Leo “Bud” Welch was an American gospel musician and guitarist. He lived from March 22, 1932 to December 19, 2017. His music career began in 2014 with the release of Sabougla Voices, a Big Legal Mess Records album. In 2015, his second studio album, I Don’t Prefer No Blues was released. It was also recorded by Big Legal Mess Records. Welch was born in Sabougla, Mississippi, on March 22, 1932. For 30 years, he worked as a lumberjack while learning his musical skills in the Mississippi Delta. He learned various instruments such as the guitar, harmonica, fiddle, and harmonica. After being secretly recorded at his manager’s birthday party, 2014 was the year he began his music recording career. His first album, Sabougla Voices was released on Fat Possum. His second album, I Don’t Want No Blues, was published by Big Legal Mess on March 24, 2015. The portrait of Welch is the award-winning feature documentary Late Blossom Blues (O/US 2017, 2017), by Austrian filmmakers Wolfgang Pfoser Almer and Stefan Wolner. Eugene Jarecki, an American filmmaker, made Welch a brief appearance on a documentary called The King about Elvis Presley. Welch, 85, died on December 19, 2017 at Bruce, Mississippi.
