LEDBETTER, HUDDIE “LEAD BELLY.” (1888-1949). American blues and folk singer, known as the “King of the Twelve-String Guitar.” ALS. (“Ledbetter”). 3pp. 8vo. (Chicago), June 11, 1949. On Du Sable Hotel stationery. To Austen [C. Faribanks].

“Dear Austin[,] I diden [sic] get the money[.] Wilder is in the hospitle[.] His office is closed up[.] I got a letter and a conten [?] of every thing there[.] She did very well[.] I sent Mrs. Fair Banks the letters[.] I have a con.Track [sic] here for April 49 28-27 There[.] I sent her a letter for a date in June for 2 weeks[.] $500 Five Hondred [sic] dollars a week[.] Now I can not live until we get straight on this[.] I don’t want to do nothing until I here [sic] from Mrs. Fair Banks[.] I haven payed [sic] no rent[.] I haven payed [sic] none of my Bills yet[.] They did not tell me anything about[.] He wasant [sic] for good[.] His mother died 3-4 weeks ago so now Coptil [Capital?] Record Publishing Company $300 dollas [sic] for to publish some songs[.] But I don’t have the name of the songs[.] They got the Contrack[.] I don’t have non[e] of them I sign[.] But I diden [sic] get one of the Papers all though[.] I thank Wilder for what he did all though it could have be[e]n Better so Hurry and let me [k]no[w] what can be don[e.] I riten [sic] Mrs Fair Banks and I will rite [sic] her aga[i]n ok Austin[.] The bond is lifted off the records now[.] I can make some so I need some one for all of that and the Libbery [sic] of Congress o[f]fer[e]d to pay 5 dollars a sid[e] for the records we got there[.] This paper is from the Hotel where I stop when I am there so keep this[.] When I am in Chicago you can reach me[.] Pleas[e] send me some money and tell me what to do[.] We ben [sic] looking for the money from you but non[e] so I am little dissatisfied about my Bils [sic] now. I have a good doctor[.] Now I am fo[u]nd the Doctor [k]no[w] just what was wrong[.] What was the mat[t]er was the neuritis in my spine not my leg so he can get me well so I don’t havter worry about that[.] If you want to call me[.] Let me [k]no[w] what is on your mine [sic] [.] So long from me and Martha…”

Lead Belly made a name for himself and his unique musical style starting in his native Louisiana around the turn of the century but landed in prison for several criminal offences including a murder committed in 1918. In 1933, during his incarceration in Angola Penitentiary, folklorists and ethnomusicologists John and Alan Lomax discovered Lead Belly’s music while touring the South to make recordings for the U.S. Library of Congress. The Lomaxes petitioned the governor for Lead Belly’s release, citing his recording of “Goodnight, Irene” in their appeal, and he was paroled in 1934. After John Lomax arranged for Lead Belly to play for the Modern Language Association, his story was picked up by the press and in 1935 he made several commercial recordings with American Record Corporation. The Lomax’s book, Negro Folk Songs As Sung by Lead Belly, was released the following year, but the recordings and book were financially unsuccessful and Lead Belly broke from the Lomaxes over money matters. Nonetheless, he continued to tour, singing folk, blues and gospel tunes and playing his twelve-string guitar as well as other instruments, leading to a 1937 feature in LIFE magazine. Following a brief incarceration in 1939 for assault, Lead Belly’s breakthrough came with Victor Records’ 1940 album, The Midnight Special and Other Southern Prison Songs. This led to radio appearances and commercial recordings of songs such as “In the Pines” and “Boll Weevil,” as well as additional recordings made for the U.S. Library of Congress, described in our letter.

Our letter mentions Lead Belly’s wife, Martha Promise Ledbetter (1904-1968), who sang with him at his last concert at the University of Texas at Austin and his previous manager Austin Wilder whose company Marjorie Fairbanks and her son, Austen C. Fairbanks, our letter’s recipient, took over in 1948. “The Fairbanks paid Leadbelly’s Musician Union dues, generated publicity and promotional material, and even booked Leadbelly at an ‘industrial’ show near Sandusky, Ohio… He was very excited and responsive to their new confidence and interest in him,” (Lead Belly’s Last Sessions, Smithsonian Folkways liner notes). Lead Belly’s career was cut short just as it was gaining momentum. In 1949, he arrived in Europe to begin a tour the Fairbanks had arranged for him. He became ill in France with what was later diagnosed as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's Disease, to which he succumbed in New York City, a mere six months after writing our letter, on December 6, 1949.

The Du Sable Hotel, listed in The Negro Motorist’s Green Book, was also home to the Du Sable Lounge where performers included Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

Folded with some age toning and wear. Extremely rare.