Woody Guthrie Papers

Woodrow (Woody) Wilson Guthrie (1912-1967) was one of the most important folk composers in American history. Born in Okemah, Oklahoma, Guthrie's name is associated with the common people and those displaced by the Great Dust Storms of the 1930's. He was a prolific songwriter, and his song "This Land is Your Land" is considered by many to be his best known. During the height of his short recording career, Guthrie recorded with many of the most renowned folk singers and players in the New York area. A one time member of the Almanac Singers with Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Bess Hawes and others, Woody also frequently performed with Lead Belly, Burl Ives, Cisco Houston and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Guthrie's earliest recordings were done for RCA and came out as a set entitled Dust Bowl Ballads, later reissued by Folkways. It was Guthrie's association with Moses Asch of Folkways Records which yielded the bulk of Guthrie's recorded legacy. Guthrie was given a stipend by Asch to come by the studio when he felt like recording. A one day session in March 1944 yielded 75 recorded songs alone. His songs were recorded on glass discs that now reside in the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Much of this material was released by Asch on various Asch, Disc, and Folkways recordings, including his classic children's material. Although known for his music, Guthrie was also a visual artist. Among the materials that came with the Moses and Frances Asch Collection are watercolors and pen and ink drawings. He also was an author of note; his most famous work being the autobiographically-based novel Bound for Glory. Historians have begun to consider Guthrie an important literary figure of the 20th century. The Woody Guthrie Papers - including typed song lyrics, correspondence, drawings, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous items - were left with Moses Asch, and came to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections as part of the Asch Collection. Guthrie died of Huntington's Chorea in 1967 after a long hospitalization.