Music commentary #26

   Woody Guthrie. If you are a Van Halen fan you do not know him, with all likelihood. If Merle Haggard and Johnny Paycheck sang your anthems you are not aware of him, with all likelihood. If George Benson and Chuck Mangione were your major interests, then, Guthrie was not on your radar, most likely. However, for fans of Odetta and Phil Ochs and Tom Paxton? Here would be persons versed, somewhat, in Woody Guthrie. Even rock music fans of Bob Dylan (not the early folkie fans) would know OF Woodie, though in a limited way. I remember becoming a bit intoxicated with Dylan. His first 4 albums would leave a real imprint on my musical directions. I began writing songs in a different way. I started delving deeper into acoustic guitar-driven approaches. I BOUGHT A HARP RACK and HARMONICAS. I drove from my Tennessee to New York and performed at a “hoot night” on Gerde’s Folk City stage. But, before these developments happened, I routed backward from Dylan to HIS massive influence, Woody Guthrie. I read his book, Bound For Glory. I got my hands on some of his recordings. I familiarized myself with the social atmosphere that permeated his work, be it songs or poetry or other writings. It changed me. I could sense his influence on OTHERS, at that point. When I heard Johnny Rivers or CCR doing The Midnight Special I no longer heard a Rock’n Roll or R&B record. I knew it was credited to Leadbelly, and understood the historicity around the song message. Guthrie and Leadbelly were friends and I knew that. When I heard Bruce Springsteen’s super-stripped down acoustic album, Nebraska, it had Guthrie’s influence all over it. And, I was quite sure Bruce had found him by tracking backward from Dylan (like me). The idea that music could be taken into the underbelly of this world, and performed with a purpose that was centered around the betterment of people, was a game-changer for me. The notion of singing about the poor, the abused, the powerless-it all left an impression. I came to realize the blemishes of Guthrie, too. The man who felt so determined to sing and write for the downtrodden while leaving his wife and kids at home to fend for themselves-that brought on a shock for me. But, where did his life-ending disease start to affect his actions? Huntington’s Chorea would take Woody’s life at a young age. By then, his influence would have reverberated in a large way. Millions of people would hear lyrics in countless writer’s songs, lyrics that would cause much thought and soul searching. It is in stuff I write and perform today, though most folks do not think of it. In some cases, I will perform a Woody Guthrie song outright, such as So Long It’s Been Good To Know You, Union Maid, Curly Headed Baby, This Land Is Your Land.

Leave a comment