It would have been Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday this week. After reading this story, which alerted me to this fact, I decided this week to celebrate the music of artists in my collection who have passed that milestone as well.
1. This Land Is Your Land – Woody Guthrie (1912-1967)
2. What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong (1901-1971)
3. Caravan – Duke Ellington (1899-1974)
4. With Plenty Of Money And You – Count Basie (1904-1984)
5. Minnie The Moocher – Joe Williams (orig. Cab Calloway, 1907-1994)
6. Sweet Old Chicago – Roosevelt Sykes (1906-1983)
7. Blue Moon of Kentucky – Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Band (1911-1996)
8. I’ve Got A Gal In Kalamazoo – Glenn Miller (1904-1944)
9. Sing, Sing, Sing – Benny Goodman (1909-1986)
10. If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day – Asylum Street Spankers (orig. Robert Johnson, 1911-1938)
Happy birthday, Woody. They’ll still be celebrating your legacy, and those of the others on this list, a hundred years from now. For more on Woody Guthrie, read this Popdose review of the Smithsonian Folkways’ anniversary box, Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection, or download this Coverville cover story episode celebrating Woody’s centennial.