Is there anyway to find out if a song has yet reached the status of "Public Domain"?

Question

I would like to record the song "Goodnight Irene" on my upcoming album, but I am not sure if it is copyrighted. The original song is said to be penned by Gussie Davis back in 1886, but Leadbelly first recorded it in 1936 after claiming to have learned it from his uncle.

Answer 1

i think it reaches that status about 15 years after it was either written or recorded. either that or 25, i can't remember for sure--heard about this when Vanilla Ice sampled from "Under Pressure". check this site:

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu.BjLf5FrKUAVLRXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB2b2gzdDdtBGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZAM-/SIG=11a09j4m0/EXP=1174372067/**http%3a//www.pdinfo.com/

This site says that music and lyrics published before 1922 are public domain in the USA.