- Joined
- Oct 9, 2017
- Messages
- 13,794
- Reaction score
- 7,497
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Other
Huddie William Ledbetter, Leadbelly, was the first black blues musician to play at the Whitehouse. Having been jailed for assault, he escaped by outrunning the dogs. Leadbelly was the first 12 string guitarist I heard when I was first learning how to play. Wanting to be "authentic," I learned he played cheap Stella 12's which were sold by the Sears catalog for $39.95, ten bucks more than their popular 6 strings. They were popular because they were cheap. They weren't made for steel strings, and of course blues musicians used steel strings. The necks would warp, and they'd buy another, plus they beat the crap out of them. I got myself a used Stella 12, for $18 at a pawn shop. The neck wasn't warped from its nylon strings, and six months later, after I put steels on it, it could no longer be tuned. I moved on to a Guild F20 six which I played until I could afford a higher quality 12, a Guild J212 that I played for many years until it was stolen from my car. I had given the F20 to a cousin, a very sweet rosewood and walnut parlor guitar with a sunburst finish on the spruce top, and today, when they occasionally hit the market, they sell for upwards of $10k. I paid $140 for my used F20. My cousin's daughter now plays it. I replaced my 212 with a Guild all maple NJ45 212 more than 35 years ago. It is my most played daily guitar and it keeps sounding sweeter and brighter everyday with ever more precise midrange and base. I thank Leadbelly for my love of 12 string guitars.
After Leadbelly played at the Whitehouse, the Martin company offered him one of their 12's as a gift. He declined, saying he "couldn't replace it for $39.95 from the Sears catalog." Two years ago, at auction, a 1937 pristine Stella 12 sold for $79k. It had been sitting untouched in someone's attic with the dated receipt in the case.
