Terika Singh Dean Great-Great Niece of Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter | Co-Manager, Lead Belly Estate | Chair, The Blues Foundation
Some legacies are inherited. Terika Singh Dean was born into one.
As the great-great niece of Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter and co-manager of his estate alongside her brother Alvin Singh, Terika has dedicated herself to ensuring that one of American music’s most foundational voices is never forgotten, never misrepresented, and never diminished.
Her work is both personal and institutional. As Chair of The Blues Foundation — one of the most significant organizations in American roots music — Terika brings the weight of Huddie’s legacy into every room she enters, advocating for the preservation and celebration of blues music on a national and global scale. She is also a proud member of Folk Alliance International and the Americana Music Association, two organizations whose missions align directly with the cultural work she has spent her life doing.
Terika has represented the Lead Belly estate at some of the most significant cultural institutions in the country. In 2015, she and her brother Alvin were invited to the Library of Congress as part of the American Folklife Center’s Benjamin A. Botkin Folklife Lecture Series, where they spoke about their great-great uncle’s contributions to American culture and world music on the occasion of his 125th birthday. In 2025, she traveled to Marshall, Texas — the land where Lead Belly’s roots run deepest — to participate in the Boogie Woogie Marshall festival, attend the opening of the Lead Belly Museum, and take part in a panel discussion about his enduring legacy. In 2026, she returned to Marshall to bless the new Lead Belly Museum exhibit, calling it the finest tribute to him she had ever seen.
She has said of that trip: “It’s an honor to be here and see people enjoying his music and seeing what an impact his music has made — not only on this community, but on people in general.”