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.
October 10th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
hot dog, that was fantastic. thanks for the free listen. i think that might’ve been cisco singin’ bass on stewball hard to tell, though. i jest found your show, here, and like it an awful bunch. poor folks in this country are still writin n singin ballads, n tellin stories, but that damned ole “american idol” sorta notion of music seems to be purty big right now. i guess i find that most folks out here in indiana’ll watch the mtv until you git out yer gittar, n sing em outta their slumber. i guess its about exposure, really. everybody’s gotta song, someone just needs to sing it, that’s all.
taker easy,
davy
October 31st, 2007 at 3:08 pm
That show – and that document in itself – is just so wonderful I can hardly believe it! Thank you so much for the listen…
I just found out about your site – I’m french and currently living in Romania, and those two elements make it very difficult to listen to as much good music as I’d like to. Thanks again,
Remi.
January 6th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I am inspired! Thankyou very much!
February 3rd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Thanks for this program. What fun.
Leadbelly was to the folksinging and the blues what Satchel Paige was to baseball. Their contributions to their respective disciplines were immense but both struggled with finances. One wonders how important timing is. Both men would be wealthy if they lived today.
I recall the first time I heard Leadbelly when my father and a friend listened to Irene, Goodnight Irene, off a small 78 rpm. My dad told me about LB’s checkered past. The combination of his voice, poignancy of his stories and reputation stuck with me forever.
It is fun to know that Leadbelly and Guthrie performed together. Thanks again.
September 13th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Tharnks sooo much for sharing this show with us. I closed my eyes and for just a moment I was back there in ‘40, skipping around the dial and finding a piece of myself talking right back to me. Heroes don’t kill they lift our spirits when we need it most. Thanks again for sharing these true American heroes…
November 10th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Thank you so much for that.
That was amazing.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Hi, just wondering if this is the same as the tape the the Smithsonian put out with Guthrie and Leadbelly? Does anyone know, and if it’s not, can anyone tell me where I may be able to purchase that recording?
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Incredible! I thought I’d heard everything he did, but I missed that one. Incidentally, if anyone would like to read a great dramatization of Leadbelly’s violent and tragic life, my new novel, “THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL,” is available in both hard and soft cover at amazon.com and you can read all about its history at my web site, http://www.edaddeo.com.
Ed in California