A fascinating portrait of icon Woody Guthrie, the Pacific Northwest, and folk music—all set against the backdrop of a tumultuous moment in American history In 1941, Woody Guthrie wrote 26 songs in 30 days—including classics like “Roll On Columbia” and “Pastures of Plenty”—when he was hired by the Bonneville Power Administration to promote the benefits of cheap hydroelectric power, irrigation, and the Grand Coulee Dam. Now, KEXP DJ Greg Vandy takes readers inside the unusual partnership between one of America’s great folk artists and the federal government, and shows how the American folk revival was a response to hard times. 26 Songs In 30 Days plunges deeply into the historical context of the time and the progressive politics that embraced Social Democracy during an era in which the United States had been severely suffering from The Great Depression. And though this is a musical history of a vibrant American musical icon and a specific part of the country, it couldn’t be a better reminder of how timeless and expansive such topics are in today’s political discourse.

A fascinating portrait of icon Woody Guthrie, the Pacific Northwest, and folk music—all set against the backdrop of a tumultuous moment in American history In 1941, Woody Guthrie wrote 26 songs in 30 days—including classics like “Roll On Columbia” and “Pastures of Plenty”—when he was hired by the Bonneville Power Administration to promote the benefits of cheap hydroelectric power, irrigation, and the Grand Coulee Dam. Now, KEXP DJ Greg Vandy takes readers inside the unusual partnership between one of America’s great folk artists and the federal government, and shows how the American folk revival was a response to hard times. 26 Songs In 30 Days plunges deeply into the historical context of the time and the progressive politics that embraced Social Democracy during an era in which the United States had been severely suffering from The Great Depression. And though this is a musical history of a vibrant American musical icon and a specific part of the country, it couldn’t be a better reminder of how timeless and expansive such topics are in today’s political discourse.

Building on his 2006 book, Which Side Are You On?, Dick Weissman's A New History of American and Canadian Folk Music presents a provocative discussion of the history, evolution, and current status of folk music in the United States and Canada. North American folk music achieved a high level of popular acceptance in the late 1950s. When it was replaced by various forms of rock music, it became a more specialized musical niche, fragmenting into a proliferation of musical styles. In the pop-folk revival of the 1960s, artists were celebrated or rejected for popularizing the music to a mass audience. In particular the music seemed to embrace a quest for authenticity, which has led to endless explorations of what is or is not faithful to the original concept of traditional music. This book examines the history of folk music into the 21st century and how it evolved from an agrarian style as it became increasingly urbanized. Scholar-performer Dick Weissman, himself a veteran of the popularization wars, is uniquely qualified to examine the many controversies and musical evolutions of the music, including a detailed discussion of the quest for authenticity, and how various musicians, critics, and fans have defined that pursuit.

“I ain’t got no home, I’m just a-roamin’ round,” Woody Guthrie lamented in one of his most popular songs. A native of Oklahoma, he was still in his teens when he moved to Pampa, Texas, where he experienced the dust storms that would play such a crucial role in forming his identity and shaping his work. He later joined thousands of Americans who headed to California to escape the devastation of the Dust Bowl. There he entered the West Coast stronghold of the Popular Front, whose leftward influence on his thinking would continue after his move in 1940 to New York, where the American folk music renaissance began when Guthrie encountered Pete Seeger and Lead Belly. Guthrie kept moving throughout his life, making friends, soaking up influences, and writing about his experiences. Along the way, he produced more than 3,000 songs, as well as fiction, journalism, poetry, and visual art, that gave voice to the distressed and dispossessed. In this insightful book, Will Kaufman examines the artist’s career through a unique perspective: the role of time and place in Guthrie’s artistic evolution. Guthrie disdained boundaries—whether of geography, class, race, or religion. As he once claimed in his inimitable style, “There ain’t no such thing as east west north or south.” Nevertheless, places were critical to Guthrie’s life, thought, and creativity. He referred to himself as a “compass-pointer man,” and after his sojourn in California, he headed up to the Pacific Northwest, on to New York, and crossed the Atlantic as a merchant marine. Before his death from Huntington’s disease in 1967, Guthrie had one more important trip to take: to the Florida swamplands of Beluthahatchee, in the heart of the South. There he produced some of his most trenchant criticisms of Jim Crow racism—a portion of his work that scholars have tended to overlook. To map Guthrie’s movements across space and time, the author draws not only on the artist’s considerable recorded and published output but on a wealth of unpublished sources—including letters, essays, song lyrics, and notebooks—housed in the Woody Guthrie Archives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This trove of primary documents deepens Kaufman’s intriguing portrait of a unique American artist.

Joe Hill emigrated from Sweden to the United States in 1902, eventually joining the Industrial Workers of the World and becoming the most celebrated labor songwriter in the country. In 1915, he was executed for a crime that is widely believed he did not commit, and in the 1930s, the song "Joe Hill" was created to honor this legendary labor martyr. This book, the first to tell the story of the song "Joe Hill," follows the song's national and international diaspora as it developed from a labor union ballad into an international anti-war anthem and rallying cry for all people to rise up against their oppressors. Included are the historical contexts of the song's many eras and the performers who ensured its continued relevance, such as Paul Robeson, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Utah Phillips.

A down-and-dirty chronicle of the birth and evolution of the Seattle grunge scene—from amateur skate parks and underground hardcore clubs to worldwide phenomenon—as told by one of its founding fathers and lead guitarist of legendary alternative rock band, Mudhoney. In the late 80s and early 90s, Steve Turner and his friends—Seattle skate punks, hardcore kids, and assorted misfits—started forming bands in each other’s basements and accidentally created a unique sound that spread far beyond their once-sleepy city. Mud Ride offers an inside look at the tight-knit grunge scene, the musical influences and experiments that shaped the grunge sound, and the story of Turner's bands, Green River and Mudhoney, which went from underground flophouse shows to selling out stadiums with Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Including stories about the key moments, musicians, and albums from grunge's beginnings to its come-down from the highs of global success and stardom, this is the first account of the musical phenomenon that took over the world from someone who was there for it all. Written by Steve Turner, lead guitarist of Mudhoney, a foundational grunge band that inspired musical icons from Kurt Cobain to Sonic Youth, Mud Ride features a foreword by Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard and never-before-seen photographs and grunge memorabilia throughout. Take a seat and ride through the messy and muddy grunge scene that grew from the basements of the Northwest and went on to circle the globe. MUST HAVE FOR FANS: For cult fans of Mudhoney and all things Seattle grunge, this is the perfect book to add to your collection. Turner helped put Sub Pop Records on the map, a label that launched bands like Soundgarden and more. Mudhoney was also one of the first American grunge bands to tour Europe and the UK, laying the groundwork for the worldwide explosion of grunge. Learn more about the ins and outs of the birth of grunge and immerse yourself in '80s and '90s Seattle. A GREAT GIFT FOR MUSIC LOVERS: For the aspiring musician or anyone wanting to learn more about music history, this is an illuminating look into grunge and Seattle bands that have gone on to become world-famous. AN ESSENTIAL ROCK HISTORY BOOK: An amazing gift for readers of Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain's Please Kill Me, John Doe and Tom DeSavia's Under the Big Black Sun, and Michael Azerrad's Our Band Could Be Your Life. Anyone wanting to learn more about the history of grunge will delight in this great tell-all read. Perfect for: Music lovers, history buffs, and musicians Fans of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Hole, Green River, and more Anyone nostalgic for the '80s and '90s pop culture scene People obsessed with grunge, rock, musical movements, or Seattle history Readers of Please Kill Me, Under the Big Black Sun, Our Band Could Be Your Life, Grunge Is Dead, and Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge Gen Z readers who have embraced all things '90s, from the decade's fashion to its music, and have sparked a resurgence in popularity of grunge bands like Nirvana