Guthrie, Woody, 1912-1967

Seeger believed songs were a way of binding people to a cause. He talks about fellow folk music icon Woody Guthrie and jumping railroad cars in an archival interview from 1985.

The legendary folksinger wrote hundreds of political songs, children's tunes an ballads, including "This Land Is Your Land," "Pastures of Plenty" and "Pretty Boy Floyd." Many of his tracks appear on a new CD box set released by Smithsonian Folkways.

Music critic Milo Miles tells us how the klezmer-fusion band the Klezmatics are keeping the music of Woody Guthrie alive. Their latest albums are Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah and the Grammy-nominated Wonder Wheel. They are currently on tour.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Billy Bragg and Wilco's album Mermaid Avenue, Volume 2.

Ramblin' Jack Elliott is a folk singer who has hopped freights, hitched cross-country, competed in rodeos, toured with Woody Guthrie, and influenced a young Bob Dylan. He's been singing since the late 1940's. He has his first studio album in over twenty-five years, "South Coast." (Red House Records, P.O. Box 4044, St. Paul, MN 55104 1-800-695-4687). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Pete Seeger has dedicated his career to celebrating working people and civil rights. He was blacklisted in the 1950s, which kept him off television for decades. He joins Fresh Air to talk about how he developed his repertoire and honed his craft as a performer.

Joe Klein has written a biography of folk musician Woody Guthrie. He joins the show to discuss Guthrie's life, career, and family. His book is titled "Woody Guthrie: A Life."