Woody Guthrie In London

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Jan 21 - 01:57 PM

How good is that. Cheers, Jack.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: Jack Campin
Date: 20 Jan 21 - 01:27 PM

Just posted in the Lost Glasgow FB group:

Hearing 'This Land is Your Land' sung at the inauguration, strange to think that its author, Woody Guthrie, and his sidekick, Cisco Houston, probably sang the same song in Betty's Bar, on the Clydeside, on Woody's sole visit to the city in 1944.

Woody and Cisco's ship, the troop transport SS Sea Porpoise, had been torpedoed off Utah beach, on the night of July 5, 1944, with Woody rescuing Cisco, hauling him from his smoke filled cabin, up to the deck through pitch black passages

Incredibly, after landing back in the UK, Woody turned up, unannounced, at the BBC, in Portland Place, saying he was a top US folk singer.

The staff, not knowing what to with him, stuck him, live, on that day's `Children's Hour' program and told to sing a couple of songs.

When the broadcast ended, Woody and Cisco bade their farewells and continued on to Glasgow, to wait for a ship back to the States.

When Cisco Houston returned to Glasgow, in 1960, he asked local folk legend Hamish Imlach to take him back to Betty's.

Remarkably, that Children's Hour recording still exists. Take it away, Woody: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86e90MwKRAQ

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: GUEST,Mr Yeahbut
Date: 08 Feb 09 - 03:19 AM

didn't work copy & pasting the link either.. some weird code scrambling going on here
buggering up the bit after "WG-BBC..etc"

so afraid I must resort to a full on paste job..

sorry..

_____________________________________________________________________
Woody Guthrie - 1945-xx-xx - BBC Broadcast


Track 1-3 are Children's Hour
Track 4 is Lost Radio


Lost Radio:
Lost Radio Shows
Woody Guthrie
Pete Seeger

1. Us Department Of Health
"V.D.Blues"
Exact date unknown

Children's Hour:
Woody Guthrie, BBC "Children's Hour", London, GB, July 7, 1944

From Guy Logsdon's Discography, reprinted in Santelli, Robert & Davidson, Emily (eds.),
Hard Travelin' -- The Life and Legacy of Woody Guthrie, Hanover and London, 1999, p. 196:

"7 JULY 1944. Woody was a Merchant Marine, "washing dishes on a Liberty Ship," the troop ship
Sea Porpoise which carried troops to the Normandy beach in early July 1944. After the troops were
sent ashore, the ship hit a mine but made its way back to England; Woody was routed through London
toward Glasgow, Scotland, toward the United States. On a song manuscript dated "July 13th, 1944",
Woody wrote, "this train is carrying me outside from London now; on up towards Belfast, and Glasgow."
While in London, he went to the offices of the BBC where he introduced himself as a member of
The Martins and the Coys [produced by Alan Lomax for the BBC in late March 1944, broadcast by the BBC
on 26 June 1944] and was given the opportunity to sing on the Children's Hour. After an autobiographical
statement, he was recorded singing with his guitar accompaniment two railroad songs:
"Wabash Cannonball"
"900 Miles" (this is the minor-key melody that Cisco made popular)"

Lineage: BBC radio documentary, 1987 (provided by wonderboy)->Audacity->flac frontend (level 8, verify,
align on sector boundaries)




BBC 'Children's Hour'
7 Jul 1944


2. The Wabash Cannonball (unknown)

BBC 'Children's Hour'
7 Jul 1944


3. 900 Miles From Home (unknown)

BBC 'Children's Hour'
7 Jul 1944


4. V.D.Blues (unknown)


Lost Radio Shows
(date unknown)

The Story Of Rosty The Lonesome Traveller



Reviews
Review by: woodstock69 On 13 Feb 2007 at 23:02 CET
for that age just 10/10 stars!!


______________________________________________________________________

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: GUEST,Mr Yeahbut
Date: 08 Feb 09 - 03:09 AM

just for info of course..

http://www.bootlegzone.com/album.php?name=WG-BBC-1§ion=477

[for some reason this one doesn't work if I try to make a blue clicky ???????]

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: GUEST,BanjoRay
Date: 05 Feb 09 - 07:02 AM

The interviewer obviously had a script that told her when to laugh.
Good sound, though.
Ray

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: NormanD
Date: 04 Feb 09 - 03:34 PM

As a kid I used to listen to BBC Children's Hour. No, I'm no old enough to have heard the Woody G broadcast. It was quite a national institution, in its quiet, unassuming, and very English, way. I remember one presenter, Marjorie Anderson, though it may not be she who's floundering with Woody. Listening to it, I just wonder if Woody tried it on with her after the broadcast, being just a poor boy in port for a coupla hours, looking for a little R&R.

Now that would have been some gossip.

If anyone's interested, here's some background to Children's Hour

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Feb 09 - 02:22 PM

Many thanks for posting the notice about my forthcoming British Library gig, henryp. Here's a link to the info on the Library's site:

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/whatson/events/february.html

You'll need to scroll down a bit to reach it, I think.

All the best,

Will Kaufman
(Woody Guthrie: Hard Times and Hard Travellin')

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: ard mhacha
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 12:22 PM

Guest Doc John, Is right about the `plummy voice interviewer` she sounds like Liz Windsor, hadn`t a clue.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: GUEST,John from Kemsing
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 11:18 AM

I was a bit puzzled when I could have sworn the narrator of BBC Two`s "Folk America" said it was aired in 1947.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: soulkat9
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 11:11 AM

I heard recently that the BBC had the best recording technology in those days. That's why you have alot of artists perform there.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 10:29 AM

Andy Kershaw played the BBC Children's Hour programme a few years back saying that it was recorded in 1947. Even a young slip of a lad like Kershaw should have known that the war finished in 1945. As Fred states above it was probably 1944.

Hoot

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: Uncle Phil
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 09:23 AM

Thanks for posting the links. I really enjoyed listening to them.
- Phil

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: GUEST,Doc John
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 07:40 AM

I've heard 900 miles and Wabash Cannonball and the plummy voiced interviewer sounds like she can't quite make up her mind about Woody, who acts the part he did for the LofC recordings. The other two items I believe do not have any actual speech. It is curious that Cisco Houston, who was in London then, did not record at that time also; we had to wait several years before he recorded for the BBC. That was first time I heard Cisco alone incidentally. I wish the BBC would drop its dog-in-the-manger act and release these recordings to the public.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: ard mhacha
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 07:20 AM

I have just run through the BBC Arena programme this was the first Arena programme, I recorded this on Video some 20 years ago, it was excellent, BBC 4 repeated this last year,it is no longer available.
The clip in the Arena programme referred to Woodys appearance on a BBC Childrens show.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: ard mhacha
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 05:34 AM

That BBC recording was very good, Woody`s diction was word perfect, Thanks NormanD.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: Art Thieme
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 05:14 PM

Mary Catherine,
The link provided by NormanD lets you hear the same old public afairs show from the U.S. Health Department. Norman, thanks. This Internet is pretty amazing.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: Art Thieme
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 05:08 PM

I thought so. (When your memory goes, forget it!)

Long term memory is all there. Strange...

Art

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: Mark Ross
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 01:39 PM

No Woody recorded it in London according to Longhi. Art you did send me the recording.

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: NormanD
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 01:25 PM

Here's the PSA feature on VD with Woody as "Rusty The Traveller" aka The Great Historical Bum.
"Syphillis....More dangerous than a mad dog"

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: johnross
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 01:11 PM

It's also possible that Guthrie recorded the programme in the BBC's New York studios.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: Mary Katherine
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 12:01 PM

"Also included is a show written by Alan Lomax with Woody performing a quite fascinating and rather professional job on a presentation warning soldiers of the dangers of syphilis and other venereal diseases."

Is this available anywhere? I would very much like to hear it.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: Art Thieme
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 11:37 AM

I've had that Children's Hour show portion for about 6 months. A friend sent it to me on a home-made CD. Also included is a show written by Alan Lomax with Woody performing a quite fascinating and rather professional job on a presentation warning soldiers of the dangers of syphilis and other venereal diseases.

Mark Ross, I think I sent you a copy of that!? Did I?? (My recent memory is diminished now because of my main malady.)

The V.D. program has a banjo backup on it too. I assumed uit was Pete Seeger, but Pete tells me he was in the army those years. So I sent the show to Pete too, but have not had a reply.

All the best,

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: NormanD
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 11:18 AM

Thanks for the info. The programme has been posted on-line - Woody sings "Wabash Canonball" and "900 Miles".
Children's Hour

"Hello children. Here is another programme of songs from the United States of America....."

Another programme?

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: Fred McCormick
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 10:48 AM

"It was probably in '44. Woody was a messman on a Liberty Ship that was torpedoed, and he, Cisco Houston, and Jimmy Longhi were re-patriated to the states through the UK. The whole story is told in Longhis' wonderful account WOODY, CISCO, AND ME."

Correct, and the episode was described in the Arena Woody Guthrie documentary. The liberty ship was actually a troop ship carrying personnel for the Normandy invasion. Further details are in Joe Kleins Woody Guthrie; A Life, and Ed Cray's Rambling Man. Both highly recommended.

The Childrens Hour presenter makes it sound as though Guthrie did the whole programme. While that's unlikely, BBC Radio 2 broadcast a four part series on Guthrie many years ago and included a 5 minute clip from that show. I can't remember whether Car, Car was part of the clip, but the introduction about washing dishes on a liberty ship certainly was. So too was Woody singing Wabash Cannonball.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 10:34 AM

A presentation on Woody will be coming to London on 25 February! There's another date in Twickenham on 21 June.

Will Kaufman has been taking his presentation, WOODY GUTHRIE: HARD TIMES AND HARD TRAVELLIN' - a live documentary about Woody's Dust Bowl songs - to universities, arts festivals and progressive fund-raising events across Europe for the past three years.

12 Feb 2009 17:00 University of Hull, Hull
17 Feb 2009 16:00 Swansea University, Wales
25 Feb 2009 18:30 The British Library, London London
26 Feb 2009 16:00 Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury
27 Feb 2009 18:15 Phoenix Arts, Leicester
2 Mar 2009 15:00 cultural eXchanges arts festival, Leicester

5 Mar 2009 19:00 Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Scotland
27 Mar 2009 14:00 St Louis University, Madrid, Spain
4 May 2009 14:00 Trades Club, Hebden Bridge, W Yorkshire
11 May 2009 20:00 University of Freiburg, Germany
12 May 2009 15:00 University of Freiburg, Germany
15 May 2009 15:00 Piacenza Literature and Blues Festival, Italy

27 May 2009 20:00 University of Winchester Winchester
28 May 2009 19:00 University of Winchester Winchester
29 May 2009 22:30 Bath International Music Festival
(Mission Theatre) Bath
30 May 2009 13:00 Bath International Music Festival
(American Museum) Bath
30 May 2009 15:30 Bath International Music Festival
(American Museum) Bath

11 Jun 2009 22:00 Urban75 Offline Club, Brixton Dogstar, London
21 Jun 2009 20:00 Twickenham Folk Club, Twickenham, London
26 Jun 2009 20:00 Gregson Lane Folk Club, Preston, Lancashire

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie In London
From: Mark Ross
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 10:13 AM

It was probably in '44. Woody was a messman on a Liberty Ship that was torpedoed, and he, Cisco Houston, and Jimmy Longhi were re-patriated to the states through the UK. The whole story is told in Longhis' wonderful account WOODY, CISCO, AND ME.

Mark Ross

Subject: Woody Guthrie In London
From: NormanD
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 09:27 AM

Does anyone know the story behind how Woody Guthrie got to record some songs for the BBC Radio programme "Children's Hour"? You can hear a small extract on the tv documentary "Folk America", singing "Car Car".
(I think it was this episode of the programme last Friday night. If not, it may have been the documentary about Woody that followed it).

The "Children's Hour" episode was broadcast in, I think, 1947. Woody was probably a visiting merchant seaman, coming to the UK.

How did he get involved in the programme? Does the programme survive? Is it accessible anywhere? And did people get to meet him over in the UK - are there any recorded memories?