Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Clark, Maribeth

Keywords

Guthrie, Woody, Country Music, Folk Music, Urban Folk Revival

Area of Concentration

Music

Abstract

This thesis explores the popular history of folk revivalist Woody Guthrie, and the implications of his designated role as a forefather to the Urban Folk Revival in Greenwich Village, New York. By exploring distinctions between concepts of “folk” and “country” music, this work looks back in time, examining the vast repertoire of early country music that influenced Woody Guthrie. I approach this through various angles, such as the historical origin and context of these songs, linguistic analysis, and stylistic analysis. Genre studies by Karl Hagstrom Miller and linguistic anthropological perspective by Aaron Fox are two such perspectives that I incorporate into the work. Overall, this thesis contextualizes the life and music of Woody Guthrie, in a way that looks back in time; whereas the Folk Revival pits him as a seminal figure, I portray him as a culmination of those who have come before him.

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