Wanda Jackson to pay tribute to Woody Guthrie at pre-festival show

Posted by brandy

on July 3, 2009 at 9:12 am

Oklahoma native Wanda Jackson poses on the red carpet at her April induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Associated Press photo)

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Woody Guthrie, who also was born in Oklahoma. (The Oklahoman Archives)

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.

Wanda & Woody: Rock Hall of Famer’s benefit leads into annual Woody Guthrie Folk Fest

One Rock and Roll Hall of Famer from Oklahoma will pay tribute to another Tuesday leading into the 12^th annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival.

Wanda Jackson, who was inducted in April to the rock hall, will headline a benefit concert in honor of Woody Guthrie at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Tulsa’s historic Cain’s Ballroom.

The pre-festival show will benefit the Woody Guthrie Coalition, which organizes Woody Fest yearly in the troubadour’s hometown of Okemah around his July 14 birthday.

“As one of the performers asked to be there, I am honored and happy to come sing my songs in memory of another Oklahoma Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Woody Guthrie,” Jackson said in an e-mail from Switzerland, where she was wrapping up a successful two-week tour of Europe.

“There is no other artist who has influenced the music world any more than Woody Guthrie. He certainly has my respect and admiration for his contributions.”

Musical legacy

The 12^th annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival will officially kick off at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Okemah’s historic Crystal Theatre with another benefit concert. The opening night show will feature SONiA of folk/power pop band Disappear Fear and folk-rocker Jonatha Brooke.

“Jonatha Brooke is the most recent singer-songwriter to record a CD of all-new Woody Guthrie songs that were lyrics housed in the Woody Guthrie Archives that she put her own music to,” said Woody Fest Media Chairwoman Karen Zundel. “It’s called ‘The Works’ … and she’s the first female to record an album of Woody Guthrie songs.”

The festival will continue all day Thursday-July 11 with musical performances, a children’s festival, open mike, and special events like a poetry reading, tribute to the late red dirt music great Bob Childers and new this year, songwriting workshops.

This year’s lineup includes Jimmy LaFave, Stoney LaRue, John Gorka, Ellis Paul and more. Guthrie granddaughters Annie Guthrie and Sarah Lee Guthrie, along with Sarah Lee’s husband Johnny Irion, will perform.

Another granddaughter, Anna Canoni, who works for the Woody Guthrie Archives, will make her festival debut with a special presentation and screening of the documentary “Woody Guthrie: Legacy.”

Guthrie’s younger sister, Mary Jo Guthrie Edgmon, will host July 11 her yearly pancake breakfast benefiting the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. Guthrie died of complications from Huntington’s Oct. 3, 1967, at the age of 55.

The festival will end July 12 with “Hoot for Huntington’s,” another event aiding the society’s Oklahoma chapter.

“To me it seems especially fitting when a state honors one of their own in a special way, and for Woody Guthrie what could be better than a music festival where you come to hear live bands play good music, have fun with friends and an overall happy day?” Jackson said.

Influence and inspiration

Guthrie, a prolific singer-songwriter with a gift for connecting with listeners through his ballads, children’s tunes and protest songs, was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 in the early influence category. Jackson, a rockabilly pioneer widely considered the first woman to sing rock ‘n’ roll, joined the hall in the same category.

Both Oklahoma artists are trailblazers who have influenced rock and country performers through the decades, said Oklahoma City singer-songwriter K.C. Clifford, who will make her Woody Fest debut Thursday.

“He has left us the best legacy of being a songwriter for the people and kind of a common man who obviously had a huge impact on folk music,” she said. “It’s amazing to be from the same place as Woody. … It’s good mojo.”

Although her folk music doesn’t overlap much with Jackson’s rockabilly sound, Clifford finds inspiration in the fellow Oklahoman’s enduring 55-year career.

“She’s certainly a fighter,” she said. “I like that. I like women who are succeeding in music and have longevity. … I think the more attention that gets brought to Oklahoma writers and musicians, the more it continues to bolster the (music) scene here.”

Going on

Woody Guthrie Folk Festival Pre-fest Benefit Concert

What: Wanda Jackson, Ronny Elliott and Nancy Apple will play a special show benefiting the Woody Guthrie Coalition at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Tulsa’s Cain’s Ballroom.

Tickets: $35 and $20, available at www.protixonline.com or by phone at (866) 977-6849.

Information: www.woodyguthrie.com.

12th annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival

When: Wednesday through July 12.

Where: Various venues in Okemah.

What: Musical performances, children’s activities, open mike, poetry reading, documentary screening, songwriter workshops and fundraisers for the state chapter of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America.

Admission: Free except for the opening show at 8 p.m. Wednesday, featuring Jonatha Brooke and SONiA, which costs $20 for general admission or $35 for Gold Circle seating.

Parking: Free for daytime events; $10 per car evenings at the Pastures of Plenty Stage.

Information: www.woodyguthrie.com.

-BAM