arlo guthrie bob dylan dave van ronk...

 It Happened In The '60s

Arlo Guthrie remembers the day Robert Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan showed up at his family's house.

In 1961, when Guthrie was 13-years-old, Dylan showed up at his house looking for his father, Woody. Arlo's dad Woody Guthrie was an American singer-songwriter and composer who was one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He inspired several generations both politically and musically with songs such as "This Land Is Your Land," "Bound For Glory," and many more.

Guthrie said his father was in the hospital with a medical condition, but a 19-year-old Dylan was persistent.

“I was about 13 when a young Bob Dylan came to the house looking for my dad. He stood outside the door with these large hiking or engineer boots,” Guthrie told Sebastian Daily.

Guthrie said his father wasn’t home and in a nearby hospital, but he invited the 19-year-old inside anyway. They played harmonicas together before Dylan left. Afterward, Dylan visited with Woody Guthrie in the hospital. Dylan and others were drawn to the center of the folk music world, Greenwich Village, a section of New York City famous for its nightclubs, bars, and coffee shops.

The young Guthrie was not of legal age to be hanging out in the places Dylan and others were drinking or holding court, but being Woody Guthrie’s son had its privileges, and despite his youth, he was able to be a part of the scene, watching and listening to some of the great singers and musicians who began what was then called “The Folk Boom.”

In case you don't know, Woody Guthrie wrote hundreds of country, folk, and children's songs, along with ballads and improvised works. Dust Bowl Ballads, Guthrie's album of songs about the Dust Bowl period, was included on Mojo magazine's list of 100 Records That Changed The World, and many of his recorded songs are archived in the Library of Congress. Songwriters who have acknowledged Guthrie as a major influence on their work include Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Hunter, Harry Chapin, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, Andy Irvine, Joe Strummer, Billy Bragg, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Jeff Tweedy, Tom Paxton, Brian Fallon, Sean Bonnette, and Sixto Rodríguez. He frequently performed with the message "This machine kills fascists" displayed on his guitar.