.' _'';"'~·.•>'.;,_(.f_~""'-n.~~.-- ...... ,.,., ...... ~ _,,I · I ·~? pny CLtrxr< FOR P=-:-L-/{C_E_M_Er·~-r~o-N_N_o_o_·-r---.... REsb.f:e:ii9~NCJl AGEND/\ TO BE POSTED #S1f Woody Guthrie Day- --·- ~~~ .... -':...~~~ April12, 2012
WHEREAS, Woody Guthrie is a renowned singer-songwriter who stands as one of America's most important folk music artists of the first half of the 20th Century; and
WHEREAS, Woody Guthrie stood out for his songwriting abilities and will best be remembered for his seminal folk music piece "This Land if Your Land" amongst many other hits like "Deportee," "Do Re Mi,'' ,.Grand Coulee Dam/' "Hard, Ain't It Hard,'' "Hard Travelin'," "I Ain't Got No Home," "1913 Massacre,'1 11 0klahoma Hills,~~ "Pastures ofPlenty,rr "Philadelphia Lawyer,'1 "Pretty Boy Floyd," 11 Ramblin1 Round," "So Long It'sBeen Good to Know You,t' "Talking Dust Bowl, '1 and 11 Vigilante Man" that have been covered by other artists throughout the century; and
WHEREAS, Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born in Okemah, Oklahoma learning folk songs from his mother as a child; and
WHEREAS, in 1940, assembling works that were based on his experience as an "Okie" during the Dust Bowl era, in which many migrant workers suffered tremendous economic hardship on their way to California, he released the "Dust Bowl Ballads" that are renowned for their dramatic retelling of Great Depression era plight; and
.i WHEREAS, A century after his birth in July of 1912, Woody Guthrie has acquired an iconic stature in American popular culture and music. Guthrie was known in the as a folksinger who in the 1930s and 1940s gave a voice to the working class, the mentor and musical image to Bob Dylan and other singer-songwriters in the 1950s and 1960s, and the author of great American songs like "This Land is Your Land."
WHEREAS, In 193 7, when many dust bowl refugees were making a new life in California, Woody Guthrie lived in Los Angeles.
WHEREAS, It was here that Woody Guthrie hosted a radio show on KFVD and his first opportunity to make a name for himself. During this time he made excursions to the Central Valley and to other farming regions where he became allied with the cause of disadvantaged farm workers.
WHEREAS, In L.A. he found admiration within a likeminded community and the support to think big. It was here that he was able to begin exploring the power of his voice to influence the national dialogue.
WHEREAS, Main Street between Fifth Street and Fourth Stn~et in downtown Los Angeles held a special interest for Guthrie. He lived in the neighborhood and would play for tips in the local bars and coffee shops. His song Fifth Street Blues was dedicated'" ... in respect and honor to 5th St., Los Angeles, California, for the spirit that abides there, and for the people who go there, by the forces of an unbalanced social order; or by their own free will ... I love the Spirit and the people that walk there."