Page 1 of 1

Woody Guthrie

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 11:59 am
by KarenZ
Folks,

No Woody Guthrie thread until now? :shock:

This from the latest FolkWax e-zine. Jela, did you know?

U.K.-based arts organization Interplay will stage the U.K. premiere of This Land - The Story Of Woody Guthrie at Wakefield's Theatre Royal on April 25. The show tracks the career of the American Folk icon from the dustbowls of Oklahoma to the bright lights of New York City. The show is performed in a unique portable dome that has been custom-built for Interplay's productions and can accommodate up to 100 audience members.

"It's a bit like sitting in a large canvas igloo," explained Interplay's Artistic Director Steve Byrne. "The audience are so close to the action that they become totally immersed in the performance which transports them back through time to the dust storms and depression of 1930s America."

The show was researched and written by Byrne and all the songs and words are taken from recordings of Guthrie's interviews and performances. The result is an atmospheric interweaving of his life story told mainly through the medium of his songs, and centers on Huntington's Chorea, the hereditary degenerative illness from which both Guthrie and his mother died. Each of the four male actors in the show plays Guthrie at different stages of his life and a single actress takes on the role of all Woody's female relatives and wives.

To book tickets for Wakefield Theatre Royal, contact the box office on 01924 211 311. Further confirmed dates so far include Dorchester Arts Festival May 28, Exeter Festival June 18, Glastonbury Festival June 22-24, and Crawley Folk Festival June 29. For more information on Interplay call 01484 683756.


KarenZ

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:38 pm
by paddyinthepub
Karen,

I was wondering the same exact thing not that long ago..... :shock:

Like ~ hey wait a minute...we don't have a thread for Woody Guthrie!!

Thanks for starting this one up....long overdue. :D

Now that we are here..... Did anyone see the movie based on Woody's early days? It's called "Bound For Glory" and starred David Carradine. I saw it a very long time ago, when it was in theatres. Finally saw it for a second time on cable tv recently...with a whole new appreciation. :D

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:00 pm
by KarenZ
Paddy,

I'm embarrassed to say I've never seen the movie. Did you know it's based on a book of the same title? - Woody's autobiography. And Jimmy LaFave opened just about every Ribbon of Highway show with the song by the same name. It starts with the line "this train is bound for glory, this train". I love hearing Jimmy sing it.....and each of the other ROH members each taking a verse - including Mr. Paul. :)

KarenZ

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:09 pm
by paddyinthepub
I saw it moons ago and likely because it starred the guy from Kung Fu!!! Not sure I knew much about Woody other than he wrote "This Land is your Land." As I watched again recently I wondered what the family or folks in the know or even just purists thought about the movie. I for one enjoyed it very much, though it seemed a bit slicked up for Hollywood.

I'll try and see when it airs agian and post a heads up so we can maybe all get a chance to see it again and discuss the film a bit. :wink:

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 11:40 am
by Richard + Jela
Karen - no I hadn't seen it but Richard had and initially thought that the Ribbon of Highway Tour was coming to England!!!!! No such luck.

The show mentioned looks very good and one of the places it's being performed is only a few miles from home so we will investigate further.

Jela

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:16 pm
by bonuela
Karen,

That song is an old favorite of mine from Alarm shows. I never knew it was Woody. :oops:

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 5:37 pm
by KarenZ
Bonnie,

I was a late-bloomer when it comes to Woody too - no need to feel :oops: We can't know everything - thank goodness! :)

KarenZ

Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 9:25 am
by paddyinthepub
The eye opener for me with the movie on Woody's life was how controlling the station management figures were at trying to get Woody to play the songs they thought their audiences would enjoying hearing versus the songs Woody thought the live radio audiences ought to hear.

It reminded me a little of the movie version of Howard Stern's book where the controls freaks at the radio station would try their best to persuade him to tone it down...which he rarely did.

Or even the movie version of Good Morning Vietnam....about an American Armed Forces Radio disc jockey "in country" and spinning tunes and jokes for the troops. A great movie starring Robin Williams. Loved the way they tried, in vain, to have him tone it down.

Oh that Woody...what a trendsetter!!!

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 12:43 pm
by KarenZ
JayceK wrote:I found this small article in a local paper here in Edmond a few weeks ago and I thought yall'd (translated: you all would :wink: ) be interested in it. To paraphrase:

On September 6 a previously unheard 75 minute Woody Guthrie concert, recorded in 1949 at Fuld Hall in Newark, N.J., will be released with an accompanying 72 page booklet. The concert features Woody and his second wife Marjorie Mazia, who acted as a sort of master of ceremonies, constantly keeping Woody on task as he tended to get off track talking and telling stories. The recording will feature "Black Diamond" a song music historians thought Woody never recorded.
The article also mentions how sound engineers painstakingly worked to transfer and remaster the concert that was originally recorded on a delicate "recording wire".

This is the first time a live Woody Guthrie concert has been commercially released. It seems really interesting to me, I can't wait to pick it up in September.

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 12:53 pm
by KarenZ
Thanks for the heads-up Jayce! I found a bit more info on the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives website:

The Live Wire: Woody Guthrie in Performance 1949

KarenZ

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:26 pm
by danaj
I wonder, is this the recording that Arlo played last year for the folks at the Wed. night benefit? If so, it is really worth a listen!

Also, for those of you in Okieland :wink:

On August 5 @ 2PM the OKC Museum of Art will be showing "Bound for Glory" as part of the Oklahoma Centennial Film Series. The link to their site is http://okcmoa.org

I'm going... any other takers?

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 9:44 am
by KarenZ
Dana,

Goodness you have a good memory! Yes, I do believe you're right....Arlo played a snippet of the recording last year. :)

KarenZ

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 12:31 pm
by KarenZ
Folks,

On Sept. 2 the New York Times published an article about Woody - to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his death coming up on Oct. 3 and the just-released first live recording ever of Woody.

Dead 40 Years, Woody Guthrie Stays Busy -- GEOFFREY HIMES

KarenZ

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 11:24 am
by KarenZ
Folks,

John Platt of WFUV interviewed Nora Guthrie, Woody's daughter, on City Folk this past Sunday. You can listen to the interview at the link below.

http://wfuv.venaca.com/archive/7398.asx

KarenZ

Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 11:14 am
by paddyinthepub
I was unaware of this Woody Guthrie fact -- until I heard Ellis tell the tale to Barry Nolan the other night when talking about "God's Promise" -- that Woody only recorded 90 songs -- out of the 1,000 or so that he wrote -- due to a lack of access to recording equipment.

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 8:56 am
by KarenZ
Folks,

Great news! Woody's 1949 live performance released this year has been nominated for a 2008 Grammy in the Historical Category (See Category 91.)! The awards ceremony will be broadcast on Feb. 10, 2008.

http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/50th_Show/list.aspx

KarenZ

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 11:28 am
by KarenZ
Folks,

I wrote an article for Wikipedia about the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival that morphed into me helping write/edit the Woody Guthrie Wikipedia article, which was already fairly substantial. I did alot of copyediting, adding references and added the sections about the festival (that's what started it!), the Tribute section, the section about the Foundation and the Posthumous Honors section. Over the last couple months I and one other primary editor have worked to bring it up to speed. We asked for Peer Review (Dec. 15) which was fairly brutal then finally submitted the article to be considered a Feature Article (Jan. 9) which was even more brutal!

From Wikipedia:

Featured articles are considered to be the best articles in Wikipedia, as determined by Wikipedia's editors. Before being listed here, articles are reviewed at Wikipedia:Featured article candidates for accuracy, neutrality, completeness, and style according to our featured article criteria.

At present, there are 1,866 featured articles, of a total of 2,203,526 articles on Wikipedia.

The good news is that today the Woody Guthrie article was promoted to Feature Article status....which means that Woody now has a gold star above his head! ....just like Ellis Paul! :-)

Check it out! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie

KarenZ

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:09 pm
by AndaleOrbea
Well done Karen! Congrats on all your hard work and to your colleagues who have helped too.
Dean

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:15 pm
by Patti
A gold star for them, a gold halo for Karen!! Congratulations Karen :)

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:57 pm
by paddyinthepub
Have just finished reading the wiki article on Woody Guthrie -- wow!!

Moving on to the wiki article on Woodyfest.... :D

Great work Karen, and all, as far as I can tell, anonymously. :shock:

We know better!!! :wink: Hope you are squeezing in some time to write your story, too!!! They say everyone has a book in them, and I look forward to the day I can sit down and read yours!!! 8)

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:14 pm
by KarenZ
Thanks, everybody. :)

You're right, Paddy....there are no "by-lines" in Wikipedia since the encyclopedia is a collaborative effort. Editors often note their interests on their user-page along with what articles they've helped with, any article accomplishments and anything else they want the world to know about them. Many editors remain totally anonymous. I'm still learning about the Wiki environment. Much too much to learn! :)

KarenZ

Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:14 am
by KarenZ
Folks,

Woody's The Live Wire won a Grammy last night in the category Best Historical Album! :D

Levon Helm won for Best Traditional Folk and Steve Earle for Best Contemporary Folk.

See the complete list of winners here. (Category 68-69 for Folk; Category 91 for Woody's win.)

2008 Grammy winners

KarenZ

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 10:20 am
by KarenZ
Hey everybody,

Just learned that the Woody Guthrie Wikipedia article has been chosen to appear as Today's Feature Article TOMORROW - Jan. 10, 2009! This means that for 24 hours the Woody Guthrie article will be on Wikipedia's Main Page! This is a really big deal since you really have to jump through hoops with the Wikipedia folks to: 1) receive the Feature Article designation, 2) nominate an article for the Main Page, and 3) be chosen for the Main Page! The Woody Guthrie article received the Feature Article designation Feb. 1, 2008 (one month after I nominated it) so it's pretty exciting that less than a year later it will be featured on the Main Page! :)

KarenZ

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 10:25 am
by Patti
Very Good Karen, nice to know.. I believe that makes Woody the 3rd Folk singer to be on the feature page, Bob Dylan and Ellis Paul being the other 2, mighty fine company for sure..what a trio they would have been :shock:

you know, with today's technology ... :wink:

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 1:20 pm
by KarenZ
Wow. This is stunning. Just learned that Bruce Sprinsteen will perform Woody's "This Land is Your Land" at WE ARE ONE: THE OBAMA INAUGURAL CELEBRATION AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL, the Opening Celebration for the 56th Presidential Inaugural, to be presented exclusively by HBO on Sunday, January 18 (7:00-9:00pm ET/PT). The event will be free and open to the public, kicking off the most open and accessible Inauguration in history.

Presidential Inaugural Committee Press Release

KarenZ

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 2:13 pm
by PotatoPicker
Way cool. Way to go Bruce.

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 2:51 pm
by KarenZ
Way to go, Woody. ;)

KarenZ

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 3:13 pm
by KarenZ
Looks like NPR will also broadcast the event (thankfully!) for those of us who don't get HBO. :)

NPR Broadcasts A Star-Studded Concert; President-Elect Obama Speaks

KarenZ

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 3:50 pm
by paddyinthepub
Ellis Paul so needs to crash this party......Jennifer Nettles will be there to vouch if necessary. Hec, the governor of Maine could put in a good word. Flynn, call Cher. If ever there was a time or place to hear Ellis sing his song The Million Chameleon March it is here and it is now. Can I get an amen?

“We have found that the great artists are eager to take part and each one is working with us to find music that expresses the optimism and hope that people bring to the Obama inauguration,“ said Michael Stevens.

Televised to the nation, the Opening Celebration will be a declaration of common purpose and new beginnings. The Sunday afternoon performance will be grounded in history and brought to life with entertainment that relates to the themes that shaped Barack Obama and which will be the hallmarks of his administration.

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 3:52 pm
by bonuela
My newlywed/EP Devotee/Virginia residing friend will be attending this. The claustrophobe in me says she's crazy, the music lover in me is jealous!!

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 4:07 pm
by KarenZ
Amen! :mrgreen:

Sue Ellen and I considered going to the inaugural parade for about a second, then both decided we couldn't handle being in a crowd of millions.......although if they were chameleons........

:D

KarenZ

paddyinthepub wrote:Ellis Paul so needs to crash this party......Jennifer Nettles will be there to vouch if necessary. Hec, the governor of Maine could put in a good word. Flynn, call Cher. If ever there was a time or place to hear Ellis sing his song The Million Chameleon March it is here and it is now. Can I get an amen?

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:15 am
by KarenZ
Folks,

According to the link below, even HBO non-subscribers will be able to watch today's inaugural celebration! :) (2:30pm EST - repeating at 7pm and 11:30pm)

Inauguration Schedule of Events

KarenZ

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 12:48 pm
by paddyinthepub
can you say tivo?

thanks Karen......that's awesome!!! :D

too bad they can't go live by satellite to Stonybrook, NY to have Ellis sing:

Million Chameleon March

betcha Ellis improvises it into the set today...... :wink:

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:17 am
by KarenZ
Folks,

Wow. It was more thrilling than expected with Pete Seeger's presence with The Boss:

Pete Seeger, Tao Rodriguez, Bruce Springsteen perform "This Land is Your Land" at the Lincoln Memorial

Did any of you watch the whole show? It was wonderful.

KarenZ

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 12:18 pm
by paddyinthepub
Caught bits and pieces...Garth Brooks and tail end of Pete and Bruce.

Football won out....will try and catch encore airings!!! 8)

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 2:24 pm
by Richard + Jela
Ha Ha well we tried to watch it over the Internet knowing that HBO was making it available but we had to register a US email and ZIP code so as my mantra is 'rules are made to be broken' I cheated but we still couldn't get any coverage. The system obviously recognised that our PC wasn't a US based one!!!!

Watched the Inaugaration on TV this afternoon though - amazing scenes....how many people are reported to have been in DC for that??? Looks like hundreds of thousands.

Thanks for the link to 'This Land' just wonderful to see those guys together singing Woody's song.

Jela

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 10:18 am
by KarenZ
Thanks to Patti for sending me this link! :)

Folk Alley's 100 Most Essential Folk Songs

Woody is at the top of the list....and appears on the list four times! :shock:

KarenZ

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 5:38 pm
by Patti
He's like the father of folk!! I was happy to see John Gorka's Love is Our Cross to Bear, Love that song as well as many others on the list.. I read a bunch of the comments left by others.. seems there really can be no definitive list... I agree... but it is nice list just the same!!


Happy Dad's Day...

Re: Woody Guthrie

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:19 am
by KarenZ
In the Summer 2010 issue of Sing Out!, The Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archive has a full-page ad. It's kinda cool since it includes EP's name.......which appears in the lower right-hand corner. It took me a while to realize that all the artists' names are listed alphabetically around the perimeter. :-)

See attached file.

KarenZ