WFUV Celebrates the Woody Guthrie Centennial This Weekend

In honor of the 100th anniversary of Woody Guthrie's birth, WFUV will commemorate the life and legacy of the folk music icon with special programming on the weekend of his birthday, July 14th.

Starting on Friday, July 13, the Question of the Day at 9:30 a.m. and Under the Covers at 12 noon will be devoted to the music of Woody Guthrie, while Dennis Elsas will present a special set from 3:00-3:30 p.m.

On Saturday, July 14's broadcast of Mixed Bag, Don McGee will include some Woody Guthrie covers and originals, plus a few of the "collaborations" between Woody and current songwriters between 4-8 p.m.

During the July 15th broadcast of Sunday Breakfast from 8-11 a.m., John Platt will air highlights of interviews with Woody's daughter, Nora Guthrie, the director of the Woody Guthrie Archives, as well as Joe Klein, the author of the acclaimed biography, Woody Guthrie: A Life. He will also feature commentary from artists such as Ellis Paul, Janis Ian, and Slaid Cleaves, who have recorded songs using unpublished lyrics from the Woody Guthrie Archives.

Lastly, during Sunday's broadcast of "Woody's Children" between 4-5 p.m., Bob Sherman continues his month-long celebration of the Woody Guthrie Centennial with recordings of Woody's songs by John McCutcheon, Tom Paxton, Joel Rafael, and others.

"Woody may have been born in Oklahoma and traveled all over the country, but we like to claim him as a Brooklyn guy," said WFUV's music director, Rita Houston. "Just look at the outpouring of songs being written with lyrics from the Woody Guthrie Archives and you can see his impact is greater than ever."

About WFUV
New York's Rock and Roots station WFUV (90.7 FM, www.wfuv.org) is a noncommercial, member-supported radio station, licensed to Fordham University for more than 60 years, serving nearly 300,000 weekly listeners throughout the New York metropolitan area and thousands more worldwide on the Web. WFUV has received national recognition for its award-winning weekday format of adult album alternative music, news from NPR, and a diverse weekend lineup. WFUV's own robust website has extensive audio archives, videos, song playlists, an events calendar, blog and other resources.