ARCHIVES NEWSLETTER
May 2001

New Acquisitions
In April, 2001, the Archives received a gift of rare recordings of Woody and Marjorie Guthrie from 1949.  These were Webster wire recordings, an obsolete method of recording sound onto stainless steel wire.  With the help of sound restoration expert Art Shifrin, the wires were transferred onto reel tapes and then onto compact discs.

In the recordings, taken in May of 1949 at the Newark YMCA, Woody and Marjorie are performing for a live audience.  The tapes show Woody's warm personal performing style, and the enthusiastic response of the audience.  Woody sings and talks about the songs, his childhood, and anything else that seems to come to mind.  He tells a story about the difficulty of playing live folk music at a dance concert, and how difficult it is to play exactly the same way each time so the dancers can practice.  Marjorie plays the part of MC, introducing new songs and asking Woody questions to spur him on.

These recordings were donated to the Archives by Paul Braverman, who made the original recordings.  We always welcome donations of this kind, and encourage anyone who has Woody Guthrie memorabilia or eve just memories to get in touch with us at:  wgarchive@woodyguthrie.org.

Archives Projects
There are approximately 3000 Guthrie lyrics in the Archives, many of which have never been recorded.  Recently 10 of these song lyrics were made available to local bands and singer/songwriters interested in performing the songs at a union rally for part time and adjunct faculty at the City University of New York.  Seven bands and performers gave their all to putting music to Guthrie's lyrics.  While not as big an undertaking as the Mermaid Avenue recordings, this project is one way the Woody Guthrie Archives attempts to connect with current musicians and activists in order to keep Woody's legacy alive.

Recent Researchers and Visitors to the Archives
A music class from Elisabeth Irwin High School in New York City visited the Archives on April 25.  The students had been studying Woody Guthrie and "This Land is Your Land."  They saw examples of the different kinds of materials in the Archives, and talked about Woody's lyrics and political ideas.  They also got a sneak preview of a recording from the upcoming album of prose works put to music by bassist Rob Wasserman and other artists.   Hearing contemporary musicians give their own spin to Guthrie's words inspired some students to talk about their own creative impulses, as well as ways different interpretations change or add to the meanings of Guthrie's words.