The Woody Guthrie Foundation, founded in 1972, is a non-profit organization which formerly served as administrator and caretaker of the

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 ...

Archives. The Foundation was originally based in Brooklyn, New York and directed by Woody Guthrie's daughter Nora Guthrie. The foundation's archives were acquired by the Tulsa-based

George Kaiser George Bruce Kaiser (born October 30, 1943) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of BOK Financial Corporation in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As of September 2021, he is the 476th richest person in the world and was, in 2012, one of ...

Foundation. in 2013. The Center officially opened on April 27, 2013. The Woody Guthrie Center features, in addition to the archives, a museum focused on the life and the influence of Guthrie through his music, writings, art, and political activities. The museum is open to the public. On September 6, 2007, Woody Guthrie Publications, in cooperation with the Woody Guthrie Foundation released ''The Live Wire: Woody Guthrie in Performance 1949'', accompanied by a 72-page book describing the performance and the project. Paul Braverman, a student at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

in 1949, made the recordings himself using a small wire recorder at a Guthrie concert in Newark, New Jersey. On February 10, 2008, the release was the recipient of a Grammy Award in the category Best Historical Album.

The Woody Guthrie Archives

Dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of information about Guthrie's vast cultural legacy, the Woody Guthrie Archives houses the largest collection of Woody Guthrie material in the world. The archives opened to the public in New York City in 1996. The archives were subsequently moved to the new Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2013. The archives are open only to researchers by appointment. The archives contains thousands of items related to Guthrie, including original artwork, books, correspondence, lyrics, manuscripts, media, notebooks, periodicals, personal papers, photographs, scrapbooks, and other special collections. Nora Guthrie opened up the Foundation's archives to musicians of many types, who she encouraged to write and record music for the many hundreds of Woody Guthrie's written lyrics. Following Woody Guthrie's death, many of these lyrics were without surviving melodies, as Woody did not write musical notation and never recorded (or taught anyone) the majority of his original compositions. In 1995, Nora Guthrie had invited alternative folk-rocker Billy Bragg to select some lyrics from the archive to be set to music and then to be recorded commercially. Bragg then invited the

alt-country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

band

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...

to help complete the project. Wilco and Bragg released 2 acclaimed "Mermaid Avenue" albums in 1998 and 2000, using Woody's lyrics set to their own musical compositions. Also, a film documentary

Man in the Sand ''Man in the Sand'' is a 1999 documentary that functions as both a biography of American folk singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie and a chronicle of the creation of the Billy Bragg & Wilco ''Mermaid Avenue'' albums ('' Vol. I'' (1998), '' Vol. II'' ...

. was released documenting not only the making of the Mermaid Avenue albums but also Bragg's exploration of Woody Guthrie's origins in hometown

Okemah, Oklahoma Okemah ( or ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the birthplace of folk music legend Woody Guthrie. Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, a federally recognized Muscogee Indian tribe, is headquartered ...

. Many other collaborative projects by others have followed.

Posthumous collaborations

Following is a comprehensive list of commercial recordings containing songs which have lyrics written by Woody Guthrie and music subsequently written by others: * 1989 (recorded in 1975) - Country Joe McDonald - "Woman at Home", (single track, appearing on a compilation album ''A Tribute to Woody Guthrie'') * 1998 - Billy Bragg &

- ''

Mermaid Avenue ''Mermaid Avenue'' is a 1998 album of previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, put to music written and performed by British singer Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco. The project was the first of several ...

'' (

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

), with guest vocalist Natalie Merchant on tracks 3 & 4. * 1999 - Billy Bragg & Wilco - ''She Came Along to Me'' ( EP) - the title track is a single from the 1998 album, with alternate versions of 2 other tracks from that album, plus 2 additional tracks that were later included in Volume III. * 1999 - Red Dirt Rangers - "Cadillac Eight" (single track, on their album ''Rangers Command''). * 1999 - Billy Bragg & the Blokes - "All You Fascists" (

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

), this is the B-side of "Upfield" and is a loping-rhythm version of the song which was rendered with a more driving rhythm on Mermaid Avenue Vol. II. The Blokes single version also appeared on disc 2 of the 2003 Billy Bragg compilation album ''Must I Paint You a Picture''. * 2000 - Billy Bragg & Wilco - ''

Mermaid Avenue Vol. II ''Mermaid Avenue Vol. II'' is a 2000 album (music), album of previously unheard lyrics written by United States, American folk music, folk singer Woody Guthrie, put to music written and performed by United Kingdom, British singer Billy Bragg an ...

'' (album), with guest vocalists Natalie Merchant and

Corey Harris Corey Harris (born February 21, 1969, in Denver, Colorado, United States) is an American blues and reggae musician, currently residing in Charlottesville, Virginia. Along with Keb' Mo' and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he raised the flag of acoustic ...

featured on one track each - this album was culled from the same recording sessions as the 1998 album. * 2000 -

Arlo Guthrie Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his father, Woody Guthrie. Gu ...

and various artists - ''Till We Outnumber 'Em'' (album) - (this is mostly not Woody's songs, but one track is Billy Bragg's vocal of "Aginst th' Law", previously sung by Corey Harris). * 2000 -

Slaid Cleaves Slaid Cleaves is an American singer-songwriter born in Washington, D.C. and raised in South Berwick, Maine and Round Pond, Maine, United States. An alumnus of Tufts University, where he majored in English and philosophy, Cleaves lives in Aus ...

- "This Morning I Am Born Again" (single track, on his album ''Broke Down'') * 2000 - The Vanaver Caravan - ''Pastures of Plenty'' (album) - this is mostly Woody Guthrie covers, but 2 of the songs ("Gipsies Fortune" and "Just One More Time") have melodies written by Bill Vanaver. * 2000 - The Autumn Defense - "Revolutionary Mind" (single track on their album ''The Green Hour''). * 2000 - Joel Rafael Band - a cover of the Bragg/Guthrie song "Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key" (single track, on their album ''Hopper''). * 2001 - Kim Wilson - 2 songs ("Bigger" and "New Baby Train") on a multiple-artist collection of Woody's children's songs called ''Daddy-O Daddy''. These are the only songs that are not straight Woody Guthrie covers (tune of "Bigger" and part of the tune of "New Baby Train" written by Frankie Fuchs). * 2002 -

Ellis Paul Ellis Paul (born Paul Plissey; January 14, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born in Presque Isle, Aroostook County, Maine, Paul is a key figure in what has become known as the Boston school of songwriting, a literate, ...

- "God's Promise" (single track, on his album ''The Speed of Trees'') * 2002 -

Jay Bennett Jay Walter Bennett (November 15, 1963 – May 24, 2009) was an American multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the band Wilco from 1994 to 2001. Biography Early life and work with Wilco Jay ...

& Edward Burch - ''The Palace At 4AM (Part 1)'' contains two songs, "No Church Tonite" and "Little White Cottage" with music written by Bennett * 2003 - Jay Bennett & Edward Burch - ''Palace 1919'' contains demos/alternate versions of "No Church Tonite" and "Little White Cottage" * 2003 - Hans-Eckardt Wenzel - ''Ticky Tock'' (album, English and German versions) Wenzel's music for this project is in the style of classic Weimar cabaret, complete with tuba and a brass section. * 2003 - Blackfire - ''Woody Guthrie Singles'' (EP) * 2003 - Anti-Flag - "Post-War Breakout" (single track, on their album ''The Terror State'') * 2003 - Dropkick Murphys - "Gonna Be a Blackout Tonight" (single track, on their album ''Blackout'') * 2003 -

Joel Rafael Joel Rafael is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician from San Diego County, California. Rafael's second volume to celebrate the songs of Woody Guthrie, was released on Appleseed in 2005. The first volume, ''Woodeye'', was released o ...

- ''Woodeye: Songs of Woody Guthrie'' (album) - (This album includes 12 Guthrie covers, 1 Rafael original and 1 collaboration: "Dance a Little Longer".) * 2004 -

Eliza Gilkyson Eliza Gilkyson (born August 24, 1950, Hollywood, California) is a Taos, New Mexico-based folk musician.Gilkyson moved her base from Austin, Texas, to Taos in 2020. She is the daughter of songwriter and folk musician Terry Gilkyson and his wife, J ...

- "Peace Call" (single track, on her album ''Land of Milk and Honey'') * 2004 -

Janis Ian Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child, Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" an ...

- "I Hear You Sing Again" (single track, on her album ''Billie's Bones'') * 2004 -

- ''Bigger Than Blue'' contains "Cajun Angel" with music written by Bennett * 2005 -

John McCutcheon John McCutcheon (born August 14, 1952) is an American folk music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has produced 41 albums since the 1970s. He is regarded as a master of the hammered dulcimer, and is also proficient on many other i ...

- ''Mightier Than the Sword'' (album) - this contains 2 songs with words by Guthrie and music by McCutcheon: "Harness Up the Day" and "Old Cap Moore" * 2005 -

Ray Wylie Hubbard Ray Wylie Hubbard (born November 13, 1946) is an American singer and songwriter. Early life Hubbard was born in the town of Soper, Oklahoma. His family moved to Oak Cliff in southwest Dallas, Texas, in 1954. He attended W. H. Adamson High Scho ...

- cover of Slaid Cleaves' "This Morning I am Born Again", (single track) ( a cappella group sing) on his album ''Delirium Tremolos''. * 2005 - Joel Rafael - ''Woodyboye: Songs Of Woody Guthrie And Tales Worth Telling, Vol. 2'' (album) - (This album is a mix of Woody Guthrie covers and 4 posthumous collaborations.) * 2005 - The Italian Celtic band Modena City Ramblers recorded Billy Bragg's 1998 version of "All You Fascists" as a single track on their album ''Appunti Partigiani'' * 2005 - Dropkick Murphies - "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" (single track on their album ''The Warrior's Code'') * 2005 - Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - "This Land Is Your Land" (single track on their album ''Naturally'') - essentially they discarded Woody's tune for this song and created a new hiphop setting. The track was used as theme music over the opening credits for the 2022 Showtime TV series The First Lady. * 2006 - Klezmatics - ''

Wonder Wheel The Wonder Wheel is a eccentric Ferris wheel at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park at Coney Island in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The wheel is located on a plot bounded by West 12th Street to the west, Bowery Street to the north, ...

'' (album) * 2006 - Klezmatics - ''Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah'' (album) - (This album is a mix of Woody Guthrie covers, posthumous collaborations and Klezmatics instrumentals.) * 2008 -

Jonatha Brooke Jonatha Brooke (born January 23, 1964) is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist from Massachusetts, United States. Her music merges elements of folk, rock and pop, often with poignant lyrics and complex harmonies. She has been a ...

- '' The Works'' (album) * 2009 - Sarah Lee Guthrie and Family - ''Go Waggaloo'' - 3 of the 13 songs on this album have lyrics written originally by Woody Guthrie. The title track and "Fox and the Goose" were set to music by Sarah Lee Guthrie. "Bright Clear Day" was set to music by Sarah and her husband,

Johnny Irion Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...

. * 2009 - Sarah Lee Guthrie &

- "Folksong", (single track, on their album ''Folksong''), with music by Woody's granddaughter Sarah. * 2010 (recorded 2006) - Arlo Guthrie & Wenzel - "My Peace", (single track, on their album ''Every 100 Years''), with music by Woody's son Arlo, and includes a translation "Mein Frieden" by Hans-Eckardt Wenzel. * 2010 - Tim O'Brien - "The Sun Jumped Up", (single track, from his album ''Chicken & Egg'') * 2011 - Billy Bragg - "All You Fascists 2010" (single track, on his EP ''6 Songs from Pressure Drop''). This uses only the chorus of Woody's "All You Fascists" lyrics (see above, and see below) with completely new verses and different music by Bragg. * 2011 -

Rob Wasserman Rob Wasserman (April 1, 1952 – June 29, 2016) was an American composer and bass player. A Grammy Award and NEA grant winner, he played and recorded with a wide variety of musicians including Bob Weir, Bruce Cockburn, Elvis Costello, Ani di Fr ...

and others - ''Note of Hope'' (album), a project long in the making, featuring musicians and narrators including Jackson Browne, Ani DiFranco,

Kurt Elling Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church. He sang in cho ...

Michael Franti Michael Franti (born April 21, 1966) is an American rapper, musician, poet, activist, documentarian, and singer-songwriter, known for his participation in many musical projects, most with a political and social emphasis, including the Beatnigs ...

Nellie McKay Nell Marie McKay (born April 13, 1982) is a singer and songwriter. She made her Broadway debut in ''The Threepenny Opera'' (2006). Early life and education McKay was born in London to an English father, writer-director Malcolm McKay, and an ...

Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, More ...

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle'' and for his collaborations with ...

, Madeleine Peyroux, Lou Reed,

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

, Studs Terkel, and

Tony Trischka Anthony Cattell Trischka (born January 16, 1949) is an American five-string banjo player. Sandra Brennan wrote of him in 2021: "One of the most influential modern banjoists, both in several forms of bluegrass music and occasionally in jazz and ...

- unlike the other recordings listed here, this album features mainly (but not exclusively) Woody's prose writings, some read with jazz backing tracks and others ingeniously set to music. * 2011 - Jackson Browne and Rob Wasserman - "You Know the Night" (single) - (This is a radio edit, 4:02 in length, the original album track on ''Note of Hope'' being 14:52 long). * 2012 -

Jay Farrar Jay Farrar (born December 26, 1966) is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis. A member of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001. Beyond his estab ...

and others - ''

New Multitudes ''New Multitudes'' is a Woody Guthrie tribute album performed by Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker, and Jim James to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Guthrie's birth, released through Rounder Records on February 28, 2012. The project w ...

'' (album), with musicians including Will Johnson,

Anders Parker Anders Parker is an American singer-songwriter, guitar player, singer and multi-instrumentalist with a career spanning two decades. He has performed and recorded as a solo artist and as a key member in bands such as Varnaline and Space Needle. ...

, and

Yim Yames James Edward Olliges Jr. (born April 27, 1978), professionally known as Jim James or Yim Yames, is an American vocalist, guitarist, producer, and primary songwriter of the rock band My Morning Jacket. He has also released several solo albums. ...

. * 2012 - Billy Bragg & Wilco - ''Mermaid Avenue Vol. III'' (album), a collection of outtakes from the sessions in the late 1990s, including 2 tracks with guest vocals by (and music written by) Corey Harris, "Gotta Work" and "Tea Bag Blues". One of the songs on this album, "When the Roses Bloom Again", is set to lyrics actually written by Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards. Jeff Tweedy of Wilco found the words among Woody's writings in the archive and wrote a new tune. * 2012 - Billy Bragg & Wilco - '' Mermaid Avenue the Complete Sessions'' (album) - simultaneously released with Vol. III, this set contains all three volumes plus a booklet, along with a DVD of "Man in the Sand". * 2012 - Lucinda Williams - "House of Earth" live track, on the album ''Woody Guthrie at 100: Live at the Kennedy Center'' by various artists - Guthrie's lyrics are edited somewhat by Williams * 2014 - ''Honeyky Hanukah'' - this is a children's story book illustrated by Dave Horowitz based upon the verses in Woody Guthrie's song ''Honeyky Hanuka'', and appropriately includes a CD of music from the Klezmatics' 2006 album ''Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah'' where that song initially appeared. * 2015 -

Jorma Kaukonen Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen, Jr. (; ; born December 23, 1940) is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist. Kaukonen performed with Jefferson Airplane and still performs regularly on tour with Hot Tuna, which started as a side project with bass ...

- "Suffer Little Children to Come Unto Me" (single track, from his album ''Ain't in No Hurry'') - the music is credited to Jorma Kaukonen and

Larry Campbell Larry W. Campbell (born 28 February 1948) is a Canadian politician that served as the 37th mayor of Vancouver, Canada from 2002 until 2005 and since 2005 has been a member of the Senate of Canada. Before he was mayor, Campbell worked for th ...

. * 2016 - Lucinda Williams - "House of Earth" studio track, on her album '' The Ghosts of Highway 20'', recorded in 2015 * 2016 - Del McCoury Band - ''Del & Woody'' (album) * 2016 - U.S. Elevator (ft. Johnny Irion), also Ryan Harvey; 2 versions of the song "Beach Haven Ain't My Home/Old Man Trump" on a 4-song EP ''I Don't Like the Way This World's A-treatin' Me'' by various performers. The lyric has been changed in at least one place. Where it now says "Beach Haven is Trump's tower" Woody's original on file at the Foundation says "Beach Haven looks like heaven." * 2017 -

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

- "My Soul's Got Wings", (single track, on his album '' Sad Clowns & Hillbillies'') * 2018 - John McCutcheon - "When My Fight for Life Is Over", (single track, from his album ''Ghost Light'') * 2018 - Jimmy LaFave - ''Peace Town'' (album) - this posthumous release contains 3 songs with Guthrie lyrics set to LaFave music, including the title track. One of the lyrics which was worked several times by Billy Bragg, "All You Fascists", has subsequently surfaced in a recording of a 1944 radio program "The Martins and the McCoys". Guthrie appeared in the program with other folk singers and can be heard singing "All of You Fascists Bound to Lose," set to his original melody, which is of course substantially different from the melodies Bragg has devised for it. Given the quantity of these posthumous collaborations, it was perhaps inevitable that there would be some lyrics set to more than one melody. For instance, track 3 on the Wasserman album ("Ease My Revolutionary Mind") uses the same set of lyrics as track 3 on the Farrar album (as well as track 3 on the Autumn Defense album). Track 2 on the Brooke album ("You'd Oughta Be Satisfied Now") uses the same set of lyrics as track 5 on the third volume of "Mermaid Avenue". The Woody Guthrie Publications website lists Jonatha Brooke's version of "You'd Oughta Be Satisfied Now" as a " derivative work".

References

External links

Woody Guthrie Foundation website
{{authority control Arts organizations established in 1972 Organizations based in New York City Archives in the United States Music archives in the United States Woody Guthrie