Remembering Woody Guthrie on his 100th birthday

Hour 2

The songs of Woody Guthrie are an essential part of the American songbook, and chronicle his times and their roiling politics, natural disasters and sweeping changes. From his early Dust Bowl ballads to his union songs to antiwar and war-effort supporting songs, from romantic odes to silly children’s songs, to his best-known work, America’s alternative national anthem, “This Land Is Your Land,” Guthrie’s work is celebrated and sung still. Saturday marks 100 years since he was born, and on today’s Radio Times, we look back on the folksinging troubador’s life, legend, legacy and music, with his daughter NORA GUTHRIE, co-founder of the Woody Guthrie Archive and president of his Foundation, who has dedicated the last two decades to spreading her father’s messages and music; and ROBERT SANTELLI, executive director of the Grammy Museum, and co-chairman of “Woody at 100” – a partnership between the Grammy Museum and the Woody Guthrie Archives producing numerous events celebrating Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday throughout 2012 across America and internationally.

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[audio: 070912_110630.mp3]