For Folk's Sake

Soundcheck | May 3, 2010

Soundcheck celebrates the sounds of America as host John Schaefer talks to singer-songwriters who are revisiting and reinventing classic American songs. The program also wraps up singer-songwriter week, as guests include British songwriter/pop-star Billy Bragg and Nora Guthrie, daughter of folk legend Woody Guthrie and head of the Woody Guthrie archives. In the mid-1990s, Nora Guthrie invited Billy Bragg and the American roots-rock group Wilco to write music around some of Woody Guthrie's previously unpublished lyrics. The result is "Mermaid Avenue", a collection of soulful songs that sheds a new, contemporary light on one of America's pioneer singer-songwriters. John will also welcome composer Dick Connette, who takes lyrics from traditional American songs from the past two hundred years and updates them with his own music.
Additional Resources

More about Woody Guthrie

More about Dick Connette

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