3. Leadbelly was one of the first black musicians to tour Europe
In the last few years of his life, Leadbelly achieved not only critical acclaim but moderate financial security for the first time. He proved a big-hit in Los Angeles, though he failed to secure any commissions for Hollywood films, and recorded a number of songs at the city’s cutting-edge studios. At the same time, Lomax’s work in collecting traditional African-American music was finally meeting with mainstream approval. Leadbelly’s encyclopaedic repertoire of African-American music thus made him more popular than ever, and he was even making waves in Europe, with A Tribute of Huddie Ledbetter published in England in 1946.
In 1949, demand was such that he became one of the first black musicians to go on tour in Europe. Modern technology meant that his music preceded him there: the BBC recorded a dozen of his songs in 1938, and the increased presence of Americans in Europe during WW2 must have increased awareness of his songs and legend. Unfortunately, he fell ill in France (where people weren’t sure what to make of him), and was diagnosed with Lou Gehring’s disease. Leadbelly returned to the US before the end of the scheduled tour, to the eternal dismay of European blues fans.
