# Leadbelly (the blues singer)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leadbelly-the-blues-singer/216990
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [December 4, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leadbelly-the-blues-singer/216990 "2003-12-04T18:44:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leadbelly-the-blues-singer/216990/1 "2003-12-04T18:44:12Z")
Does anyone know of any websites that let you listen to Huddie Ledbetter records for free? I know there are a number of ragtime-related sites that provide free listening, and Leadbelly’s music is almost that old. I imagine that most of his songs must be in the public domain by now.
(Sorry if I’m crossing a legal boundary here. If that’s the case, can you please just accept my apology and lock the thread?)
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### Author:  [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leadbelly-the-blues-singer/216990/2 "2003-12-04T19:59:42Z")
Amazon has some 30 second clips and two complete songs you can listen to for free.
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### Author:  [@Hugh\_Jass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Jass)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leadbelly-the-blues-singer/216990/3 "2003-12-04T20:14:56Z")
Can the actual recordings ever be in the public domain? The songs can be, I know, which means you can sing them, record them, etc. without having to pay the original artists.
I was under the impression though, that the recordings are never in the public domain. IANAL though.
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### Author:  [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leadbelly-the-blues-singer/216990/4 "2003-12-04T20:34:50Z")
The Smithsonian Institute used to have some up - Alan Lomax “discovered” Leadbelly and I believe the songs appeared on Lomax’s recordings put out under the Smithsonian’s auspices.
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### Author:  [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leadbelly-the-blues-singer/216990/5 "2003-12-05T17:57:12Z")
One of the ragtime sites I mentioned is run by a professional musician, and he allows free listening, though in this case they are his own performances. As far as I can tell, though, there’s no easy way to permanently download those performances onto one’s hard drive; so you can’t easily put together your own “albums”.
As far as recordings being in the public domain, I thought at some point they could be, though I don’t know when that would be. In any event, I hoped that single-listening in a nonsaveable format might be fair use.