When an icons time is coming to an end, they leave a void. Woody Guthrie was one of those icons. One of the most noteworthy folk musicians of his era, his music came to define folk music throughout the 40s and 50s, with “This Land Is Your Land”, his most popular song. Guthrie continued to sing until 1956, singing songs of the poor and downtrodden, before his Huntington’s disease forced him to stop. Guthrie continues to be remembered as one of the all-time greats, influencing the wave of musicians that followed him such as Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer. Another artist who was influenced was Bob Dylan, who would be seen as the torchbearer of folk music for the next generation.
Dylan had become obsessed with Guthrie after reading his autobiography whilst studying at University in Minneapolis, even travelling the country following his footsteps and eventually meeting him in a hospital in 1961. Guthrie had been in hospital for four years, being treated for his Huntington’s, and gave Dylan a card saying, “I’m not dead yet”. Dylan performed a song for him, Song to Woody, which appeared on his debut album a year later.
Dylan continued to write folk music, writing songs about the working classes, infusing blues elements with a writing style similar to Guthrie’s. In the early 60s, Dylan’s songwriting become more lyrically adventurous, including references to classical poetry and literature. These early songs, such as “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, came to define the genre of folk music at the start of the 60s. Dylan moved away from this style of music towards the middle of the 60s, not wanted to be restricted to one genre, producing a mixture of country, gospel, blues and rock’n’roll albums.
It is important to remember that this movement away from folk music was not a rejection by Dylan of folk music, but a move to stop himself stagnating musically. He continued singing protest music, most notably “Hurricane” from his album Desire, which recounts the story of Ruben Carter, who was falsely convicted of murder. Guthrie remains an idol of Dylan, who sings his songs at his concerts, and as he once said, “I will be Guthrie’s greatest disciple”.
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