Woody Guthrie question

Subject: Woody Guthrie question
From: Les B
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 12:38 AM

"Woody's Rag" is an instrumental mandolin tune attributed to Woody Guthrie. Does anyone know how old it is, when or if he recorded it, and if he composed or recorded any other instrumentals ?

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 12:55 AM

Yup. Great mandolin tune. Been playing it ever since I heard Pete Seeger do it on The Weavers at Carnegie Hall.

Pete also recorded it on "Goofing Off Suite" (he overtracked a guitar and kind of screwed up the time)

Woodie recorded it for Folkways. It's on one of the ones I received as radio play copies last year. Can't remember which album. There's a series of Woody albums available from Smithsonian Folkways. Think there are three volumes.

Good luck Les.

Rick

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: Tedham Porterhouse
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 11:08 AM

Woody used to play "Woody's Rag" underneath a kind of spoken 'rap' called "Hard Work." There's a CD that's half Woody and half Lead Belly called "Folkways, The Original Vision" that its included on. Arlo Guthrie recorded "Woody's Rag/Hard Work" on his CD of cowboy material called "Son of the Wind."

Woody recorded lots of instrumentals over the years, often in jams with Cisco Houston, Sonny Terry and some others.

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: Tedham Porterhouse
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 11:11 AM

I should add that, in addition to the guitar, Woody was a good old-time fiddler, mandolin player and harmonica blower. I remember hearing Frank Hamilton tell a story about Woody teaching him to play harmonica in Sonny Terry's style.

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: catspaw49
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 12:02 PM

WEll, day late and a dollar short again........was going to mention Arlo and "Hard Work"...........oh well...................

Spaw

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 01:50 PM

When I started gettin' serious about the fiddle last year, one of the first tunes I tackled was Woody's "Cowboy's Waltz". Like a lot of rural players, he favoured the keys of D and A on the mandolin and fiddle. Lots of open strings to bolster the melody. Fun!

Rick

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 02:14 PM

Ask Ed Cray. He's well along on his biography of Woody Guthrie.

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: kendall
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 02:39 PM

Thanks to our mudcat buddy, "Jets" I have a copy of WOODY GUTHRIE, a life by Joe Klein.

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: GUEST,Woody :)
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 03:06 PM

The rag would be great at his birthday bash, Folk Festival at Okemah first week of July --I think, rather doubt there will be any Muddies there or any one who would know this tune.

How bout it Rick?

Every person I meet seems to some kind of 'ist' 'ian' etc well I never did want that much repsonsiblity so I sort opted out, but after reading about Woody and listening to him sing and play I am afraid I became a Woodyist.

Maybe that leads to being an 'ie' as in Okie, a better place I have yet find in the whole round world.

Woody Guthrie Site

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 05:35 PM

Bit far to travel "Woody". 'Fraid like the Original, I don't have a lot of money. Guess they'd have to hire me, for me to get out there.

Rick

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: Suffet
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 05:50 PM

There's also going to be a Woody Guthrie Birthday Bash in New York City, but it will be one day late. Woody was born on July 14, 1912, but the NYC bash will take place on Sunday, July 15 of this year, that being 2001. Location: CB's 313 Gallery, 313 Bowery in the East Village. Time: 7:00 to 9:00 PM. Cover: $5 lets you stay all night and hear other acts as well. OK, you will also have to buy drinks, as CB's 313 Gallery is a night club and not some church basement!

Featured performers:

Jessica Feinbloom, hostess of many a glorious ice cream social.

Richard Fried, musically talented physics teacher.

Joel Landy, who still insists Gore won.

Erica Smith, up and coming Indie Grrl, soon to be the sweetheart of the UK. With special guests.

Carlos Rosello, punk rocker and computer maven. With special guest Amanda Pollack.

Steve Suffet, c'est moi!

See y'all there!

--- Steve

Subject: Woody Guthrie Songbook ?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 06:04 PM

Say, is there a good Woody Guthrie songbook somebody could recommend? There are lots of Woody's songs in my copy of Hard-Hitting Songs for Hard-Hit People, (Lomax/Seeger/Guthrie) but is there a more comprehensive collection? Most I've seen have 25 or 30 songs, and that doesn't seem to be enough to give a good view of Woody's work. If people like Joe Klein can make money publishing Woody's biography, why not a good songbook?
Or is there one I don't know about?

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: Les B
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 06:05 PM

Thanks guys for all the info. I didn't know Woody was also a fiddler. I'll have to take another look at "Cowboy Waltz".

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: Amergin
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 06:07 PM

I haven't seen one...and I have been looking, Joe....like you said the most songs I have seen in a song book of his is about 25.....

Subject: Woody Guthrie Songbook
From: Tedham Porterhouse
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 06:18 PM

There's a great Woody Guthrie songbook that you can find at...

http://www.woodyguthrie.org/woody_guthrie_songbook.htm

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: Suffet
Date: 29 Apr 01 - 08:27 AM

The fattest anthology of Woody Guthrie songs is "The Nearly Complete Collection of Woody Guthrie Folk Songs," published by Ludlow Music in 1963. The title is inaccurate, as it contains fewer than 300 of Woody's songs, and it now appears that the mythical number of 1,000 was an underestimation. Just the same, it is a most useful volume, containing some really obscure songs that by all rights should be more wideely known.

Another good anthology is "The Woody Guthrie Songbook," edited by Harold Leventhal and Marjorie Guthrie, and published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1976.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: Art Thieme
Date: 29 Apr 01 - 12:51 PM

I remember Woody's recording of "Woody's Rag" being on a TEN INCH LP on Folkways along with Butch Hawes and the Almanac Singers (some of them) doing things like "Polly Wolly Doodle".

Also was an excruciatingly sad (for me always) song by Mr. Hawes called something like "ARTHRITIS BLUES". It was an up-tempo good natured thing that masked the real pain of this disease which, I've heard, had so crippled Butch Hawes.

BESS LOMAX-HAWES, Allan's sister and head of the National Endowment For The Arts for many years, was married to Butch Hawes and both were original members of the Almanac Singers.

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: Wolfgang
Date: 30 Apr 01 - 07:37 AM

I bought one a couple of years ago that has 159 songs including scores for all songs. Well, it was published in Germany at this place. They don't have it at this moment (only CDs, if you search for Guthrie), but if you have a look at a later time thay might have it again. If so, it'll be inceredibly cheap and good.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Help: Woody Guthrie question
From: Suffet
Date: 30 Apr 01 - 06:50 PM

Attention all you Woody Guthrie fans!

Come to our...
WOODY GUTHRIE BIRTHDAY BASH
ROUND ROBIN SONGFEST...

Sunday, July 15, 2001
7:00 to 9:00 PM
CB's 313 Gallery
313 Bowery
New York City

Featuring:
Jessica Feinbloom
Richard Fried
Joel Landy
Erica Smith (with special guests)
Carlos Rosello (with Amanda Pollack)
Steve Suffet

$5 cover lets you stay all night and hear other acts as well. Yes, this is a nightclub and not a church basement, so you will have to buy a couple of drinks.

And yes, the celebration is one day late. Woody was born on July 14, 1912.

Subject: WG Birthday Bash
From: Suffet
Date: 29 May 01 - 07:54 PM

Just a reminder to all you Woody Guthrie fans to come attend the WG Birthday Bash on Sunday, 7/15/01, at CB's 313 Gallery in New York City, 7 to 9 PM. See previous message for details.

--- Steve