Working Class Hero: Woody Guthrie

Singer Woody Guthrie was born in Okemah, Oklahoma in 1912. As a young man he fled the Dust Bowl to the West Coast, where worked for a radio station, and eventually became a renowned singer who championed the working class.  Perhaps his best-known song is "This Land is Your Land," an anthem to democracy. During the Great Depression, he captured the mood of the country. Many of his songs live on at rallies and on picket lines.

His music and commitment to social justice inspired numerous other artists, including Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan.

He died of complications from Huntington’s Disease in 1967.

Hear Woody sing and learn more about him at the official Woody Guthrie website: www.woodyguthrie.org