Saturday, February 09, 2008

Woody Guthrie Nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award

It's been 40 years since he died, but folk music pioneer Woody Guthrie is nominated for a 2008 Grammy award for a rare live recording of his, The Live Wire - Woody Guthrie In Performance 1949.

A native of Okema, Oklahoma, Guthrie is known for many classic American songs, most notably This Land Is Your Land. When he died of Huntington's Chorea in 1967, he left behind hundreds of lyrics for songs.

Woody's son Arlo Guthrie was a popular folk singer in the 1960s and 1970s who is best known for the song "Alice's Restaurant." Woody's daughter Nora Guthrie manages the Woody Guthrie archives, and about a decade ago she enlisted the British singer Billy Bragg and the American alt-country band Wilco to put music to some of the many pages of lyrics by Woody Guthrie that had no music. You can learn more about Woody Guthrie and his archives at www.woodyguthrie.org.

Sarah Lee Guthrie, a daughter of Arlo Guthrie, makes music with her husband Johnny Irion.

Woody Guthrie died of Huntington’s Chorea in Queens, NY on October 3, 1967. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 in the "Early Influence" category.

The 1976 biography "Bound for Glory" starred David Carradine as Woody Guthrie.

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