In honor of the 95th Anniversary of the birth of Woody Guthrie, WFDU will re-broadcast “BOUND FOR GLORY: A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO WOODY GUTHRIE” this Sunday, July 22nd, at 3pm.

Last November, I was able to gather together a talented group of musicians to re-create the historic “Bound For Glory” revue that was originally presented in 1956 as a musical tribute to Woody Guthrie. The original production was performed on March 17, 1956 at Pythian Hall in NYC. Original titled “California to the New York Island: Being a Pocketful of Brags, Blues, Bad Men Ballads, Love Songs, Okie Laments and Children’s Catcalls by Woody Guthrie”, the name was shortened to “Bound For Glory”. The revue featured a script put together by Millard Lampell, a member of the Almanac Singers, featuring the words and music of Woody Guthrie.

The revue became a look at America in the 20th Century as seen through the eyes of one incredible man. The original production featured Lee Hays and Earl Robinson as the narrators and the performers included Pete Seeger, Rev. Gary Davis, Ed McCurdy, the Kossoy Sisters and other folk names of that era. At the end of the performance, Pete Seeger pointed up to the balcony as a spotlight shone on a frail Woody Guthrie, who was released from the hospital for the evening. (You may have seen the well known photograph of Woody standing in the balcony to acknowledge the applause.)

The original performance was recognized as a milestone moment of the folk revival. Joe Klein, in his biography of Woody Guthrie, called the evening “the beginning of Woody Guthrie’s canonization”. In 1957, Will Geer adapted portions of the script to create an LP called “Bound For Glory” that was released on Folkways Records, and following Woody’s death it was adapted for use in the memorial concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, the recordings that were released on LP.

Realizing that last year was the 50th anniversary of the original event, I contacted the Woody Guthrie Archives to get permission to re-create the event for radio. I was able to assemble “our cast” at last fall’s NorthEast Regional Folk Alliance Conference (NERFA).

Three time Grammy Award winner Tom Chapin narrates as the voice of Woody Guthrie along with Robert Cohen of the Philadelphia Folksong Society. The music is performed by a talented group of contemporary artists:

To read more about this re-creation and to view phots of the event, please click here .

This program will not be heard on any other radio station, nor will it be available as a CD or any other form. The only way to hear it will be to tune into WFDU-FM this Sunday at 3pm, or listen online through our website at http://www.wfdu.fm/ .

Please join me for this historic re-broadcast. There are no plans for future re-broadcasts after this airing.