Today in Music History: Remembering Woody Guthrie
July 14, 2015
History Highlight:
Woodrow "Woody" Guthrie, the American singer-songwriter and folk music legend, was born in Okemah, Okla., today in 1912. Many of his songs are about his experiences in the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression, when Guthrie traveled with migrant workers from Oklahoma to California and learned their traditional folk and blues songs, earning him the nickname, "the Dust Bowl Troubadour." Guthrie died from complications of Huntington's disease, a progressive genetic neurological disorder. During his later years, in spite of his illness, Guthrie served as a figurehead in the folk movement, providing inspiration to a generation of new folk musicians, including mentor relationships with Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Bob Dylan.
Guthrie's best-known song is "This Land Is Your Land." Many of his recorded songs are archived in the Library of Congress. Songwriters Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Bruce Springsteen, Harry Chapin, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, Andy Irvine, Joe Strummer, Billy Bragg, Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, Bob Childers and Tom Paxton have all acknowledged Guthrie as a major influence.
Also, Today In:
1962 - Bobby Vinton started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Roses Are Red, My Love."
1967 - In another great concert mismatch of the rock ages, The Who opened for Herman's Hermits on their first U.S. tour.
1973 - Clarence White of The Byrds was loading equipment after a gig in Palmdale, Calif., when he was struck and killed by a drunk driver.
1973 - During a concert at the John Wayne Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., Phil Everly smashed his guitar and stormed off stage. Don Everly finished the set by himself and announced that The Everly Brothers had split.
1979 - Donna Summer scored her third No. 1 U.S. single with "Bad Girls"; the album of the same name also started a five-week run at No. 1.
1982 - The film premiere of Pink Floyd's The Wall was held at the Empire in London's Leicester Square.
Birthdays:
Tanya Donelly, singer for The Breeders, Throwing Muses, and Belly, is 49 today.
Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons is 28.