Lead belly and the left.

AuthorEpstein, Jim
PositionBriefly Noted - Lead Belly and the Communist Party - Brief article

The celebrated folk singer Lead Belly was plagued by career and financial troubles, and he had tendencies toward violence and self-sabotage. But a superficial new documentary from the Smithsonian Channel, Legend of Lead Belly, elides the most controversial aspects of his life and imposes a relentlessly positive spin. It also leaves out his fraught relationship with the American Left.

Lead Belly was wary of labor unions and loved commercial music, but to the Communist Party activists who became his champions, he was a vessel for their theory that "authentic" black and...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT