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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 4, 1993                   TAG: 9304040077
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SHREVEPORT, LA.                                LENGTH: Short

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FANS BID `LEADBELLY' BETTER GOODNIGHT

For four decades, a plain granite stone marked the grave of Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, whose "The Midnight Special" shone an ever-lovin' light on generations of folk and blues singers.

It bore only the name and the dates of birth and death of a man who sang his way out of prison and performed for royalty.

"It was a shabby looking little thing and we wanted a better stone up there," a niece, Tiny Robinson of Brentwood, Tenn., said Saturday.

Nothing indicated that this was the composer of "Goodnight, Irene," "Take This Hammer" and "The Midnight Special."

Now, thanks to more than $9,000 from fans, the grave behind little Shiloh Church bears a long, black marble slab engraved with a guitar, and a headstone listing Ledbetter's awards.

Many of the honors were granted after his death in 1949, at age 60, of Lou Gehrig's disease. "It's just too bad that he never lived to see how people really enjoyed his music," Robinson said.

The new stone will be dedicated April 18.

The legend is that he was a rambling man with assault and murder on his rap sheet who got out of prisons in Texas and Louisiana by singing for the governors. Robinson remembered him as a quiet, gentle man who loved company.

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