Woody Guthrie Albums Ranked
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (/ˈɡʌθri/; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, who is considered one of the most significant figures in American western folk music. His music, including songs such as “This Land Is Your Land”, has inspired several generations both politically and musically. Guthrie was married three times and fathered eight children. His son Arlo Guthrie became nationally-known as a musician. Woody died in 1967 from complications of Huntington’s disease. His first two daughters also died of the disease. During his later years, in spite of his illness, Guthrie became an icon in the folk movement, providing inspiration to a generation of new folk and country musicians, including mentoring Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Bob Dylan. Here are all of Woody Guthrie albums ranked.
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10. Songs To Grow On For Mother And Child (1953)
“Woody’s children’s songs are treasures of childhood, and reflections of their writer’s heart. Simple and true to this day of the genuine spirit and wonder of a child, they embody the joy in daily delights of meals, swimming, pajamas, and nature. It’s very easy to picture Woody singing these to his own children, and no matter the age of the child in your heart or in your home, they are a sure delight.”
9. Woody Guthrie Sings Folk Songs (1962)
“Woody Guthrie was all kinds of things, many visions, many tales, many stories and one man. along with sonny and lead belly an such this makes one helluva album. You can hear america in these songs an if you want REAL music get a REAL album.”
8. Ballads From The Dust Bowl (1946)
“The tearful storytelling of 『Dust Bowl Ballads』 touched the pain of Americans who were groaning in dark times. And they made them angry and upset. Woody Guthrie, the bard who wrote the phrase “This machine kills fascists” on his guitar, and his music were an awl through the times. The tradition of modern folk and resistance music, which began thereafter, is passed on to the next generation of legend, Bob Dylan.”
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7. Woody Guthrie (1945)
“Enough has been written on Guthrie’s influence on the hippie troubadours and early rock’n rollers. This album provides an excellent insight into his music. What is also fascinating to hear in this album is the direct linage of Irish folk music there so vividly portrayed into american pop culture.”
6. Library Of Congress Recordings (1964)
“The songs are good, but what sets this one away from all the other Woody Guthrie albums out there are his extremely interesting stories. My favorite is when he talks about him and his friends making bootleg whiskey when they were teenagers. Another great one is when he talks about how he went to a foster home after his family pretty much died and his job was to watch over a lunatic hen.”
5. Dust Bowl Ballads – Volume 2 (1940)
“These American folk songs are about the Dust Bowl, a period of heavy sand storms in the Southern states. Woody Guthrie accompanies himself on acoustic guitar and mouth harmonica. The Great Dust Storm describes how this was experienced as the end of the world, forcing farmers to leave their homes. I Ain’t Got No Home in This World Anymore treats the same subject as John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”. Tom Joad (on part 1) is a musical retelling of that novel, which was published one year earlier.”
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4. Bound For Glory (1956)
“Enough has been written on Guthrie’s influence on the hippie troubadours and early rock’n rollers. This album provides an excellent insight into his music. What is also fascinating to hear in this album is the direct linage of Irish folk music there so vividly portrayed into american pop culture.”
3. Dust Bowl Ballads – Volume 1 (1940)
“The start of the folk revival, but much more. A stylistic decision made by a lack of alternatives, but it automatically is the perfect style to express political critique. Other than other folk revivals it didn’t originate from chauvinistic longing to simpler times, but rather from a need for change. And this return to roots seems odd with this motive until you realize it comes from a place of poverty. And that’s why it’s perfect: it shows poverty perfectly; a no better way to express poverty than by going back to your roots. It became a usual thing to do when the culture had changed for people at the bottom of society to express their distress by going to the roots, the roots being a different thing every time. In the seventies that was rock ‘n’ roll, and we called the revival punk for instance.”
2. Talking Dust Bowl (1950)
“Guthrie’s power is altogether based on whether the listener believes in the words he sings. The performance is raw and has a certain amount of charm for that very reason. But a guy who says that his guitar is a “machine” that “kills fascists” is not to be believed.”
1. Dust Bowl Ballads (1964)
“What a treat, Guthrie’s rugged honesty is irresistible. Dylan fans in particular will appreciate this early folk album. Guthrie is every bit Dylan’s equal when it comes to cheeky indignation, even if the latter has a leg up in overall songwriting ability.”
