Lead Belly in Washington D.C. Long Sleeve T-Shirt 

This is a Bluescentric Brand authentic Lead Belly Long Sleeve T-Shirt, available in sizes from Small up to 5XL! This is a pre-shrunk 100% heavy cotton (athletic heather 99%) 6 oz long sleeve tee. Double-needle sleeve and bottom hem. 

Official Lead Belly! Every sale directly benefits Lead Belly's estate. 

The design says "Lead Belly" with light distress around the lettering. This extraordinary photo of Lead Belly was taken by William Gottlieb at a press club gathering in Washington D.C. in 1938.

It's notable that Lead Belly was in Washington at all... The previous June 1937, Lead Belly had traveled to the nation's capitol city to record for Alan Lomax, only to immediately experience horrifying firsthand Jim Crow racism.

Within hours, the guitarist had penned the famous song "Bourgeois Blues" -- a damning number about the disturbing treatment of people with black skin in Washington D.C.

But Lead Belly couldn't be held down by hate -- he returned to the town at least two more times in the following years, recording again with Lomax and acquainting himself with other rising artists of the time, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Josh White.