2000 - Woody Guthrie

A native Oklahoman, born in Okemah to middle-class politically liberal parents, Guthrie experienced first hand the plight of the working class poor in the Depression era.

Though a musician from youth, Guthrie drew his first lyrical inspiration from the 1935 dust storms which drove his family from Oklahoma to California and forced them to become migrant laborers. His experiences inspired the folk tunes that made him famous - songs about migrant workers, class conflict, women's issues, union martyrs and the great American West.

He first found his public voice when he began performing his songs on a Los Angeles radio show. He also worked as a labor organizer for the American Communist Party; performing at labor rallies, events and outdoor festivals spreading his message that the working class should be united. Many of his 1930s songs became classics, including "This Land is Your Land," "I Ain't Got No Home" and "Pretty Boy Floyd."

In the late 1930s Guthrie moved to New York, where he met other folk artists and began collaborations with Leadbelly and Pete Seeger. It was here that he joined an informal folk group called the Almanac Singers (whose brief output later became highly influential in the 1950s). Guthrie also worked on a CBS radio show, then moved back to California. He drifted to the Columbia River area of the Northwest, drawing inspiration from his new surroundings. It was in this era that he wrote "Roll on Columbia."

Guthrie first married in 1933 to Mary Jennings. The couple had three children. Following a divorce and a return to New York, Guthrie married dancer Majorie Mazia, with whom he had several more children including singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie.