Overview: Iconic blues and folk musician Lead Belly’s captivating story is brought to life in this awe-inspiring documentary, Lead Belly: The Man Who Invented Rock, and with extraordinary guest stars.

DVD Verdict: George Harrison famously claimed, No Lead Belly, no Beatles. Revered by countless musicians - the 1st record Janis Joplin ever bought was Lead Belly. The definitive bio, with historic performances and extraordinary archive access.

The folk/blues icon, from childhood through prison to worldwide fame. Stories and performances from Joplin, Harry Belafonte, BB King, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Odetta and many more.

Huddie William Ledbetter was born on January 29th, 1889 on the Jeter Plantation near Mooringsport, Louisiana. He was the only child of sharecropper parents Wesley and Sally. Huddie and his parents moved to Leigh, Texas when he was five and it was there that he became interested in music, encouraged by his uncle Terrell who bought Huddie his first musical instrument, an accordion.

King of the 12 String Guitar. Born in poverty, he became a master folk innovator who inspired rock and roll. Woody Guthrie called him the greatest folk singer. Hundreds of artists have covered his songs - The Beatles, Roling Stones, Nirvana and Led Zeppelin spring to mind.

More than any other black folk-blues artist of his time Leadbelly helped expose his race’s vast musical riches to white America, and, in the process, helped preserve a folk legacy that has become a significant part of the nation’s musical treasury.

He was not a blues singer in the traditional sense; he also sang spirituals, pop, field and prison hollers, cowboy and children’s songs, dance tunes and folk ballads, and of course his own topical compositions. It has been said his repertoire was at least 500 songs.

He never saw any commercial success during his lifetime. Not until after his death did a broader public come to know his songs and the amazing story of his life.

It was in the Louisiana State Penitentiary in July 1933 that Huddie met folklorist John Lomax and his son Alan who were touring the south for the Library of Congress, collecting unwritten ballads and folk songs using the newly available recording technology. The Lomaxes had discovered that Southern prisons were among the best places to collect work songs, ballads and spirituals and Leadbelly, as he now called himself, was a particular find.

Of course, there is much more to his story brought forth here, but this incredibly insightful, dutifully told new DVD also features interviews and performances by Janis Joplin, Harry Belafonte, Paul McCartney, B.B. King, Alan Lomax, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Odetta. Hollywood film clips, archive performances and intimate inside accounts dispel myths and let his true personality shine through.