Music Video for Ram Jam’s 1977 Cover of the Leadbelly Song ‘Black Betty’ Completely Epitomizes the 1970s

In 1977, the New York City band Ram Jam recorded an updated, heavy metal version of the classic Leadbelly song “Black Betty”. The accompanying music video (long before MTV) very much epitomizes everything about the late 1970s.

Here’s the original Leadbelly version.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.