Born: July 14, 1912, Okemah, Oklahoma, US (died October 3, 1967)

Full Name: Woodrow Wilson Guthrie

Instruments/roles: guitar, vocals, composer

Hit songs include: "So Long, It's Been Good To Know Yuh" (1935), "This Land Is Your Land" (1940), "Reuben James"(1941)

Hit Albums/CDs include: Ballads of Sacco and Vanzetti (1946)

Profile: Guthrie first heard folk music  when his mother sang songs that she had learned growing up in Tennessee. He learned the harmonica and began composing his own songs. He left home at 16 and spent the rest of his life"on the road", writing and singing about his experiences. In 1940, his songs were recorded by Alan Lomax. Guthrie inspired many later folk singers and is the most influential modern folk musician. His son, Arlo Guthrie, also became a well-known folk singer.