can trace Lennon’s self-professed love of skiffle music to the mid-1950s rave, British skiffle singer Lonnie Donegan. A songwriter and musician, referred to as the “King of Skiffle,” Donegan influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Donegan had 31 UK top 30 hit singles, 24 were successive hits and three were number one. He was the first British male singer with two US top 10 hits.
Another famous English musician influenced by Donegan was guitarist Jimmy Page, founder of the band Led Zeppelin, born in 1944. Page took to the skiffle music of Donegan when he first learned to play guitar at the age of 12.
In the mid-1950s, Donegan first rose to prominence with a hit recording of Lead Belly’s American folk song Rock Island Line which helped to catapult Donegan’s career and spur the broader UK skiffle movement.
But who directly influenced Donegan? If you guessed Lead Belly, you are correct!
Later in 1964, the British rock band The Animals recorded the most successful version of Lead Belly’s folk song The House of the Rising Sun which hit number one in the UK, US, Canada, Finland, and Spain.
Clearly, Lead Belly’s trickle-down effect has massively influenced American folk and rock-n-roll and the British Blues Revival.
Joe Bonamassa’s Studio Album and Record-Breaking Mark
Bonamassa’s latest studio album, Blues Deluxe Vol. 2, and live CD/DVD, Live at the Hollywood Bowl, both debuted as the No. 1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart, with Blues Deluxe Vol. 2.
This latest release became his 28th No.1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart, breaking the record for the most No. 1s of any artist in the chart’s history!
For Bonamassa’s comments surrounding all the fascinating details about Lead Belly’s musical influence on the blues and his amazing plans for 2025, watch my full one-on-one interview with the great modern blues master by visiting villageview.nyc.
Read this article on modern blues master Joe Bonamassa where I originally wrote it in The Village View:
Joe Bonamassa Speaks: Did Lead Belly’s Music Influence American Blues?
Kaju Roberto is an accomplished musician, singer/ songwriter, journalist, and an award-winning producer. He is the artist Rad Jet on Spotify.