EncyclopediaGuthrie, Woody
Guthrie, Woody (Woodrow Wilson Guthrie), 1912–67, American folk singer, guitarist, and composer, b. Okemah, Okla. Having learned harmonica as a boy and guitar as an adolescent, Guthrie was an itinerant musician and laborer from the age of 13. He was always deeply involved in union and left-wing politics, and he wrote many of his over 1,000 published songs on themes of social injustice, poverty, and politics. A friend of Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, and Ramblin Jack Elliott, Guthrie exerted a strong influence on younger performers, notably Bob Dylan. His most famous song is probably “This Land Is Your Land.”
See his autobiography, Bound for Glory (1943, rev. ed. 1968); biographies by J. Klein (1980) and E. Cray (2004); R. Shelton, ed., Born to Win (1965); H. Yurchenco and M. Guthrie, A Mighty Hard Road (1970).
Guthrie's son, Arlo Guthrie,. 1947–, b. New York City, is also a folk singer and composer. He is best known for “Alice's Restaurant,” a rambling, witty song that was the basis of a motion picture in which he starred (1969).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on Woody Guthrie from Infoplease:
- July 14 Birthdays: Woody Guthrie - July 14 birthdays: Woody Guthrie, Maulana Karenga, Gertrude Bell, Emmeline Pankhurst, James McNeill Whistler, Gerald R. Ford, Ingmar Bergman
- Woody Guthrie - Woody Guthrie (Woodrow Wilson Guthrie) folk singer, composer, songwriter Born: 7/14/1912 ...
- Woody Guthrie - Biography of Woody Guthrie, The guy who wrote "This Land Is Your Land"
- 1940 – 1949 World History - 1940 – 1949 World History Winston Churchill (1874–1965) National Archives and Records ...
- American Folklore - all about folklore
