" Goodnight Irene " - Lead Belly (born Huddie William Ledbetter : January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949) - 1935 A folklorist, John Lomax and his son Alan Lomax, with funding from the Library of Congress recorded Huddie William Ledbetter, commonly known as Lead Belly or Leadbelly. They first meet him while he was imprisoned. They were deeply impressed by his vibrant tenor voice and huge repertoire, they recorded him on portable aluminum disc recording equipment for the Library of Congress. They ret