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Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection

Lead Belly

Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection, the first career-spanning box set dedicated to the American music icon, is a 5 CD, 140-page, large-format book featuring 5 hours of music with 16 unreleased tracks. The limited-edition poster and t-shirt package has sold out.

Lead Belly is “the hard name of a harder man,” said Woody Guthrie of his friend and fellow American music icon who was born Huddie Ledbetter (c. 1888–1949). From the swamplands of Louisiana, the prisons of Texas, and the streets of New York City, Lead Belly and his music became cornerstones of American folk music and touchstones of African American cultural legacy.

With his 12-string Stella guitar, he sang out a cornucopia of songs that included his classics “The Midnight Special,” “Irene,” “The Bourgeois Blues,” and many more, which in turn have been covered by musical notables such as the Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Van Morrison, Nirvana, Odetta, Little Richard, Pete Seeger, Frank Sinatra and Tom Waits. Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection brings us the story of the man as well as the musician. 5 Discs, 108 tracks (16 unreleased), 5 hours of music, historic photos, extensive notes, and 140-page book.

Limited-Edition Poster and T-Shirt
Designed by Fritz Klaetke (Visual Dialogue), GRAMMY-winning art director for Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection, this unframed, 16” x 20” poster is individually numbered out of 300 and printed on high-quality paper with matte finish. The unisex t-shirt is printed on 100% cotton.

Limited-Edition Poster and T-Shirt

This project was produced in coordination with the Lead Belly Estate, The John Reynolds Collection/Lead Belly Society, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Track Listing

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101
Lead Belly
01:53
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102
Lead Belly
02:18
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103
Lead Belly
03:30
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104
Lead Belly
02:03
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105
Lead Belly with Sonny Terry
03:10
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106
Lead Belly
02:07
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107
Lead Belly and The Oleander Quartet
01:30
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108
Lead Belly
02:15
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109
Lead Belly
02:06
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110
Lead Belly
01:58
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111
Lead Belly
02:02
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112
Lead Belly
02:45
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113
Lead Belly
01:34
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114
Lead Belly
01:04
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115
Lead Belly
03:07
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116
Lead Belly
04:32
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117
Lead Belly
02:37
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118
Lead Belly
03:40
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119
Lead Belly
01:24
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120
Lead Belly with Sonny Terry
01:47
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121
Lead Belly
02:37
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122
Lead Belly
02:51
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123
Lead Belly with Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston
02:34
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201
Lead Belly with Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston
02:17
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202
Lead Belly
01:05
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203
Lead Belly with Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston
02:28
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204
Lead Belly
01:15
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205
Lead Belly
02:40
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206
Lead Belly
00:48
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207
Lead Belly
00:41
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208
Lead Belly
01:11
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209
Lead Belly
02:09
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210
Lead Belly
01:28
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211
Lead Belly
01:42
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212
Lead Belly
01:00
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213
Lead Belly
01:31
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214
Lead Belly
02:50
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215
Lead Belly
00:59
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216
Lead Belly
02:11
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217
Lead Belly
02:19
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218
Lead Belly
01:21
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219
Lead Belly
03:22
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220
Lead Belly
05:48
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221
Lead Belly
02:48
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222
Lead Belly
02:35
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223
Lead Belly
01:51
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224
Lead Belly
01:40
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225
Lead Belly
01:41
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226
Lead Belly
04:46
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301
Lead Belly with Sonny Terry
02:23
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302
Lead Belly
03:14
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303
Lead Belly
02:51
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304
Lead Belly
01:36
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305
Lead Belly
04:06
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306
Lead Belly and Sonny Terry
02:13
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307
Lead Belly
03:43
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308
Lead Belly
03:30
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309
Lead Belly
02:33
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310
Lead Belly
02:43
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311
Lead Belly and Sonny Terry
02:40
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312
Lead Belly
02:20
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313
Lead Belly
03:29
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314
Lead Belly
03:09
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315
Lead Belly and Brownie McGee
02:34
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316
Lead Belly
01:39
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317
Lead Belly
02:57
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318
Lead Belly
03:11
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319
Lead Belly
03:11
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320
Lead Belly
03:13
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321
Lead Belly
04:31
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322
Lead Belly
01:10
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323
Lead Belly
02:44
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401
Lead Belly
14:42
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402
Lead Belly and the Oleander Quartet
14:45
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403
Lead Belly
02:15
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404
Lead Belly with Anne Graham
02:12
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405
Lead Belly with Anne Graham
02:19
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406
Lead Belly
02:35
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407
Lead Belly
02:58
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408
Lead Belly
03:26
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409
Lead Belly
02:25
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410
Lead Belly
01:40
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411
Lead Belly
01:13
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412
Lead Belly
02:09
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413
Lead Belly
01:02
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414
Lead Belly
02:14
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501
Lead Belly
01:41
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502
Lead Belly
01:23
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503
Lead Belly
01:25
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504
Lead Belly
04:58
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505
Lead Belly
01:53
506
Lead Belly with Bessie Smith
03:42
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507
Lead Belly with Martha Ledbetter
02:34
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508
Lead Belly
01:22
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509
Lead Belly
04:05
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510
Lead Belly
03:33
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511
Lead Belly
06:01
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512
Lead Belly
05:11
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513
Lead Belly and Martha Ledbetter
02:24
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514
Lead Belly
03:09