Without Woody Guthrie, America would be a different place. He wrote some of our most cherished songs, and his music influenced many other singer-songwriters. He was unabashedly liberal, and his support of the working man gave others courage to take the same stand. So, it’s hard to believe that his career as a performer was so short. He wrote his best known songs while he was in his twenties, and by his late thirties, he was dealing with the effects Huntington’s Disease, which ultimately killed him.
For over a decade, Woody’s daughter Nora has been trying to get some of her father’s unfinished work into the reocrding studio, letting contemporary musicians set his lyrics to music. The latest offering in that vein is titled, “Note of Hope,” and it features Jackson Browne, Pete Seeger, Ani DiFranco, Tom Morello and many others.
The CD kicks off a celebration of Woody’s centennial — 2012. You can click here for a list of dates and locations for celebrations throught the year.
And click here for other CDs that feature lyrics by Woody Guthrie.