Woody Guthrie
(1912 - 1967)
Profession: Activist / Singer / Songwriter
Hometown: Okemah
Inducted: 2006
Legendary folk musician Woodrow "Woody" Guthrie grew up in Okemah and eventually moved to Pampa, Texas. There he played music with his Uncle Jeff and his Auntie Aileen every night. They enjoyed playing Carter Family songs together and formed their own family band, playing at local events including church socials and town gatherings. Guthrie started a new band with friends Matt Jennings and Cluster Baker in 1930 called The Corn Cob Trio.
During the Great Depression, Guthrie wrote hundreds of country, folk, and children's songs. He also made an album called Dust Bowl Ballads, which featured songs about the woes of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, as well as his personal experience with poverty in Oklahoma.
His most famous song "This Land is Your Land" highlighted his experience as an "Okie" on his way to California. Guthrie made more songs about this experience, including his hit "DO RE MI," where he sings, "If you ain't got that DO RE MI well then you better head back to beautiful Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee," referring to a time when "Okies" were mistreated as they attempted to flee to places like California.
He later moved to New York and formed a musical group with folk musician Pete Seeger, which they later called The Commune. Posthumously, Guthrie was inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1977, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
Want to hear more?
Click below to listen to "I Ain't Got No Home in This World Anymore," a single from Woody Guthrie's album Dust Bowl Ballads, originally released in 1940.