Woody guthrie biography new york town

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    Woody Guthrie

    (1912-1967)

    Who Was Woody Guthrie?

    Woody Guthrie wrote more than 1,000 songs, including "So Long (It's Been Good to Know Yuh)" and "Union Maid." After serving in WWII, he continued to perform for farmer and worker groups. "This Land Is Your Land" was his most famous song, and it became an unofficial national anthem. His autobiography, Bound for Glory (1943), was filmed in 1976. His son Arlo also achieved success as a musician.

    Early Life

    Born on July 14, 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma, Woody Guthrie was the second son of Charles and Nora Belle Guthrie. The future folk hero was born just weeks after Woodrow Wilson was nominated as the Democratic candidate for president in 1912; as his namesake later told a crowd of concertgoers, "My father was a hard, fist-fighting Woodrow Wilson Democrat, so Woodrow Wilson was my name."

    Both parents were musically inclined and taught young Woody a wide array of folk tunes, songs that he soo

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    CHILDHOOD (1912–1931)

    Okemah, Oklahoma

    WOODY SEZ ~ "Okemah was one of the singingest, square dancingest, drinkingest, yellingest, preachingest, walkingest, talkingest, laughingest, cryingest, shootingest, fist fightingest, bleedingest, gamblingest, gun, club and razor carryingest of our ranch towns and farm towns because it blossomed out into one of our first Oil Boom Towns."

    Woodrow efternamn Guthrie was born on July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma. He was the second-born son of Charles and Nora Belle Guthrie. His father – a cowboy, land speculator, and local politician – taught Woody Western songs, Indian songs, and Scottish folk tunes. His Kansas-born mother, also musically inclined, had an equally profound effect on Woody.

    Slightly built, with an extremely full and curly head of hair, Woody was a precocious and unconventional boy from the start. Always a keen observer of the world around him, the people, music and landscape he was exposed to made lasting impressions on him

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    My Name Is New York: Ramblin' Around Woody Guthrie's Town

    "My name is New York, I'm a brick on a brick
    I'm a hundred folks running, and ten dying sick
    I'm a saint, I'm a sinner, a whore and her pimp
    Your ocean's the mirror I look in to primp.
    "--"My Name Is New York," Woody Guthrie
    Dust bowl troubadour Woody Guthrie first arrived in New York City on February 16, 1940. Although he continued to ramble, for 27 years-- from 1940 until his death in 1967--New York was the city he called home and always returned to.
    For the first time, this wonderful New York story comes to life with historical photos, documents, and previously unpublished lyrics from the Woody Guthrie Archives. Highlighting 19 significant locations, this little guide provides an expansive yet intimate portrait of Woody Guthrie's NYC life. We invite you to walk the streets, ride the buses and subways, or sit down and relax on some of the stoops, park benches, or beaches where Woody Guthrie did--always strum

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