''Bound for Glory'' is a 1956 album by

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

and

Will Geer Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, musician, and social activist, who was active in labor organizing and other movements in New York and Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s. In Ca ...

. It consists of a selection of songs from Guthrie's ''

Dust Bowl Ballads ''Dust Bowl Ballads'' is an album by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. It was released by Victor Records, in 1940. All the songs on the album deal with the Dust Bowl and its effects on the country and its people. It is considered to be one of ...

'' of 1940 and his Asch recordings of 1944–45, each introduced briefly by Geer with spoken relevant extracts from Guthrie's writings. By 1956, Guthrie was hospitalized with

Huntington's disease Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is a neurodegenerative disease that is mostly inherited. The earliest symptoms are often subtle problems with mood or mental abilities. A general lack of coordination and an unst ...

, a hereditary condition. On March 17, 1956, a

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

was held for his children at the Pythian Hall, New York City; at which Guthrie made one of his last public appearances, sitting in the audience. Various folk singers performed Guthrie's songs, interspersed with readings from Guthrie's writings selected by

Millard Lampell Millard Lampell (born Milton Lampell, January 23, 1919 – October 3, 1997) was an American movie and television screenwriter who first became publicly known as a member of the Almanac Singers in the 1940s. Early life and career Lampell was bor ...

, a former member with Guthrie and others of the

Almanac Singers The Almanac Singers was an American New York City-based folk music group, active between 1940 and 1943, founded by Millard Lampell, Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie. The group specialized in topical songs, mostly songs advocating an anti- ...

. The album ''Bound for Glory'' was compiled and released following that event. The title was taken from Guthrie's 1943 autobiography, '' Bound for Glory''. The album includes a cyclostyled booklet with an introduction by Lampell, and the spoken and sung words. It has been re-released several times.

Track listing

The album does not credit songwriters, but they are easy to identify. # "

Stagolee "Stagger Lee", also known as "Stagolee" and other variants, is a popular American folk song about the murder of Billy Lyons by "Stag" Lee Shelton, in St. Louis, Missouri, at Christmas 1895. The song was first published in 1911 and first recorded ...

" ( trad.) # Children's songs: ## "Little Sack of Sugar" (trad.) ## "Ship in the Sky" (Guthrie) ## "Swim, Swim, Swimmy I Swim" (trad.) # "

Vigilante Man "Vigilante Man" is a song by Woody Guthrie, recorded and released in 1940 as one of his ''Dust Bowl Ballads''. The song is about the hired thugs ("vigilantes") who would violently chase away migrants to California trying to escape the Dust Bowl, a ...

" (Guthrie) (One of the ''

'') # " Do Re Mi" (Guthrie) (One of the ''Dust Bowl Ballads'') # "

Pastures of Plenty "Pastures of Plenty" is a 1941 composition by Woody Guthrie. Describing the travails and dignity of migrant workers in North America, it is evocative of the world described in John Steinbeck's ''The Grapes of Wrath.'' The tune is based on the ball ...

" (Guthrie) # "

Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerhous ...

" (Guthrie) # "

This Land Is Your Land "This Land Is Your Land" is one of the United States' most famous folk songs. Its lyrics were written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie in 1940 in critical response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America", with melody based on a Carter Fam ...

" (Guthrie) # " Talking Fish Blues" (Guthrie) # "

The Sinking of the Reuben James "The Sinking of the Reuben James" is a song by Woody Guthrie about the sinking of the U.S. convoy escort , which was the first U.S. naval ship sunk by German U-boats in World War II. Woody Guthrie had started to write a song including each name o ...

" (Guthrie) # "

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

" (Guthrie) # " There's a Better World a-Coming" (Guthrie) There is an uncredited additional singer on "There's a Better World a-Coming", who may be Guthrie's frequent collaborator

Cisco Houston Gilbert Vandine "Cisco" Houston (August 18, 1918 – April 29, 1961) was an American folk singer and songwriter, who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie due to their extensive history of recording together. Houston was a regular recording ...

References

{{Authority control 1956 albums Woody Guthrie albums Folkways Records albums