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| Guthrie was born in Okemah, Oklahoma, on ] ], the year ] was elected ]. At a young age he left home to adopt an itinerant lifestyle, travelling across the ] as the ] turned into the ]. The poverty he saw on these early trips affected him greatly, and many of his songs are concerned with the inequities faced by America's working men and women. A lifelong ] and ]ist, he also contributed articles to the ''Daily Worker''. | Guthrie was born in Okemah, Oklahoma, on ] ], the year ] was elected ]. At a young age he left home to adopt an itinerant lifestyle, travelling across the ] as the ] turned into the ]. The poverty he saw on these early trips affected him greatly, and many of his songs are concerned with the inequities faced by America's working men and women. A lifelong ] and ]ist, he also contributed articles to the ''Daily Worker''. | ||
| In 1935 he achieved fame in California as a radio performer of both traditional ] and his ]s. His interest in the working class was also shown in the specially commisioned songs he wrote at this time for the Bonneville Power Authority in ], the best known of which are ''Grand Coulee Dam'' and "Roll On Columbia," and his "Ballad of Tom Joad" based on ]'s film of ]. | In ] he achieved fame in California as a radio performer of both traditional ] and his ]s. His interest in the working class was also shown in the specially commisioned songs he wrote at this time for the Bonneville Power Authority in ], the best known of which are ''Grand Coulee Dam'' and "Roll On Columbia," and his "Ballad of Tom Joad" based on ]'s film of ]. | ||
| With the outbreak of ] Guthrie, a devout anti-] -- he often played with the slogan "This Machine Kills Fascists" written on his guitar -- joined the Merchant Marine, where he served with fellow folk singer Cisco Houston. He also wrote the first volume of his autobiography "Bound for Glory". | With the outbreak of ] Guthrie, a devout anti-] -- he often played with the slogan "This Machine Kills Fascists" written on his guitar -- joined the Merchant Marine, where he served with fellow folk singer Cisco Houston. He also wrote the first volume of his autobiography "Bound for Glory". | ||
| By the 1950s his output had fallen off, and he was diagnosed as suffering from the degenerative nervous disorder ], and hospitalised, where he remained until his death on ], ]. By that time his work had been discovered by a new audience, introduced to him through ] who described Guthrie as "my last hero". | By the ] his output had fallen off, and he was diagnosed as suffering from the degenerative nervous disorder ], and hospitalised, where he remained until his death on ], ]. By that time his work had been discovered by a new audience, introduced to him through ] who described Guthrie as "my last hero". | ||
| His son ] has achieved some success as a singer as well. | His son ] has achieved some success as a singer as well. | ||
Revision as of 12:21, 26 February 2002
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, known almost universally as "Woody", was a folk singer and raconteur who wrote some of America's best loved songs. He is best known for "This Land is Your Land", a protest song written in response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America." This song has become one of the most frequently performed patriotic songs, having lost its protest element.
Guthrie was born in Okemah, Oklahoma, on July 14 1912, the year his namesake was elected President. At a young age he left home to adopt an itinerant lifestyle, travelling across the United States as the Jazz Age turned into the Great Depression. The poverty he saw on these early trips affected him greatly, and many of his songs are concerned with the inequities faced by America's working men and women. A lifelong socialist and trade unionist, he also contributed articles to the Daily Worker.
In 1935 he achieved fame in California as a radio performer of both traditional folk music and his protest songs. His interest in the working class was also shown in the specially commisioned songs he wrote at this time for the Bonneville Power Authority in Washington State, the best known of which are Grand Coulee Dam and "Roll On Columbia," and his "Ballad of Tom Joad" based on John Houston's film of The Grapes of Wrath.
With the outbreak of World War II Guthrie, a devout anti-fascist -- he often played with the slogan "This Machine Kills Fascists" written on his guitar -- joined the Merchant Marine, where he served with fellow folk singer Cisco Houston. He also wrote the first volume of his autobiography "Bound for Glory".
By the 1950s his output had fallen off, and he was diagnosed as suffering from the degenerative nervous disorder Huntingtons disease, and hospitalised, where he remained until his death on October 3, 1967. By that time his work had been discovered by a new audience, introduced to him through Bob Dylan who described Guthrie as "my last hero".
His son Arlo Guthrie has achieved some success as a singer as well.
In 1998, the British singer Billy Bragg released a number of previously unrecorded Woody Guthrie songs on the album "Mermaid Avenue", with the band Wilco. This was followed by "Mermaid Avenue II"