Busker

I took this photo of a busker singing Woody’s songs outside the rather dilapidated theatre in Okemah, where the annual folk festival is held in his name every year.  July, 2012, coincided with the  Centenary of Guthrie’s birth. According to Andrew Collins in Billy Bragg’s biography (Still Suitable For Miners, 2007 edition) the good folk of Okemah refused for many years to have any memorial to their acclaimed son in the town as he was considered too left wing, if not outright communist. However, that’s all changed now and, as well as the festival, there is a statue, large mural and sign by the interstate highway.

No doubt the income from festival goers and tourists played some part in changing local attitudes. Also, of course, Woody is now rightly recognised internationally as being a major songwriter and cultural icon. Maybe the huge development in singer-songwiters from the Sixties onwards would have occured without him but he certainly had a huge influence on many (often unknowingly).

For me, he was always the number one reason for starting to write songs. His rambling lifestyle also prompted me to hit the road (along with Jack Kerouac) with a guitar on my back, little or no cash in my pocket, but plenty of crazy dreams in my heart. So it was that visiting Woody Fest in 2010 was like a dream come true. I also got to sing my tribute song on the Crystal Theatre stage (where, according to legend, the man himself once performed).