Woody Guthrie Turns 100 Folk music icon Woody Guthrie, one of
the most important figures in the history of American music, was
born July 14, 1912, 100 years ago today. Armed with a guitar
bearing the phrase, “This Machine Kills Fascists,” Guthrie wrote
thousands of songs in his life, many of which are still being
recorded today. His influence on classic rock is most famously
realized in the work of Bob Dylan, who had read Guthrie’s
autobiography, ‘Bound for Glory,’ in 1960. Shortly thereafter,
he moved to New York to meet Guthrie and the two struck up a
friendship. By this time Guthrie had been hospitalized in
Brooklyn from Huntington’s disease, a genetic neurological
condition that would claim his life on Oct. 3, 1967. Dylan’s
‘Song to Woody’ was one of two originals on his 1962 debut
album. He also wrote a poem, ‘Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie,’
which he recited at a 1963 concert. Woodrow Wilson Guthrie began
playing guitar and harmonica while growing up in Okemah, Okla.
He eventually made his way to Los An