Biography

It takes one who knew one: firsthand spoken-word reminiscences about America’s first great topical songwriter,Woody Guthrie, by his friend, compatriot, and successor, plus great Guthrie songs by Pete, Woody, son Arlo and others.

Pete Seeger recounts his vivid firsthand reminiscences, wide-ranging and frequently humorous, of friend and mentor Woody Guthrie’s adult life – Guthrie’s transmutation of his experiences and omnivorous readings into popular although often controversial songs, his tips on freight-hopping and saloon singing, encounters with musical contemporaries Leadbelly and others, and many of the life lessons Pete has subsequently used in his own career, still ongoing in this Centennial year of Guthrie’s birth.

Interspersed with Pete’s recollections of Woody are versions of some of Guthrie’s most famous songs performed by idealistic links in the topical music chain.