Retro Redux: Woody Guthrie - The Okie Troubadour Who Became Dylan's Muse - Page 2

If you'll excuse the expression, it wasn't always depressing in the Depression years. Rural Americans — including Okies — enjoyed music just as much as the sophisticates in the big cities, but their choices were a little different. They liked gospel, bluegrass, and folk music, all loosely fitting under the heading of country music. People enjoyed playing, singing, and dancing at all kinds of gatherings, and music was definitely a part of their lives.

One thing there's little doubt about - the musician who was eventually most identified with the dust bowl saga not only wrote and performed songs about it, he also lived it. Although he didn't actually gain much fame until the 1940's and later, Woody Guthrie was the best-known musical storyteller of the Depression years.

He grew up in Oklahoma, and for years traveled America on the hobo trail, listening to the people and their music. A lifelong socialist who often drew controversy, he felt he was the voice of the underprivileged, and his legacy influenced many later musicians. These include his son Arlo, and Bob Dylan, who acknowledged his inspiration by writing and performing songs about Guthrie.

Woody's biggest hit, "This Land Is Your Land", is probably the one most remembered now, but he wrote and performed a number of songs about the dust bowl struggles. (He even wrote a song called "Tom Joad," the main character in The Grapes Of Wrath, played by Henry Fonda in the film.)

One of the best, from his album Dust Bowl Ballads, is "Dust Bowl Refugee," and this video of another:

Article Author: Big Geez

Big Geez is a retiree who takes time off from trimming his ear hair to write about music -- occasionally writing reviews, but most often using his regular music feature, Retro Redux, to share his opinions about how something resonates with his memories and those of his generation. …

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