Woody Guthrie discography
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

American singer-songwriter
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 ...
's published recordings are culled from a series of recording sessions in the 1940s and 1950s. At the time they were recorded they were not set down for a particular album, so are found over several albums not necessarily in chronological order. The more detailed section on recording sessions lists the song by recording date.


Selected published discography


Recording sessions

The list here is organized by recording session and is mostly sourced from the discography put together by Dr. Guy Lodgson in 1990-1991 at the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
as it appears in the book "Hard Travelin' The Life and Legacy of Woody Guthrie". *Note: A blank cell below a date indicate that the date is repeated on that row.


1940, Library Of Congress, Washington, D.C., sessions with Alan Lomax


American Studio of the Air, Radio Show


1940, RCA Victor Sessions, Dust Bowl Ballads

* These recording were released on the record Talking Dust Bowl on
Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...
in 1950 by Moe Asch, but without RCA's licences. All these recordings were made by
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
in 1940 and released on the albums
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 ...
vol 1 and 2. These records have been subsequently reissued in 1964 and 1977.


1941, Bonneville Power Administration, The Columbia River Songs

The masters of this session were lost, but a collection of 6 discs was collected from BPA employee copies from the time. Most were eventually released on
Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...
Woody Guthrie, Columbia River Collection C1036 in 1987. The 6 discs are housed in the National Archives,
Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
The catalogue numbers here relate to National Archive listings.


Unissued LOC Recordings: Home Disc Recordings & 1941 Almanac Singers

Series of Discs for the Library of Congress, recorded by 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- ...
, only those written by or featuring Woody Guthrie are included here. Notes are Woody's parts.


Keynote Recordings

* Songs that have been released on ''Songs for Political Action'', Bear Family Records BCD 15270


General Records


The Martins and the Coys: A Contemporary Folk Tale

Recorded by
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
in March 1944, and written by Elizabeth Lomax. Alan Lomax shopped this around but no stations were interested, eventually it was sold the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
. The recordings included Woody as well as several members of the Almanac singers.


1944 & 1945, The Asch Recordings

Possibly Guthrie's most famous recordings, conducted over a series of days by Moses "Moe" Asch in 1944 and 1945. They were issued on a variety of labels under Asch, Asch-Stinson, Asch-Signature-Stinson, Disc, Folkways and Verve/Folkways. Many recordings have unknown session dates. These are included in a list available at the United States Library of Congress titled "Surviving Recordings in the Smithsonian Folklife Archive Made by Woody Guthrie for Moses Asch". Moe Asch says Woody's kids song were recorded sometime in early 1947 and the Sacco and Vanzetti ballads were recorded January 1947.


1947 Songs to Grow On

The recording dates for the Songs to Grow On series of children's song are mostly lost due to the record keeping of Moe Asch, but the tracks are included here as they are some of Guthrie's most well known tracks. In this case the Date is the release date of the original 78 records.


Honors

On September 6, 2007, Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc., 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 in 1949, made the recordings himself using a small wire recorder at a Guthrie concert in Newark, New Jersey. 0On February 10, 2008, the release was the recipient of a Grammy Award in the category Best Historical Album. 1


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guthrie, Woody
Discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...
Discographies of American artists Folk music discographies