89.3 KPCC Interview: Local authors explore Woody Guthrie’s time in Los Angeles
89.3 KPCC Interview: AirTalk
Lively and in-depth discussions of city news, politics, science, entertainment, the arts, and more. Hosted by Larry Mantle
Guests:
Darryl Holter, co-author of “Woody Guthrie L.A. 1937 to 1941” (Angel City Press, 2016) and an adjunct professor in history at USC. He’s also a singer and songwriter. His album, Radio Songs: Woody Guthrie in Los Angeles, 1937-1941, was released last year
William Deverell, co-author of “Woody Guthrie L.A. 1937 to 1941” (Angel City Press, 2016) and the director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West at the University of Southern California
The first book to thoroughly explore the legendary folk singer’s time in Los Angeles, “Woody Guthrie L.A. 1937 to 1941” details how the legendary folksinger’s stay in Los Angeles in the later years of the Great Depression forever changed his music, his politics, and his legacy.
The book’s twelve essays examine and document Guthrie’s early radio success in Los Angeles with the Woody and Lefty Lou Show; his first recordings made on old Presto disks; and the important friendship he forged with the actor and leftist radical Will Geer (later of “Grandpa Walton” fame).
Other pieces cover Guthrie’s racial egalitarianism, and the impact he still exerts in his songs about migrants and workers looking for their main chance in California. Order Woody Guthrie L.A. 1937 to 1941.
Los Angeles based singer-songwriter Darryl Holter has released of a new studio album, Radio Songs: Woody Guthrie in Los Angeles 1937-1939, via 213 Music.
