Matt Legac
Dr. Louis Simon
IDH 3100
10/18/2014
The Influence and Culture of Woody Guthrie Woody Guthrie is undoubtedly an incredibly important and influential artist in American history. Even if an American (like me) is not familiar with his work or life, the name “Woody Guthrie” is nearly universally recognized across the country. That being said, almost every American has heard at least some of the music that Woody Guthrie created such as “This Land is Your Land”. Many artists (including Bob Dylan) have been directly influenced by the work of Woody Guthrie, carrying on the sound and spirit of his music in their own work. Woody Guthrie’s musical voice has echoed across generations, influencing countless artists and activists who have come
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Bob Dylan was quite a huge fan of both the social message and the music that Guthrie was creating, and was only concerned that his music would have to be original in some way, and not just an identical clone of Guthrie’s. It is easy to see how Guthrie’s son, Arlo (a musical young man growing up in the house of such a widely influential musician/activist) had been impacted by his father from a young age. Arlo Guthrie also is known as folk musician who creates protest music for equal rights/social justice. Arlo worked to carry on his father’s legacy into the next generation. Pete Seeger, a popular American folk musician and social activist, is also known to have been influenced by Woody Guthrie. He performed at many popular festivals/events and was known for similar social messages as Guthrie in his work: non-violence, civil rights, and …show more content…
Both of the songs obviously were interesting right away just because of the “old sound” that they had (because obviously the recording are pushing 100 years old at this point). I liked “This Land is Your Land” and the message it portrayed. The song felt quite simple to me, but not necessarily in a bad way. I enjoyed how the music was simply just Guthrie’s voice and a banjo, which allows the listener to focus more on the political messages that he is trying to portray in his music. The song and its message (which seems to me is about how everyone should get along peacefully in the land that’s “made for you and me”) really made me feel uplifted/happy. “Tear the Fascist Down” seems to be a call to arms against the fascist Axis Powers (Hitler and Mussolini), asking “what are we waiting for?” and praising the Soviets/Chinese for their involvement and efforts against the fascists. As Guthrie was obviously a champion of civil rights, the horrible things that fascist leaders in Europe were doing would trump his usual non-violent paradigm. I like the music of this song as well; it is simple (but in a good
Joan Baez, a famous folk singer, sang her most famous song “Oh Freedom” during the civil rights movement. She expressed her want and need for equality and freedom f...
Throughout history, and even today, music has shaped America’s culture, society, and even politics. One of the most outstanding and enduring musical movement has been from African American artists, ranging from bebop to jazz to hip-hop to rap. During the 1920’s , jazz artists stepped into the limelight and began their impact on American and even world history. Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential leaders during the Harlem Renaissance and his jazz legacy and impact of American history is everlasting. A master of his craft, Armstrong and his music heavily influenced America’s white and black populations from the 1920’s and up until his death.
For many Americans, country isn’t just a type of music. It’s a lifestyle. From sippin’ sweet tea on the porch, drinking beer at a tailgate or driving a pick up down the backroads, country music has made its way into the hearts and minds of many Americans. It is one of the only truly home grown American art forms. Its relatability and wide appeal has made country music one of the most commercially successful and popular genres in the United States. Using the work of scholars Tichi, Pecknold, and Ellison, I will show how country music grew from its rural southern roots into an integral part of American culture.
To the persistent individual, though, there is a body of music in existence that merits regard. It is powerful music written by the youth of America, youngsters who did have a stake in the Vietnam War. There can be little question about the origins of the power which American protest music conveyed: those who wrote such music lived each day with the real knowledge that they were losing friends in, and could possibly be forced themselves to go to, Vietnam. One such group, Creedence Clearwater Revival, made its contribution to this genre near the end of the Vietnam War.
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song focused on Pete Seeger's life and how his career, social, and political life interacted and intertwined. The movie observes how Seeger's music influenced the political climate on topics such as war and racial prejudices; the documentary went over Seeger's blacklisting, his relationship to the communist movement, his interaction with political leaders and activists such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The documentary emphasized how Pete Seeger used his music to inspire people to improve themselves and their community, we saw this when the documentary provided information on the story of Pete Seeger's plan to clean up the Hudson River. The movie explained how Pete's encouragement, music and presence promoted the idea
Thus, blues became a large part of protest in America, especially in the 20th century. It was a form of outcry for help, dating back to slavery, and was often the only way that slaves saw fitting in order to rebel against their oppressors. Slavery and the shipping of slaves was the cause of the worldwide spread of blues, and since then has been a call for change. Many people who felt it necessary to rise up and be a voice for their generation have succeeded in aiding political and social change. Son House, Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan are all poetic political dissidents expressing the hardship and sufferings that they underwent through the blues.
We wrote it, that’s all we wanted to do. ’”(qtd. Pete Seeger www.geocities.com/Nashville/ 3448/guthrie.html) Woody was very passionate about his causes. He felt very strongly about the mistreatment of the migrant workers, probably because he was himself an “Okie”. His works served as inspiration for musicians like Bob Dylan and Pete Reeves 2 Seeger and not to mention “countless, less-famous others” (www.geocities.com/Nashville3448 guthrie.html) ...
...gers of the old folk music are referred to as “authentic”. The author uses the biographies and the personal experiences of true Appalachian folk musicians to portray what life in the Appalachians was like. The strong family values, the music, the legends.
America is a country rich in history, which can be dated back to 1776 with its independence from the British. With this new-found independence came a great loss of life and new found freedoms. This land did not come without struggles and bloodshed, from people that believed that this land was worth fighting for. It wasn’t necessary the land that was special, it was the belief of what this land represented. With the new-found freedoms, giving to individuals where the freedom to express them self in many formats, many express their patriotism in forms of poetry and in music. There have been several songs written by many different musicians, but the most significant to America’s core values are My country, ‘tis of thee by Samuel F. Smith, God
Bob Dylan was considered one of the greatest influences on popular culture of all time, and though influential, Bob Dylan’s rise to idol status in popular culture was more brought about by historical factors, his life was affected by many historical events including, The Cuban missile crisis, the Vietnam War, the Kennedy assassination and the civil rights movement, to name a few. His songs became known as protest songs, despite Bob Dylan’s apparent lack of understanding for the meanings the public attached to his writing.
Woody Guthrie was an amazing artist/songwriter he made hundreds of songs . Woody wrote a amazing song in 1940 called This Land Is Your Land. He was famous for this song this was one of his best songs. He made this song and sung the it all across the USA. Although he made his hit song he also had a genius quote he made this quote to inform people that this land is for everyone. There are some similarities and differences about the passage and the song.
Woody Guthrie's guitar sang out to the people when he sang. Woody wrote positive songs to build people up. He wrote the famous song ¨This Land Is Your Land¨ in 1940, and traveled all over the U.S.A. During Woody’s time of singing, he wrote hundreds of songs! Woody was an inspirational speaker and wrote a famous quote. The quote and the song are similar in a way, but also different.
Bob Dylan is one of the most influential artists, especially in the Vietnam era where everything seemed to be falling apart. He wrote so many different rebel ballads that I most definitely think impacted the turnout of the 60s and 70s. Many of his songs are still popular today and so many different generations know of him and his work. Bob Dylan influenced many artists and is still is inspiring people and will continue to for many years to come.
The poem ‘I hear America singing’ by Walt Whitman is about music that all america hear and dance, also is about the independence patriotic people, and we gonna talk about people that works hard in the united states.
My artist from the 1960’s was Bobby Darin, his Simple Song of Freedom lyrics can relate to the 1980’s Public Enemy Fight the Power song. They both send the message to others about Civil Rights and the importance of equality among all regardless of race, gender etc. The 1960’s generation was fighting the Vietnam War which most of the United States popular was against. The 1980’s generation was also fighting a war but it was geared toward corrupt Government Officials but most importantly being able to speak up for what you believe