JULY 14

Woodie Guthrie

Born July 14, 1912, Okemah, Oklahoma
Died Oct. 3, 1967, New York, N.Y
Singer and songwriter
Woodie Guthrie

U.S. singer and songwriter, one of the legendary figures of American folk music. He left home at age 15 to travel the country by freight train. With his guitar and harmonica he sang in the hobo and migrant camps of the Great Depression, later becoming a musical spokesman for labour and populist sentiment.

He wrote more than a thousand songs, including “So Long (It's Been Good to Know Yuh),” “Hard Traveling,” and “Union Maid.” In New York City he joined Pete Seeger and others in the Almanac Singers; after serving in World War II, he continued to perform with them for farmer and worker groups. “This Land Is Your Land” was his most famous song, and it became an unofficial national anthem.

His autobiography, Bound for Glory (1943), was filmed in 1976. His son Arlo (b. 1947) also achieved success as a songwriter and singer.