Shreveport Blues Heritage (Caddo Parish Blues Tradition)

Shreveport and Caddo Parish were home to a distinct Texas-Louisiana blues crossroads tradition, producing artists including Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter), who was born in Mooringsport (Caddo Parish) in 1888 and whose 12-string guitar style shaped American folk and blues. The geography of northwest Louisiana blues — distinct from Delta blues — is documented by the Blues Foundation and multiple ethnomusicological studies.