THE WOODY GUTHRIE CENTENNIAL
This Saturday, July 14, is the 100th birthday of Woody Guthrie. To name a few of his memorable songs—“This Land Is Your Land,” “Pretty Boy Floyd,” “Pastures of Plenty,” “I Ain’t Got No Home in This World Anymore,” “Deportee,” “Grand Coulee Dam,” “Do Re Mi” and “Riding in My Car”—is to barely scratch the surface of his overwhelming body of work. He also published books, including Bound for Glory, and left hundreds of recordings, wonderful drawings and lyrics behind.
Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection (Smithsonian Folkways, book with 3 CDs, $64.98) is a very special commemorative collection of songs, photos, drawings and essays. The 150-page large-format (LP-size) book also contains three CDs with 57 tracks. They include Woody’s most important recordings throughout his entire career, 21 previously unreleased performances and six never-before-heard original songs, including Woody’s first known—and recently discovered—recordings from 1939.
We have a few 16”x20” posters as a give-away for folks who buy Woody at 100.
The Smithsonian Folkways website has a making-of video including interviews with archivist and project co-producer Jeff Place and engineer Pete Reiniger (http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=3367 ).
Both the Washington Post (last Tuesday, (http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/woody-guthrie-at-100-american-struggles-and-dreams/2012/07/09/gJQAI82MYW_story.html ) and the New York Times (next Sunday, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/arts/music/your-land-and-woody-guthries-preserved.html?pagewanted=1&ref=music ) have good articles on Woody’s life and influence, and the Folkways commemorative set
In other exciting news, historian Douglas Brinkley just found a long-lost Guthrie novel, House of Earth, and is readying it for publication (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/books/review/woody-guthries-dust-bowl-novel.html?ref=books ).
For more information on the Woody Guthrie Centennial, please visit (www.woody100.com ).
