Leadbelly

Hulton Archive, Archive Photos

Huddie Ledbetter was a three-time convict, beginning with a gun-possession charge that landed him on a chain gang in 1915. He escaped only to be arrested three years later for killing a family member over a woman. Seven years into his sentence, Leadbelly was pardoned after he wrote a plea -- in song form, no less -- to the Texas governor, who frequently stopped by the prison to hear the blues icon perform. In 1930, he was arrested for attempted murder and served four years.