| Woody Guthrie |
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Woodrow Wilson Guthrie ( July 14 , 1912 – October 3 , 1967 ) was a prolific American songwriter and Folk Music ian. He described himself in one of his songs as "The Great Historical Bum",1 a first hand observer and survivor of the economic and environmental hardships of the Dust Bowl , which shook the Great Plains states during the Great Depression . Guthrie's body of music consists of hundreds of songs, Ballad s and improvised works. The breadth of his song topics ranged from political and traditional songs to children's songs. Guthrie performed constantly throughout his life; his guitar frequently sported the slogan "This Machine Kills Fascists". He is perhaps best known for his song " This Land Is Your Land ". Many of his songs are archived in recordings in the Library Of Congress and some such as "This Land" are regularly sung in US schools. He occasionally had regular radio shows and was a founding member of The Almanac Singers . Woody Guthrie traveled across the USA many times and spent much of his time on early trips learning traditional folk and blues songs and creating new American folk songs of working people. His travels frequently followed the movement of migrant workers across the great plains and in California . He was associated with and regularly performed for, but was never a member of, several Communist groups in the US throughout his life.http://www.loyno.edu/history/journal/1996-7/Spivey.html, {Link without Title} He had a great many odd jobs including sign painter, radio host, fruit picker, sailor, dish-washer, and soldier in the US army. He was married three times and fathered eight children, including American Folk musician Arlo Guthrie and is the grandfather of musician Sarah Lee Guthrie . Later in life, he developed symptoms of the degenerative neurologic affliction, Huntington's Disease . Like his mother, he eventually died from complications of this fatal Congenital disease. In spite of his illness, during his later years, he served as a figurehead in the folk movement providing inspiration to a generation of new folk musicians, including mentor relationships with Bob Dylan and Ramblin' Jack Elliot .2 BIOGRAPHY Early life ]] Guthrie was born in Okemah, Oklahoma to Nora Belle Sherman and Charles Edward Guthrie.3 His parents named him after Woodrow Wilson , who was elected President in the 1912 Election the same year Guthrie was born. His life seemed to be full of tragedy. His sister Clara died in a fire at their house when Guthrie was only seven. His father was also severely burned in a separate incident, while his mother was committed to the Oklahoma Hospital for the Insane, where she later died of Huntington's Disease , the same Genetic Disease Guthrie would eventually die of. It is suspected his grandfather (Nora's father, George Sherman) also suffered from this disease due to the circumstances of his death.4 Dust Bowl traveling era At age 19, he left home for Texas , where he met and married his first wife, Mary Jennings,5 with whom he had three children. Their relationship was always strained and Woody's constant traveling and moving of the family eventually wore down Mary's resolve; they were eventually divorced. He used his musical talents to earn money as a street musician and by doing small gigs. He left Texas and his family with the coming of the Dust Bowl era, following the Okies to California . The poverty he saw on these early trips affected him greatly, and many of his songs are concerned with the conditions faced by the Working Class . Radio years
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