"Black Betty" is a 20th century African-American work song of unknown authorship. It was first recorded in the field by U.S. musicologists John and Alan Lomax in 1933, performed by the convict James Baker (also known as Iron Head) and a group at Central State Farm, Sugarland, Texas.

The Lomaxes were recording for the Library of Congress and later field recordings in 1934, 1936 and 1939 also include versions of "Black Betty". It was recorded commercially in New York in 1939 by blues artist Leadbelly, as part of a medley with two other work songs: "Looky Looky Yonder " and "Yellow Woman's Doorbells ". Leadbelly had a long association with the Lomaxes, and had himself served time in State prison farms.

While Leadbelly's 1939 recording was performed a capella, most subsequent versions added a guitar accompaniment. These include folk-style recordings by Odetta and Harry Belafonte, both in 1964. Bob Dylan parodied the song in his novel Tarantula (published 1971). Prior to 1977, a Cincinnati band, Starstruck, recorded a rock version of the song on the Truckstar label which had little success. In 1977, the rock band Ram Jam — whose members included Bill Bartlett , a former member of Starstruck — rerecorded the song with producers Jerry Kasenatz and Jeff Katz under Epic Records. The song became an instant hit with listeners, reaching number 18 on the singles charts in the United States and the top ten in Australia. At the same time, the lyrics became the cause of a boycott by civil rights groups NAACP and CORE, who claimed it insulted black women.

Dance remixes of "Black Betty" in 1990 made the top twenty of the US dance charts and top thirty in Australia. Other notable artists such as Nick Cave (1986) and Tom Jones (2002) have covered the song. Australian band Spiderbait released a version of the song in 2004 on their Tonight Alright album (Interscope Records), which reached the top twenty in Australia March 2004.