Woody Guthrie Foundation And Archives

«I’d like to dream /​My troubles all away/​
On a bed of California stars.
Jump up from my starbed/​
Make another day/​
Underneath my California stars.»
Was this your introduction to Woody Guthrie’s music? It was mine. Was it Jeff Tweedy’s voice you first heard performing classic Guthrie songs? Yep, I first heard the words of Woody Guthrie via Jeff Tweedy’s vocals
I grew up on alt country which is an amalgam of styles including Americana, country & western, folk, etc. The band Uncle Tupelo was an early performer of alt country and eventually that band split into two factions: Son Volt and Wilco. As you know, Wilco and British folkie Billy Bragg formed an unlikely alliance. They took old songs in which Woody Guthrie wrote the words but never set the music to and recorded them. The resulting album «Mermaid Avenue» became an instant classic and in my opinion is one of the top-​5 greatest CDs ever recorded.
That, as I mentioned above, was my introduction to Woody Guthrie.
He was born Woodrow Wilson Guthrie in Okemah, OK in 1912. His father taught him Western songs, Indian songs, and Scottish folk songs. Guthrie was always a keen observer of life around him and his wry sense of humor surfaces in his music. Okemah, OK was an oil boom town. When the oil stopped flowing, it’s residents were left «busted, disgusted, and not to be trusted.» The Guthrie family experienced severe financial ruin and Guthrie took to the open road.
Guthrie’s experiences were similar to the Joad family’s in the book «Grapes of Wrath». Listening to his music of the era, you can hear the similarities. Guthrie eventually landed a job in Los Angeles on radio station KFVD radio. He’d sing traditional songs as well as original material. This attracted the attention of the Okies who were living in migrant camps and picking fruit for pennies a day. It was during the Great Depression that perhaps Guthrie wrote his best material and «Dust Bowl Ballads» remains a classic.
The Woody Guthrie Foundation exists to preserve his legacy through the archiving of his recordings, photos, writings, letters, and artifacts. Preservation of Woody Guthrie’s legacy helps to broaden our cultural identity as Americans.
The Woody Guthrie Foundation’s purpose is not only to preserve his musical legacy but also to promote Woody Guthrie’s ideals and the social, political, and cultural values that he sang and wrote about in his songs and writings. Guthrie was an adamant supporter of of the poor and common man. He supported union organizers that were fighting for the rights of migrant workers in California’s agricultural communities. The proponents of the current anti-​labor movement would do well to remember the words of his song «I Guess I Planted»:
«Union song, union battle/​All added up/​Won us all we got now.»
Guthrie’s legacy lives on. Think about it! Without Woody Guthrie, no Bob Dylan. Without Woody Guthrie, no Bruce Springsteen. Not only has Wilco covered his material, so too has their predecessor band Uncle Tupelo. As for Son Volt, the other group that emerged from Uncle Tupelo, they have covered Guthrie songs too as well as naming one of their CDs «Okemah and the Melody of Riot». The Guthrie classic «This Land is Your Land», which like Springsteen’s «Born in the USA» is grotesquely misinterpreted, was recently performed at pro-​labor demonstrations in Madison, WI.
Woody Guthrie’s music remains as vital as ever. Preserve a part of our musical heritage and support the Foundation.