Lead Belly, pseudonimo di Huddie William Ledbetter (Mooringsport, 20 gennaio 1888 – New York, 6 dicembre 1949), è stato un cantante e chitarrista statunitense.

Talvolta accreditato come Leadbelly, è stato uno dei più importanti esponenti della musica blues e virtuoso della chitarra a 12 corde.^[1]

Appartenente alla tradizione del delta blues, ma anche alla tradizione afroamericana, i suoi brani e il suo apporto stilistico sono stati di particolare influenza per innumerevoli artisti successivi.^[2]

Il suo nome d'arte deriva dalle parole inglesi lead (piombo) e belly (pancia). Egli scelse questo pseudonimo dopo aver riportato una ferita da arma da fuoco: il proiettile non venne mai estratto e perciò gli rimase del "piombo nella pancia".

Huddie William Ledbetter (/ˈhjuːdi/ HYOO-dee; January 1888^[1][2] or 1889^[3] – December 6, 1949),^[1] better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the folk standards he introduced, including his renditions of "In the Pines" (also known as "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?"), "Pick a Bale of Cotton", "Goodnight, Irene", "Midnight Special", "Cotton Fields", and "Boll Weevil".

Lead Belly usually played a twelve-string guitar, but he also played the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, and windjammer.^[4] In some of his recordings, he sang while clapping his hands or stomping his foot.

Lead Belly's songs covered a wide range of genres, including gospel music, blues, and folk music, as well as a number of topics, including women, liquor, prison life, racism, cowboys, work, sailors, cattle herding, and dancing. He also wrote songs about people in the news, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, Jean Harlow, Jack Johnson, the Scottsboro Boys and Howard Hughes. Lead Belly was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2008.

Though many releases credit him as "Leadbelly", he wrote his name as "Lead Belly". This is the spelling on his tombstone^[5][6] and is used by the Lead Belly Foundation.^[7]He didn't care for the "Lead Belly" stage name and always introduced himself by his given name: Huddie Ledbetter.