Entertainment blogging from The Oklahoman's Brandy McDonnell

Wednesday Video Spotlight: “Woody Guthrie at 100! Live at the Kennedy Center” to premiere on PBS, CD+DVD

“Woody Guthrie at 100! Live at the Kennedy Center” pays homage to the artistry of American folk musician Woody Guthrie

The new CD+DVD commemorative package captures the historic all-star concert staged in the Okemah native’s honor last October in Washington, D.C. Featuring performances from Jackson Browne, Rosanne Cash, Judy Collins, Jeff Daniels (reading a letter, not singing), Ani DiFranco, Donovan, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, John Mellencamp, Tom Morello, Old Crow Medicine Show, Lucinda Williams, and many others, the set will be available June 11 through Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, according to a news release.

The release coincides with the televised premiere of “Woody Guthrie at 100! Live at the Kennedy Center” in June on PBS. (Check your local listings.) The CD+DVD package features eight performances not seen in the one-hour PBS broadcast, including two spoken word performances from actor Jeff Daniels and six musical performances from Old Crow Medicine Show, Jimmy LaFave, Rosanne Cash, Lucinda Williams, Judy Collins, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. Tracklists for the CD and DVD differ so see full details after the break.

In October 2012 (the same month as the concert), “Woody Guthrie: Ain’t Got No Home,” written, produced and directed by Peter Frumkin as part of the award-winning American Masters biography series, premiered on PBS.

The commemorative CD+DVD release will include a 12-page booklet containing rare photographs and a personal note from Woody’s daughter, Nora Guthrie, who administers the nonprofit Woody Guthrie Foundation & Archives, and Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. Cover art for the CD+DVD package is based on artist Shepard Fairey’s screen print designed for the 2012 Woody Guthrie Centennial.

“Woody Guthrie at 100! Live at the Kennedy Center” presents the ultimate live collection of the most famous songs written and (mostly) recorded by Woody Guthrie (b. July 14, 1912 – d. Oct. 3, 1967). They are performed by artists who have all proclaimed Woody’s influence on their craft down the years. The set starts with a familiar pair from Nashville’s Old Crow Medicine Show (“Howdi Do,” “Union Maid”), followed by touchstones from Judy Collins (“Pastures Of Plenty”), Jimmy LaFave (“Hard Travelin’”), Donovan (the children’s favorite, “Riding In My Car”), Ani DiFranco (“Deportee” aka “Plane Wreck At Los Gatos”), Sweet Honey In The Rock (“I’ve Got To Know”), and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott (“1913 Massacre”).

Rosanne Cash delivers a pair of Woody’s finest (“I Ain’t Got No Home” and “Pretty Boy Floyd”); likewise John Mellencamp, an avowed Woody Guthrie disciple, offers up one of his favorites (“Do Re Mi”). Bluegrass giants the Del McCoury Band team with singer-songwriter Tim O’Brien on “So Long, It’s Been Good To Know Yuh” and special guest Tony Trischka (on banjo) joins the group for Woody’s only instrumental song, “Woody’s Rag.” The entire cast takes the stage to close the concert with “This Train Is Bound For Glory” and, of course, Woody’s timeless “This Land Is Your Land.”

Over the past two decades, at the invitation of Nora Guthrie, contemporary musicians have composed music to Woody’s previously unpublished lyrics. Several of these artists presented their new songs at the concert, including Joel Rafael (“Ramblin’ Reckless Hobo”) and Lucinda Williams (“House Of Earth”). In collaboration with Nora Guthrie, bassist/producer Rob Wasserman assembled a full album of these new songs in 2011, Note of Hope. Two artists reprise their contributions from that album, namely Jackson Browne (“You Know The Night”) and Tom Morello (“Ease My Revolutionary Mind”).

The final contributor to “Woody Guthrie at 100! Live at the Kennedy Center”is Woody h imself. The DVD bonus features include rare footage of Woody singing “John Henry,” “Ranger’s Command” and “Greenback Dollar,” as well as spoken pieces by Woody (and others) that are illustrated by archival photographs and documentary footage. These portraits of Woody are reminders of how the songs of Okemah’s favorite son took off around the world like a fast train on a well-oiled track.

“Woody Guthrie at 100! Live at the Kennedy Center” is the chronicle of a major, post-modern hootenanny. It took place in Washington, DC, on Oct. 14, 2012, and was the culmination of the yearlong celebration, following events in Woody’s native Oklahoma, Texas, California, Pennsylvania, and New York. More than 75 subsequent centennial events (dozens of concerts, tributes and dedications in folk, jazz and classical realms, conferences, seminars, exhibits, dance festivals, a stage musical) took place across the U.S. and Canada – “From California to the New York Island” – and across the U.K. and Europe. Most of those events, as well as the Kennedy Center concert, were organized and presented by the Grammy Museum, in association with Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. and the Woody Guthrie Foundation & Archives.

Playing a major role in the centennial campaign is Robert Santelli, Executive Director of the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, which curated the Woody Guthrie Centennial. Santelli is the award-winning author of “This Land Is Your Land: Woody Guthrie and the Journey of an American Folk Song” (Running Press, 2012), and co-editor of “Hard Travelin’: The Life and Legacy of Woody Guthrie” (Wesleyan, 1999). Santelli also co-produced and co-annotated “Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial” (Smithsonian Folkways). The coffee table-sized, 3-CD (and 150-page book) box set was released July 10, 2012, four days before Woody’s actual 100th birth date on July 14. The box set went on to win this year’s Grammy Award for Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package.

In February, HarperCollins published “House Of Earth,” a previously unpublished completed manuscript by Woody Guthrie that had been lost to readers since its creation in 1947. The book was edited and introduced by presidential historian Douglas Brinkley and Johnny Depp, and published on Depp’s imprint, Infinitum Nihil. “House Of Earth” finally provides a complement to Woody’s classic autobiography “Bound For Glory” (E.P. Dutton, 1943), a book that has exerted enormous influence on generations of musicians around the world, including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bragg, Joe Strummer, and countless others.

“Woody Guthrie at 100! Live at the Kennedy Center” is produced and directed by four-time Emmy Award-winner Jim Brown of Ginger Group Productions. Brown, an associate professor at NYU’s Tisch School Of the Arts, is one of America’s most accomplished music documentary filmmakers, with a concentration in American folk music, and has created some of the most enduring films in that genre. He received Emmys for “The Weavers: Wasn’t That A Time!” (1981), “We Shall Overcome” (1989), and “Pete Seeger: The Power of Song” (2007). Two of Brown’s films, “A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly” (1988) and “Songs Of the Civil War” (1991), were released with Columbia Records CD counterparts. Other titles include “Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin’” (1984), “Pete Seeger Family Concert” (1991), “Peter, Paul, and Mary: Carry It on – A Musical Legacy” (2004), and two Harry Belafonte films, “An Evening with Harry Belafonte & Friends” (1997) and the biography “Sing Your Song” (2011). Most of Jim Brown’s folk music films are very familiar to PBS viewers, as a result of being screened frequently for decades.

“Woody Guthrie never forgot about the people for whom the American Dream was far out of reach,” Santelli has written. “It was as if he had made a promise blessed in blood never to ignore the plight of the struggling American, no matter who he was, where he came from, or why he had hit hard times. Woody Guthrie sought to be the voice of the jobless, the homeless, and voiceless. And he was. Here’s hoping that Woody and his songs continue to be that voice for the next hundred years.”

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Video: Samantha Crain releases “The Pattern Has Changed” video, playing Norman Music Festival today and Tulsa’s Guthrie Green Sunday

Shawnee singer-songwriter Samantha Crain has released the music video for her gorgeous ballad “The Pattern Has Changed.” It is the second song from her third full-length album, “Kid Face,” to get a video.

John Hanson shot and directed the video for “The Pattern Has Changed,” which is simple but achingly poignant, in contrast to the high-tech, flippy fun of Samantha’s video for “Never Going Back.”

“Kid Face” is the follow-up to 2010′s “You (Understood),” which received praise from Rolling Stone, SPIN, New York Times and NPR and made my top 10 list for that year.

It’s a busy weekend for Samantha: She will play at 4:15 today at the Sailor Jerry Stage at the free Norman Music Festival. For more information, click here.

She also will play a free concert from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Tulsa’s Guthrie Green urban park, 111 E Brady Street. The concert lineup also will feature NMF performers JD McPherson, Ripple Green and Ramsay Midwood and is planned in conjunction with this weekend’s grand opening of the Woody Guthrie Center, across the street from the Guthrie Green in the burgeoning Brady Arts District. For more information on the Woody Guthrie Center opening festivities, click here.

-BAM

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Interview: Nora Guthrie excited to open Woody Guthrie Center today in Tulsa

A version of this story appears in Saturday’s The Oklahoman.

Woody Guthrie Center brings folk singer back to Oklahoma
Located in Tulsa’s Brady Arts District, new home of the Woody Guthrie Archives opens its doors to the public for the first time Saturday afternoon.

TULSA — Inside the slickly remodeled red-brick warehouse, Woody Guthrie’s lifetime achievement Grammy shares space with one of his humble red-and-black plaid shirts, while the shiny touch screens and suspended headphones of the listening bar are set up across the room from the battered 1940 fiddle the musician carved with the slogan “This machine killed 10 fascists.”

Situated the burgeoning Brady Arts District, the sleek new Woody Guthrie Center may not look like a house, but it’s where Nora Guthrie’s heart now lives.

“This is my home,” said the daughter of Woody Guthrie Friday afternoon at a media preview for the center. “The thing

I like about it is the potential. It can go as far as you guys want to take it.”

The center is the new home of the Woody Guthrie Archives, which were previously housed in Nora Guthrie’s Mount Kisko, N.Y., home. In 2011, the Tulsa-based George Kaiser Family Foundation bought the comprehensive archives and began construction on the 12,000-square-foot center.

“Working with the archives and reading this kind of material was really the joy of my life. That’s when I really got to play with my dad,” said Nora Guthrie, who was just 17 years old when her famous father died of Huntington’s disease, a hereditary neurodegenerative condition.

Grand opening

The center will open to the public for the first time at 1 p.m. Saturday. The grand opening will include free admission Saturday and Sunday, plus a film screening, book signing and free concerts across the street at the Guthrie Green urban park.

Nora Guthrie will speak about the new recordings contemporary musicians like Billy Bragg, Wilco and The Klezmatics have created using her father’s previously unpublished lyrics. Although she plays piano, she hasn’t needed to tickle the ivories to keep her father’s legacy thriving.

“You don’t have to play an instrument to love Woody’s philosophy. You don’t even have to love folk music to love Woody’s philosophy. It’s included there if you want it, but if you don’t, there’s a road to Woody’s heart that’s open and available to anyone,” she told about 20 journalists gathered in the center’s theater.

“My father’s favorite line was ‘I’m out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself and in your work.’ And in a time now when we’re so distracted by celebrity-ism … I’m just hoping this center will expand and really connect to all walks of life.”

Oklahoma home

Born July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Woody Guthrie is best remembered as a folk singer-songwriter, but he also was an artist, writer and activist. He died Oct. 3, 1967, in New York, where his daughter was born and bred.

But Nora Guthrie has long believed the archives belonged in Oklahoma. And Stanton Doyle, a senior program officer with the Kaiser Family Foundation, thinks the revived neighborhood of Cain’s Ballroom and the Brady Theater makes a fine spot.

“It’s really the perfect space,” Doyle said. “There’s a huge list of famous people from Oklahoma, but in terms of like really inspirational people from Oklahoma, Will Rogers and Woody Guthrie are the top two.”

GOING ON

Woody Guthrie Center Grand Opening

When: 12:30 to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Woody Guthrie Center, 102 E Brady Street, and Guthrie Green, 111 E Brady Street.

Information: www.woodyguthriecenter.org.

Schedule

Saturday

12:30 p.m.: Ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Woody Guthrie Center.

1 to 6 p.m.: Center officially opens to the public. Free admission.

1 to 6 p.m.: Free concert at Guthrie Green. Lineup includes Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Jimmy LaFave, Red Dirt Rangers and Desi & Cody.

Sunday

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Free admission to Woody Guthrie Center.

1 to 5 p.m.: Special events at the center:

1 to 2 p.m.: “Been Here and Gone: A Discussion with Photographer John Cohen” — Cohen will talk about his photography of Woody Guthrie and the American folk scene of the 1950s and 60s; moderated by Grammy Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli.

2:30 to 2:45 p.m.: Film screening: “Woody Guthrie Legacy” — Short documentary features Corey Harris, Ani DiFranco, U2, Bob Dylan and others discussing their connection to Woody.

2:45 to 3:45 p.m.: “I Ain’t Dead Yet: New Music from the Woody Guthrie Archives with Nora Guthrie” — Presentation focuses on new recordings being created by contemporary musicians using Woody’s previously unpublished lyrics. The one-hour multimedia program features musical excerpts and examples of lyrics used by musicians Billy Bragg, Wilco, The Klezmatics and many others.

4 to 5 p.m.: Book signing with Grammy Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli — He will sign copies of his book, “This Land Is Your Land: Woody Guthrie and the Journey of An American Folksong.”

2 to 6 p.m.: Free concert at Guthrie Green. Lineup includes Ripple Green, Samantha Crain, Ramsay Midwood and JD McPherson.

-BAM

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Interview: Woody Guthrie Center opens this weekend in Tulsa

TULSA — Woody Guthrie is coming home to Oklahoma this weekend.

The Woody Guthrie Center, the new home of the Woody Guthrie Archives, will celebrate its grand opening Saturday and Sunday in Tulsa’s burgeoning Brady Arts District. The museum will open its doors at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The festivities will include free admission Saturday and Sunday, along with a film screening, book signing and free concerts across the street at Guthrie Green urban park.

“Our focus is on education and the arts. We want to draw in young people and get them excited about the idea of using their creativity in the same way that Woody did, whether it’s through art or writing or if you have some kind of a huge talent with math. Whatever you’ve got as a natural talent, express yourself through that. Express your world through that outlet,” said Deana McCloud, the center’s executive director.

Born July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Woodrow “Woody” Wilson Guthrie is best remembered as an influential folk singer-songwriter, but he also was an artist, writer, newspaper columnist, radio show host and activist. He died Oct. 3, 1967, of Huntington’s disease, a hereditary neurodegenerative condition.

The Woody Guthrie Center’s permanent exhibit will feature selections of original items from the Woody Guthrie Archives, including Guthrie’s handwritten copy of “This Land Is Your Land,” along with lyrics, artwork, photographs, personal notebooks, letters, postcards and some of his rare, never-before-seen musical instruments. The exhibit also will feature objects from musicians who were influenced by Guthrie, including Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, John Cohen and Jimmy LaFave.

LaFave, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, the Red Dirt Rangers and Guthrie’s granddaughter, Sarah Lee Guthrie, and her husband, Johnny Irion, will perform for free Saturday at Guthrie Green in honor of the grand opening. On Sunday afternoon, Guthrie Green will host another free concert featuring JD McPherson, Samantha Crain, Ramsay Midwood and Ripple Green.

“It ties so perfectly into what we want to promote: that Oklahoma talent that we have,” McCloud said.

Also on Sunday afternoon, the center will host a series of special activities, including a screening of the short documentary “Woody Guthrie Legacy”; a presentation by Nora Guthrie, daughter of the “Dust Bowl Balladeer”; and a book signing by Grammy Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli, author of “This Land Is Your Land: Woody Guthrie and the Journey of An American Folksong.”

In 2011, the Tulsa-based George Kaiser Family Foundation bought the comprehensive Woody Guthrie Archives, which were previously housed in Nora Guthrie’s Mount Kisko, N.Y., home. Construction on the 12,000-square-foot Tulsa center began in December 2011.

“All along the way, Nora Guthrie’s been involved as far as knowing what the design was and everything that was involved, and I loved watching her see all of it fall into place. One of the most significant feel-good moments was whenever she came and the archives had arrived and were being put into place … and she said, ‘Everything’s great. Woody’s home,” said McCloud, who is also the president of the Woody Guthrie Coalition, which organizes the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah.

While the part of the collection will be on view to the public with the center’s opening this weekend, the Woody Guthrie Archives will open to researchers by appointment only beginning in summer.

The public exhibit is expected to attract Woody devotees, art lovers, music fans and school groups.

“There’s so much that people will have to choose from. It’s very hands-on and interactive,” said McCloud, who is finishing what she expects to be her last year as an English teacher at Pryor Junior High. “This is not the usual place that we go where everything is kind of sterile, museums that are ‘don’t touch anything.’ This is a place where we want you to touch things and we want you to experience and we want you to get out your pencils and paper and write something of your own. I think as soon as you go up the steps that it’s going to hit you what an amazing accomplishment that this center is … but also what an important place this is to visit.”

GOING ON

Woody Guthrie Center Grand Opening

When: 12:30 to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Woody Guthrie Center, 102 E Brady Street, and Guthrie Green, 111 E Brady Street.

Information: www.woodyguthriecenter.org.

Schedule

Saturday

12:30 p.m.: Ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Woody Guthrie Center.

1 to 6 p.m.: Center officially opens to the public. Free admission.

1 to 6 p.m.: Free concert at Guthrie Green. Lineup includes Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Jimmy LaFave, Red Dirt Rangers and Desi & Cody.

Sunday

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Free admission to Woody Guthrie Center.

1 to 5 p.m.: Special events at the center:

1 to 2 p.m.: “Been Here and Gone: A Discussion with Photographer John Cohen” — Cohen will talk about his photography of Woody Guthrie and the American folk scene of the 1950s and 60s; moderated by Grammy Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli.

2:30 to 2:45 p.m.: Film screening: “Woody Guthrie Legacy” — Short documentary features Corey Harris, Ani DiFranco, U2, Bob Dylan and others discussing their connection to Woody.

2:45 to 3:45 p.m.: “I Ain’t Dead Yet: New Music from the Woody Guthrie Archives with Nora Guthrie” — Presentation focuses on new recordings being created by contemporary musicians using Woody’s previously unpublished lyrics. The one-hour multimedia program features musical excerpts and examples of lyrics used by musicians Billy Bragg, Wilco, The Klezmatics and many others.

4 to 5 p.m.: Book signing with Grammy Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli — He will sign copies of his book, “This Land Is Your Land: Woody Guthrie and the Journey of An American Folksong.”

2 to 6 p.m.: Free concert at Guthrie Green. Lineup includes Ripple Green, Samantha Crain, Ramsay Midwood and JD McPherson.

-BAM

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Woody Guthrie Center to open April 27 in Tulsa

TULSA – A portion of legendary folk singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie’s comprehensive archives, including the original, handwritten version of Guthrie’s landmark anthem, “This Land Is Your Land,” will be available for viewing at the grand opening of the Woody Guthrie Center at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at 102 East Brady.

The 12,000-square-foot center will feature state-of-the-art, interactive exhibits on Guthrie’s life, art and creative legacy and will include Oklahoma’s only permanent exhibit on the Dust Bowl, according to a news release.

The Woody Guthrie Center’s permanent exhibit on the Okemah native will feature selections of original items from the Woody Guthrie Archives, including Guthrie’s handwritten copy of “This Land Is Your Land,” along with lyrics, artwork, photographs, personal notebooks, letters, postcards and some of his rare, never-before-seen musical instruments. The exhibit will also feature objects from some musicians who were influenced by Guthrie, including Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, John Cohen and Jimmy LaFave, among others.

The Woody Guthrie Archives were brought to Tulsa by George Kaiser Family Foundation, who purchased them in 2011 from Woody Guthrie Publications in New York.

“We are thrilled to finally announce the opening of the Woody Guthrie Center, here in his home state of Oklahoma,” said Ken Levit, executive director of the George Kaiser Family Foundation, in the release. “This archive will be available to scholars and researchers so that we can continue to tell the story of this remarkable Oklahoman for generations to come. The Guthrie family has inspired us with their loving and creative stewardship of these materials, and we are proud to provide a permanent home for this incredible collection in the Brady Arts District of Tulsa, Okla.”

The Woody Guthrie Archives contains more than 10,000 items of primary and secondary source material, including more than 3,000 song lyrics, rare books by and about Guthrie, more than 700 pieces of artwork, letters and postcards, manuscripts and personal journals, more than 500 photographs, handwritten songbooks, Guthrie’s annotated record collection and personal papers detailing family matters, his World War II military service and musical career.

“The decision to transfer the Woody Guthrie Archives to our Tulsa friends was a slow and deliberate one, but after visiting Tulsa and the Brady Arts District, I felt it was the right home for his work,” said Nora Guthrie, daughter of Woody Guthrie and president of the Woody Guthrie Foundation & Archives, in the release.

“In getting to know the George Kaiser Family Foundation, I felt we could work together to create something very unique, and I felt a kinship with the artists in the Brady District. Bringing Woody’s life’s work back to his Oklahoma Hills will be a real adventure, and I think Woody would have proudly declared, ‘That’s where I want to be, Ma. That’s where I want to be.’”

Also included in the Woody Guthrie Center is an exhibit that will include a five-minute excerpt of the documentary series by Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan, “The Dust Bowl.” “The Dust Bowl” chronicles the environmental catastrophe that, throughout the 1930s, destroyed the farmlands of the Great Plains and was the inspiration for many of Guthrie’s songs.

The center will feature an extensive outreach and education program that will take Guthrie’s story to schools across Oklahoma and demonstrate the impact he has made on the world. There will be a series of concerts to bring his music and his legacy to those who visit the center.

Deana McCloud will serve as executive director. For 16 years, she has been a member of the Woody Guthrie Coalition, booking and producing concerts for the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah,  and working with the Woody Guthrie Publications to present programs about Guthrie. She is president of the coalition’s board of directors. McCloud has been a teacher in the Pryor Public School district for 14 years and achieved National Board Certification.

“We are excited to open the Woody Guthrie Center to the public, and we are looking forward to sharing this day with Oklahomans and visitors from across the world,” McCloud said in the release. “This is more than just a collection of Woody Guthrie memorabilia; it’s an educational center that will serve as an inspiration for visitors and a venue through which to share his legacy with the world. As a veteran classroom teacher, I know that there is a huge potential for engaging students as well as teachers in the educational programs and inquiry that the center will inspire.”

The center will be operated in conjunction with the Woody Guthrie Archives, along with the Los Angeles-based Grammy Museum. In 2012, The Grammy Museum teamed up with Woody Guthrie Publications to host one of the largest and most comprehensive centennial celebrations ever staged for an American music icon, The Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration. Designed to celebrate Guthrie’s extraordinary body of work and impact on American music, the year-long celebration included a host of tribute concerts, educational curricula, lectures, conferences, a touring exhibition and more.

Gallagher & Associates, an internationally recognized museum planning and design firm, designed the Woody Guthrie Center. Other notable projects by G&A include the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, the Vault of the Secret Formula at the World of Coca Cola in Atlanta, the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles and the largest natural history museum in the world, the Shanghai Natural History Museum.

The center’s hours of operation will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The center will be closed on Mondays. On the first Friday of each month, hours will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission will be $8 for adults, $6 for youths ages 5 to 17, and children younger 5 will be admitted free. For additional information on the archives, go to http://WoodyGuthrieCenter.org.

Woodrow “Woody” Wilson Guthrie was born in Okemah, Okla. in 1912. “Pretty Boy Floyd,” “Pastures of Plenty,” “Going Down The Road,” “Hard Travelin’,” “Jesus Christ,” “I Ain’t Got No Home,” “Deportee,” “Roll On Columbia,” “Vigilante Man,” “Do Re Mi,” “Tom Joad,” “Union Maid,” “1913 Massacre,” “This Train Is Bound For Glory,” “Oklahoma Hills,” and “Riding In My Car” are among the 3,000 songs he wrote in his lifetime. Guthrie’s iconic “This Land Is Your Land” has become the unofficial American national anthem. Guthrie also recorded many children’s songs and tunes devoted to telling the story of the disenfranchised and working class of his era. He was also an artist, writer, radio show host and activist during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

About George Kaiser Family Foundation
George Kaiser Family Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty through investments in early childhood education, community health, social services and civic enhancement. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, GKFF works primarily on initiatives developed in collaboration with Tulsa-based direct service organizations. For more information about George Kaiser Family Foundation, go to www.gkff.org.

About The Grammy Museum
Paying tribute to music’s rich cultural history, this one-of-a-kind, 21st-century Museum explores and celebrates the enduring legacies of all forms of music, the creative process, the art and technology of the recording process, and the history of the premier recognition of excellence in recorded music — the Grammy Award. The Grammy Museum features 30,000 square feet of interactive and multimedia exhibits located within L.A. Live, the downtown Los Angeles sports, entertainment and residential district. Through thought-provoking and dynamic public and educational programs and exhibits, guests can experience music from a never-before-seen insider perspective that only The Grammy Museum can deliver. For more information, go to www.GrammyMuseum.org.

About The Woody Guthrie Archives
Since its opening in 1996, the Woody Guthrie Archives has been a major success becoming an important resource for the general public, musicians, singers, songwriters, scholars, and public and private cultural institutions wishing to research the original materials of Woody Guthrie. The Archives contains a wealth of primary source material pertinent to the study of Woody Guthrie, and his life and times in America during the 20th century. The Woody Guthrie Archives new home in Tulsa, Okla., will continue to be accessible to researchers and students wishing to use Guthrie’s extensive body of work to further their education.

Established in 1972, the Woody Guthrie Foundation, a nonprofit organization, has lovingly served as administrator and caretaker of the Woody Guthrie Archives. Dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of information about Woody Guthrie’s vast cultural legacy, the Woody Guthrie Archives is the largest collection of original Woody Guthrie material in the world. For more information, go to www.WoodyGuthrie.org.

See a list of events planned for the Woody Guthrie Center opening weekend after the break.

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Carrie Underwood wins sixth career Grammy

“Country music has always been so good to me, and I think the good Lord that I’m a part of such a wonderful, talented, amazing family,” Underwood said, her voice choking with emotion as she thanked her label, family, fans and husband Mike Fisher. “And just really, glory to God, thank you so much.”

Underwood won the best country solo performance award for her chart-topping story song “Blown Away.” She beat out two other nominees with Oklahoma ties: Tishomingo resident Blake Shelton was nominated for his hit power ballad “Over” and former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn for his timely anthem “The Cost of Livin’.”

In addition, Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins earned the best country song Grammy for penning “Blown Away.”

When she took the Grammys stage to sing, Underwood changed up the tempo of the song, the title track to her platinum-selling 2012 album, and then merged it with her latest hit single, “Two Black Cadillacs.” But her soaring vocals weren’t the only show-stopping aspect of her performance: Her grand silver gown became a projection screen for roses, swirls and finally, a swarm of butterflies that soared away as the crowd gave her a standing ovation.

Although she was the only nominee with Oklahoma ties to win, Underwood wasn’t the only one to perform. Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert and tourmate Dierks Bentley did a duet that mingled her heartbreaking ballad “Over You” with his heartfelt anthem “Home.”

After winning the best pop vocal album for “Stronger” — and briefly getting stuck to Lambert’s dress as they hugged — Kelly Clarkson used her big voice to pay tribute to two of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners. She sang “Tennessee Waltz” in honor of the late Claremore native Patti Page and “Natural Woman” in a nod to Carole King.

It was one of many star-studded tributes: Bruno Mars, Sting, Rihanna and members of the Marley family paid homage to late Bob Marley, while Elton John, Mavis Staples, Zac Brown, Mumford & Sons, T Bone Burnett and Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes played “The Weight” in honor of the late Levon Helm.

Other “Grammy moments” paired John and Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z, Maroon 5 with Alicia Keys, The Black Keys and Dr. John and Miguel and Wiz Khalifa. Taylor Swift, fun., the Lumineers, Mumford & Sons, Frank Ocean and Jack White also performed on the show.

When it came to the awards, The Recording Academy voters spread around the Grammy glory. Mumford & Sons received album of the year for “Babel,” Gotye and Kimbra earned record of the year for “Somebody That I Used to Know,” and fun. garnered new artist of the year and song of the year for “We Are Young.”

Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys was the night’s top winner with four trophies, including non-classical producer of the year and three rock category victories with bandmate Patrick Carney.

With the CBS broadcast jammed with performances, many of the actual awards were handed out during the pre-telecast ceremony. Art director Fritz Klaetke won Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package for “Woody At 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection” and paid tribute to the late Okemah native’s powerful songwriting.

Bearden singer/songwriter/musician John Fullbright brought fire and brimstone to the pre-telecast with his performance of “Gawd Above,” from his album “From the Ground Up.” His debut studio effort was nominated in the competitive best Americana album category, but veteran recording artist Bonnie Raitt won for her “Slipstream.”

Contributing: The Associated Press. See the winners in several of the categories after the break.

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Reminder: Grammy Awards live blog begins at 7 tonight!

Just a reminder: The 55th Annual Grammy Awards are airing from 7 to 10:30 tonight on CBS, and I will be live blogging the be show right here on BAM’s Blog.

Checotah native Carrie Underwood, Justin Timberlake, Mumford & Sons, Kelly Clarkson, The Black Keys, FUN., the Lumineers, Frank Ocean, Taylor Swift and Jack White are just some of the superstars set to perform during the music industry’s premier event.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the Grammys without special star-studded musical mash-ups: Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert will perform with tourmate Dierks Bentley; Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Sting will join forces onstage; Elton John and Ed Sheeran will do a duet; and Alicia Keys will team up with Maroon 5.

Stars with Oklahoma ties who are nominated include Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, John Fullbright, Blake Shelton, Ronnie Dunn, Time Jumpers and Kelli O’Hara. To read my full Grammys preview column, click here.

-BAM

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Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, John Fullbright, Blake Shelton, Ronnie Dunn, Time Jumpers and Kelli O’Hara to represent Oklahoma at Sunday’s Grammy Awards

Checotah native Carrie Underwood, Justin Timberlake, Mumford & Sons, Kelly Clarkson, The Black Keys, FUN., the Lumineers, Frank Ocean, Taylor Swift and Jack White are set to perform during the music industry’s premier event, airing live from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the Grammys without special star-studded musical mash-ups: Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert will perform with tourmate Dierks Bentley; Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Sting will join forces onstage; Elton John and Ed Sheeran will do a duet; and Alicia Keys will team up with Maroon 5.

Also, Bearden singer-songwriter John Fullbright, a first-time nominee, will be among the performers during the Grammy Awards Pre-Telecast Ceremony, which will stream live from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Grammy.com/live and CBS.com.

Not surprisingly, several Oklahomans earned Grammy nominations, particularly in the country music categories. Three artists with Sooner State ties are nominated in the Best Country Solo Performance alone: Underwood for her chart-topping story-song “Blown Away,” Tishomingo resident Blake Shelton for his hit power ballad “Over” and former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn for his timely anthem “Cost of Livin’.”

Dunn and Phillip Coleman also got a nod for Best Country Song for penning “Cost of Livin’,” while Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins are nominated in the category for writing Underwood’s “Blown Away.”

Lambert earned a Best Country Album nomination for her fourth effort, “Four the Record.”

The 11-piece Western swing band The Time Jumpers, which features Norman-born and Oklahoma City-bred singer/songwriter/musician Vince Gill as well as Texas-born and Liberty-bred fiddler/singer Kenny Sears, also got a Best Country Album nod for its self-titled studio debut.

Gill co-wrote and provides the lead vocals on “On The Outskirts Of Town,” which garnered The Time Jumpers a nomination in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

Gill’s propensity for musical collaborations is apparent among the nominations: He, Dunn and Lawton-born Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leon Russell are among the guest stars on Jamey Johnson’s “Living For A Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran,” another of the Best Country Album nominees. Also, Gill, Midwest City High School graduate Kevin Welch and Soper native Ray Wylie Hubbard are featured on “This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark,” which is nominated for Best Folk Album.

Fullbright earned his first Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album with his debut studio effort, “From the Ground Up,” which he recorded at 115 Studios in Norman and released on his own Blue Dirt Records label.

Four-time Tony Award nominee Kelli O’Hara, who was born in Elk City and raised in Edmond, shares principal soloist duties with Matthew Broderick on the Broadway cast recording of “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” nominated for Best Musical Theater Album.

The lasting legacy of Okemah native Woody Guthrie is represented among the nominations. Elizabeth Mitchell’s “Little Seed: Songs For Children By Woody Guthrie” is nominated for Best Childen’s Album. Art director Fritz Klaetke is competing for Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package for “Woody At 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection.” In addition, Jeff Place and Robert Santelli, compilation producers, and Pete Reiniger, mastering engineer, are nominated for Best Historical Album for “Woody At 100.”

Art director Noah Wall is nominated for Best Recording Package for “Love This Giant,” the collaborative album for Tulsa-born singer/songwriter/musician St. Vincent and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer David Byrne.

As part of the Grammy Week festivities, Claremore native Patti Page, who died Jan. 1 at the age of 85, will posthumously receive The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award at an invitation-only ceremony Saturday. Page and fellow Lifetime Achievement recipients Carole King, Glenn Gould, Charlie Haden, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Ravi Shankar and the Temptations will be acknowledged during Sunday’s Grammys telecast.

GRAMMYS LIVE Blog

The 55^th Annual Grammy Awards will air live from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

Follow my live blog of the show here at BAM’s Blog, blog.newsok.com/bamsblog.

-BAM

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New releases for Feb. 5, 2013: Woody Guthrie novel “House of Earth” released posthumously

CDs

Josh Groban, “All That Echoes.”

Harry Connick Jr., “Smokey Mary.”

Tim McGraw, “Two Lanes of Freedom (Accelerated Deluxe Edition).”

Richard Thompson, “Electric (2-CD Deluxe Edition).”

Eels, “Wonderful, Glorious (2 CD Deluxe Edition).”

Roxy Music, “The Complete Studio Recordings (Box set).”

Townes Van Zandt, “Sunshine Boy: The Unheard Studio Sessions & Demos 1971-1972.”

Coheed and Cambria, “The Afterman: Descension.”

Red, “Release the Panic (Deluxe Edition).”

Sanctus Real, “Run.”

Misfits, “D e a.d. A l i v e!”

Ron Sexsmith, “Forever Endeavour.”

DVD/Blu-ray

Alex Cross

Animaniacs: Volume 4

The Bouquet

Celeste and Jesse Forever

Cougar Town: The Complete Third Season

Deadfall

Flight

Here Comes the Boom

A Late Quartet

Little White Lies

Paul Williams: Still Alive

Side by Side

So Undercover

You May Not Kiss the Bride

Books

House of Earth: A Novel by Woody Guthrie

My Brother’s Book by Maurice Sendak

From Mama’s Table to Mine: Everybody’s Favorite Comfort Foods at 350 Calories or Less by Bobby Deen and Melissa Clark

Take 2: Your Guide to Creating Happy Endings and New Beginnings by Leeza Gibbons

Wise Men: A Novel by Stuart Nadler

Big Nate Flips Out by Lincoln Peirce

Touch & Go by Lisa Gardner

-BAM

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Video: David Amram and The Amigos Band perform “The California Blues” in honor of Woody Guthrie

In this video, Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Famer David Amram talks about meeting Oklahoma music icon Woody Guthrie in 1956 and then joins The Amigos Band in a new rendition of “The California Blues,” a Jimmie Rodgers classic with additional lyrics by Guthrie and Sam Reider.

A regular at Okemah’s Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, Amram has written many scores for Broadway and film, including the scores for the movies “Splendor in The Grass” and “The Manchurian Candidate”; two operas, including the groundbreaking Holocaust opera “The Final Ingredient”; and the score for the landmark 1959 cult classic short film “Pull My Daisy,” narrated by Jack Kerouac. Recognized as a pioneering French horn player and world music ambassador, Amram was Leonard Bernstein’s choice as the first composer-in-residence with the New York Philharmonic.

Amram was commissioned in 2007 to compose “Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie,” and he has played WoodyFest the past several years.

Amram recently has been added to the list of confirmed WoodyFest 2013 performers, along with Audrey Auld, Garrett LeBeau, Rebecca Loebe and Griffin House, according www.woodyfest.com.

Previously announced performers include Okemah-area Grammy nominee John Fullbright, Jimmy LaFave, Ellis Paul, Trout Fishing in America, Annie Guthrie, Don Conoscenti, Sam Baker, Joel Rafael, The Burns Sisters, Vance Gilbert, Ramsay Midwood, Ronny Elliott and Tim Easton.

Set in Guthrie’s hometown, the festival takes place annually around the July 14 birthday of the Oklahoma music icon. This year’s festival is set for July 10-14.

-BAM

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