WOODY SEZ: “Life is pretty tough, you’re lucky to live through it!”
Woodrow „Woody“ Wilson Guthrie (July 14, 1912 – 3. October 3, 1967) is a true American Legend and embodies American Folk Music like no other musician of the 20th Century.
On the occasion of his 111th birthday, Award Winning Author, Jadi Campbell, has written a story inspired by Guthrie’s autobiography and thirteen of his compositions to give greater insight into the man, the country and the American Dream. She has compiled a rich tapestry of stories, songs and recollections. It is by no means a complete history but it paints an engaging portrait of the man, placing him squarely in the context of the times he lived through and influenced.
In MADE FOR YOU AND ME, we follow him on his travels around the country during the Great Depression Era; riding the rails around the country, performing in work camps, saloons and union halls and offering the multitude of downtrodden unemployed and oppressed hope and entertainment.
It was in his twenties that Woody Guthrie started to learn to play the guitar. He crisscrossed the country making ends meet by playing in saloons and work camps during the Great Depression. On his travels, the musician absorbed and performed many of the old folk ballads he heard around him and wrote many new songs reflecting the daily pleasures and struggles of the ordinary people he met on his journeys; improvising songs in direct response to his surroundings and becoming one of the foremost chroniclers of American working class life through song.
During his “ramblings” around the country, Guthrie was often appalled by the inequalities he saw in society and conceived much of his music as a form of social protest. He spoke up for the striking miners and Dust Bowl migrants, bringing wide spread attention to their plights. He traveled with his African American friends and fellow musicians, breaking a color barrier during a time when that wasn’t readily acceptable. Woody was fearless and always ready to fight for those who needed help.
He gained a reputation as an influential songwriter, performer and social activist. He became a magnet for many folk singers and other socially conscious artists, Woody never “made it big” during his lifetime. He sang the songs and said the things that needed to be said, and those things didn’t always work for a company’s idea of commercial success. His goal wasn’t personal wealth but to remain true to his ideals and work for the people. He walked away from many good jobs because someone in the corporate hierarchy tried to control what he said.
Most people today know Woody as the artist who wrote THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND but for those who look to him as an influence on art and activism, he is so much more. He wrote over 3,000 songs in his lifetime — although relatively few were ever recorded. Despite being diagnosed with Huntington’s Chorea in 1952, he continued to travel, perform and record as his health slowly deteriorated.
Following his death, Woody Guthrie was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame (1971) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1988.)
“I’d say Woody was a happy person. He was an optimistic guy, a thumbs-up guy. He was looking for the silver lining – at the same time he didn’t want to ignore the dark side of the cloud” – Pete Seeger
Monday, November 6 at 20:00 hrs in MERLIN
TICKETS – https://loveyourartist.com/de/events/dark-monday-bound-for-stuttgart-XOCXNH
Tuesday, November 28 at 19:00 hrs in HAUS DER GESCHICHTE
In cooperation with: New English American Theatre, DAZ – Deutsch-Amerikanisches Zentrum, Staatministerin für Kultur und Medien, Kulturverein Merlin e.V.
Featuring THE WOODY SEZ ORCHESTRA;Mark Hatlie – Banjo… Werner Hummel – Mandolin, Accordion, Blues Harp… Florian Eisentraut – Contrabass… Michael Hecht – Guitar… Charles C. Urban – Guitar… Bukola Tijani – Vocals… Elena Gallego – Vocals… Ashley Remus – Vocals… Derrick Jenkins – Whistling, Vocals & Storytellings… andSpecial Guest Artist – Dr- Erica Applezweig
New English American Theater Stuttgart 