Leadbelly & Woody Guthrie Live! On WNYC 1940

This week Henrietta and Eli discuss outlaw ballads and how criminals are transformed into popular heroes. In conjunction with that and of extra special interest, they rebroadcast a show Henrietta produced for WNYC radio back in 1940. It is Leadbelly’s show and he has as his guest, Woody Guthrie. This program has not been heard since it was first broadcast 67 years ago! Down Home would like to thank WNYC and archivist Andy Lanset for providing us with this rare material.

Leadbelly & Woody Guthrie Live! On WNYC 1940

Henrietta and Eli would like to remind the listeners about the January 27th anti-war march in Washington D.C. For more information click here.

Blues Music in Greenwhich Village in the Early 1960’s


When people think of 1960’s Greenwhich Village they often think of “folk music” and the beginnings of modern singer-songwriters. The emergence of the Old-Time music revival is also discussed. But often overlooked is the large amount of blues music (both society/urban blues and country-blues) that was played in the Village at that time. Many older blues artists from the South found a new audience among the primarily young white middle class crowd congregating in the clubs and coffee houses on Bleecker and MacDougal streets at that time. Bob Malenky who was an active participant in that scene joins Henrietta and Eli on today’s program and shares his insights and recollections. They play a bunch of tracks by the older artists and some of the young kids that picked up the music, and discuss the atmosphere of the period.

Blues Music in Greenwhich Village in the Early 1960’s

**For all you collectors, we play Bob Dylan’s very first commercial recordings, done for Victoria Spivey’s “Spivey” record label. He plays harmonica and sings behind Big Joe Williams on “Sitting On Top of the World” and plays harmonica on “Wichita.”

Interview with David Holt


David Holt
is a banjo player/multi-instrumentalist who has worked with and done valuable field recording and research on a number of older musicians including Doc Watson, Carl Sprague and Nimrod Workman. Eli asks David about these various encounters and his colaboration with Doc Watson on the 3 CD set “Legacy” in which Doc speaks about his own background and musical development and plays examples. Selections from “Legacy” are featured heavily in this program along with other recordings of Doc and other members of the Watson family. They also discuss David’s role in the film “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” and his reflections on that project.

Interview with David Holt