Leadbelly & accordions

Subject: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Len Wallace
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 01:35 AM

Now, people don't believe me when I tell them this, but I read the Leadbelly wrote two numbers for accordion - yup, accordion.

Does anyone know the title of the tunes and where I can find them (either on recording or written music)?

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: El Jefe
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 02:53 AM

Leadbelly (sic)..played melodeon...a single row diatonic accordion... El Jefe

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 03:09 AM

Hi Len. "Big Fat Woman With The Meat Shakin' on her Bones", also "John Hardy". Huddy called it a "Windjammer" and played "cross-harp" style. eg. in G on a C instrument. Like his piano and guitar playing he sounded like no one else on the planet. Smithsonian Folkways have it all. Oops "Meat Shakin..." was on piano, but there were a few others on melodian that I forget the titles to. Happy New Year from Heather and I.

Rick

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: jets
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 03:36 AM

I have heard it said that Leadbelly had to learn how to play the accordion in order to join the Union.A guitar player was not,at that time ,considered to be a musician. Interesting if true.

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 04:31 AM

He joined the union around '39, but had been playing squeezebox since he was about 13. He DID (for what it's worth) have to join the "black" musician's union. It was segregated for many years. While in California in 1944, he tried to join the Los Angeles local, so he could work more, but was refused membership. (possibly because he was black, although other reasons were given)

Rick

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Stewie
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 06:30 AM

One of the Folkways Leadbelly accordian pieces was issued on an Arhoolie zydeco compilation: 'Corn Bread Rough' - Leadbelly on vocal and accordian - recorded in 1947. It was issued on Various Artists 'Zydeco' Arhoolie LP F1009.

Stewie.

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: DonMeixner
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 07:22 AM

I thought you caught Leadbelly from playing accordions.

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 12:04 PM

Cute Don.

Len, where are you? Don't leave us hanging here by a suspended 9th

Rick

P.S. Leadbelly bought at least one Cajun accordion at Sam Asch's in New York. How do I know? A wonderful publication called the "Leadbelly Letter".

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: MandolinPaul
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 12:09 PM

When I read the thread title, I thought this HAD to be a joke. Shows what I know.

Paul.

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Max
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 12:28 PM

Here's what we got on it: http://www.mudcat.org/huddie.cfm

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Len Wallace
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 05:15 PM

Thanks gang. I knew you would come through.

A Happy 2000 to you all.

Now I gotta get down to learning these tunes on my windjammer.

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Lyle
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 10:23 PM

From "The Life and Legend of Leadbelly," by Charles Wolf and Kip Lornell (1992) - page 16:

(he had talked to his parents to get him some kind of instrument he could play).. "When Huddie was seven, this dream came true when his Uncle Terrell dropped by the house, returning by mule from Mooringsport. A "windjammer" (a small button accordion) hung from the saddle and he gave it to his excited nephew. Huddie worked on it all evening and into the night, trying to find the proper combination of rhythm and buttons to make a tune. His experience wore down Sallie and Wes's patience, but they understook his enthusiasm. By morning Huddie had mastered a rough version of "There's No Cornbread Here." A few days later his mother taught him an old jig called "Dinah's Got A Wooden Leg." Soon she was adding to his repertoire some of the lullabies and sprituals she sang in church, and Huddie was learning that the windjammer could be as much at home in curch as it was at the local square dance."

This book (one of the best sources I've found) also notes that Huddie played harmonica, Jew's harp, piano, and the reed organ at the old Shilo Church BEFORE he learned the guitar.

I've got tons of notes from all over about Huddie, but he is one (of many!) that I haven't had a chance to get organized yet. I do remember, however, that he talked on stage about carrying his windjammer to the sukey jumps.

Hope this helps.

Lyle

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Doctor John
Date: 04 Jan 00 - 02:35 PM

He's is said to use a button accordion on "John Hardy" and a concertina on "Corn Bread Rough". Although some issues of this latter state there are several different masters, they sound the same recording to me. Could anyone please comment? Dr John

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 04 Jan 00 - 06:03 PM

They sound the same to me. Problem is that in those times almost no one writing would have known the difference between an accordion, melodion, concertina, or cajun accordion. The famous film director Elia Kazan, wrote about spending an evening with Leadbelly and listening to his "12 string Windjammer"!!! Movies he knew..Music he didn't!

Rick

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Harry Lewman
Date: 05 Jan 00 - 09:32 AM

I do know that Lead Belly's widow and neice never found an accordian, windjammer, concertina, whatever, among his personal items after his death. He did have a publicity shot with some sort of squeeze box.

Besides those pieces metioned before, thereis an teresting song I have heard on concertina, most likely. It is on Smithsonian/Folkways 40044 titled "Lead Belly where did you sleep last night". the song is a short one called Sukey Jump

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Stewie
Date: 05 Jan 00 - 09:54 AM

'Sukey Jump' was also included on the Arhoolie LP I mentioned above - I overlooked it before. Both the Leadbelly inclusions were courtesy of Folkways.

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Doctor John
Date: 05 Jan 00 - 01:43 PM

I'd forgotten that one too: recorded in 1947, also called 'Wind Jammer". Then there's "Laura" recorded the same year. Dr John

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: harpgirl
Date: 03 Nov 00 - 08:41 AM

...now I remember this!!

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 03 Nov 00 - 10:55 AM

Me too!

One of the things I get a kick out of was Leadbelly's either step-dancing or "stompin" while he played. Not sure if I'm gonna learn how to do that!

Hey is Harry Lewman still around Mudcat? Hope so. Lyle too.

Rick

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: tradman
Date: 03 Nov 00 - 11:21 AM

Check out the Sukey Jump thread also going on right now.

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: tradman
Date: 03 Nov 00 - 11:24 AM

Leadbelly's accordian was called a windjammer. He did not play what we think of as a concertina. Some folks used the word concertina to refer to any small accordian.

Check out the Sukey Jump thread also going on right now.

Subject: RE: Ledbelly & accordions
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Dec 02 - 05:44 PM

There are 4 tunes: Laura, Sukey Jump, Windjammer, and John Hardy. He was a great player, too bad he didn't record more tunes on the accordion. Played a one row diatonice with 3 stops. You can find the picture in "Leadbelly and His Windjammer" in American Music Volume 12, Summer 1994. pages 148-166.

Always looking for more on Leadbelly and his accordion

Subject: leadbelly lyric request
From: GUEST,mark mary
Date: 21 Feb 05 - 08:00 AM

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Subject: RE: Leadbelly & accordions
From: greg stephens
Date: 21 Feb 05 - 08:14 AM

To get technical, John hardy was played on a diatonic one row G-box, played "backwards" in the cajun style in D. I havent got Sukey Jump and Cornbread Rough to hand, so I'm not sure if they are on the same machine. From memory I would say that Sukey Jump was played on the same sort of box, but not with all the stops out(hence a thinner sound which people might confuse with a concertina).
Windjammer I've never heard. Is that currently available on CD?

Subject: RE: Leadbelly & accordions
From: GUEST,Rossa Mac Tíarnáin
Date: 31 Jul 11 - 06:57 PM

First person to write on this in six years!
Im from Ireland and am a massive Irish traditional fan but I also love folk and blues and I worship leadbelly.

Whenever I learned that Leadbelly played tunes on accordion I couldn't believe it and had loads of trouble trying to find the tunes but this forum helped out so much. Thanks guys!