26-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
The Woody Guthrie tapes you weren't supposed to hear
In 1951, his health worsening, Woody Guthrie flipped the switch on his new T-100 reel-to-reel tape recorder to lay down several songs for his publisher.
His days as a recording artist were done. This was strictly business.
The Huntington's disease that would force Guthrie into the hospital the following year had diminished his voice. He sometimes slurred so much that those who didn't understand his condition gossiped that he was drinking too much. Howie Richman, a music publisher, knew otherwise. He signed the songwriting legend of 'This Land Is Your Land' to a publishing deal and sent him the recording machine.
