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Famous Oklahomans: Woody
Many people consider “God Bless America” a great song. Even though this song has been timeless, many would never guess that it was written during a more troubled time. Many fans may have already guessed who the featured famous Okie is, Woodrow Wilson Guthrie. He is more widely known as Woody Guthrie and was born July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Okla.
Indian country is the origin for scores of famous folks. It seems the red dirt, water and elements combine and somehow form the perfect avenue for greatness. Guthrie is no different because he shared his talent with the world.
Guthrie was often considered controversial and even called a communist at one point. Guthrie was quoted saying some contentious sayings, his response to being accusedofbeingacommunist was no different.
“The greatest thing I ever did in 1936 was to sign up for the communist party.”
Even though Guthrie never joined any communist party, these accusations caused turmoil for Guthrie and even got him on the government blacklist. He even usedhisinstrumenttoconvey his controversial messages.
“This machine kills fascists” was placed in black, bold letter in his guitar as a statement. It was often reported that Guthrie said his intentions were “to protect the poor and tell the truth”.
Guthrie experienced his share of hard times at an early age. He often said, “our whole family had a stroke of bad luck”. Although Guthrie’s early years brought him more than his share of hardships, as he went forward it seems the list never really ended.
One of the seedier stories about Guthrie was when he was walking along the highway in New Jersey and stopped by the police who assumed him as a vagrant. Guthrie began rambling on about who he really was and how famous he was to the point that the police thought him insane and had him locked away in Greystone Park State Hospital.
Although caged, Guthrie seemed to be right at home and even said he found the place to be more normal than the world outside. While incarcerated at the mental institution, Guthrie taught art classes, helped in the kitchen, taught music lessons and left a library of paintings, poems andpersonaldiaries.Rumors are that when officers realized that Guthrie was the famous person he claimed to be, he really wasn’t excited to be released and in fact said he wished to stay a while as it had been home for him.
Guthrie single handedly created the music Genre of Americano. His influence can be seen across most genres and continues to influence artists across the world. The great Matt Dillon performed handfuls of the hundreds of songs Guthrie wrote and often referred to himself as a Guthrie jukebox.
Even though Guthrie was bornintheheartoftheIndian Nation in Oklahoma during an extremely troubled time, he somehow made it through and even paved the way for many artists to follow.
Even though Guthrie passed away almost four decades ago, it is easy to see his influence on the culture then and now, whether it be conceived good or bad. Just like the many accusations Guthrie faced, he left a mark on the world.