Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday

    Today would have been Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday.

     Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie (July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer/song writer and folk musician whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his guitar. His best-known song is "This Land Is Your Land."  Such songwriters as Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, and Tom Paxton have acknowledged Guthrie as a major influence.
 
     Guthrie traveled with migrant workers from Oklahoma to California and learned traditional folk and blues songs. Many of his songs are about his experiences in the Dust Bowl era during the Great Depression, earning him the nickname the "Dust Bowl Troubadour."


     Guthrie was married three times and fathered eight children, including folk musician Arlo Guthrie.  Now that is the Guthrie I know about.  I wonder if Arlo is a 'chip off the ole' block'.

    Woody died from complications of Huntington's disease in 1967 and was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 1997.