Sources agree on the year, 1947. Sources agree on the date: the 10th. Sources disagree on the month: June or July. The majority say July, so here we are.
Arlo’s page only uses the year. I suppose once one approaches their eighth decade, a month really doesn’t matter.
Arlo’s site says, “Arlo is the eldest son of Marjorie Mazia Guthrie, a professional dancer with the Martha Graham Company and founder of The Committee to Combat Huntington’s Disease, and America’s most beloved singer/writer/philosopher/artist Woody Guthrie.”
Growing up the child of American icons has both its pros and cons. A pro: name recognition from the start. A con: name recognition from the start.
Many Americans associated the name Guthrie with Communism at a time when the Cold War to defeat the Red Menace was still at its height.
Activist Arlo Davy Guthrie
Woody’s Friends
Friends of his father, Woody, friends like Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, Fred Hellerman and Lee Hays (The Weavers), Leadbelly, Cisco Houston, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee were part of Arlo’s early life.
Arlo was also one of the many young artists who gravitated to Greenwich Village’s folk scene.
Activist Arlo Davy Guthrie
Alice’s Restaurant
For many, myself included, our first encounter with Arlo Guthrie was hearing “Alice’s Restaurant.” It came at a perfect time: anti-Vietnam War fervor peaking, anti-Establishment in tone, and simply a great story.
For many of those same listeners, Thanksgiving has meant listening again to Arlo’s masterpiece as much as watching the Detroit Lions play.
The song also likely played a big part in his invitation to the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. He didn’t sing “Alice’s Restaurant” that misty night, but he did declare that the “NY Thruway was closed!”
Not true, but a Woodstock myth too good to not hold onto.
Activist Arlo Davy Guthrie
City of New Orleans
And as funny and reaffirming as “Alice’s Restaurant” is, “City of New Orleans” is comforting and nostalgic. A yearning for the slower times and relaxed travel by train.
Activist Arlo Davy Guthrie
Activist Republican
For a bit, Arlo joined the Republican party because he felt it needed more people with his type of views, but lately he’s back to the Democratic Party.
Activist Arlo Davy Guthrie
Retirement
On October 23, 2020, Arlo posted the following on his Facebook page.
Gone Fishing
It’s been a great 50+ years of being a working entertainer, but I reached the difficult decision that touring and stage shows are no longer possible. I’ve cancelled the upcoming shows, and am not accepting offers for new ones. That’s the short version. For the longer version continue reading…
As a folksinger, I never really thought much about getting older. It seemed to me that I could just continue year after year, decade after decade, singing and playing as I had done for most of my life. As the years went by, it got more difficult to keep touring, but I did it, mostly because I’d been doing it my entire life. It was the life I knew and loved.
In 2016 on April 1st, April Fools Day, I got really dizzy in the parking lot of the hotel, and started seeing as though I were looking through a kaleidoscope. That evening the show went on as though nothing had happened. I had no idea I’d just encountered a mini stroke until weeks later, when I was told about it. It didn’t appear to affect my performance, or my state of being. I continued touring for the next 4 years.
Then, on Thanksgiving Day 2019 (of all freaking days) it happened again. This time I was on my way to The Church / The Guthrie Center to help out with our annual Thanksgiving Dinner that we hold every year. I had pulled over to fuel up and realized I couldn’t continue to drive safely, as everything was spinning around, sort of like the old days, but without the help of illegal substances. I was taken to the hospital, and was under evaluation, when I broke out. I had an important gig at Carnegie Hall in New York – The end of an annual series I’d been doing for decades and it was Sold Out. I had to be there. It was imperative.
The next morning I left the hospital, took the family and headed for New York. And what a show it was! We wrapped up 50 years with a terrific evening with the entire family on stage. I really enjoyed it.
The following day I flew to my home in Sebastian, FL just as I had done for years, this time with the history of Carnegie Hall behind me. My girlfriend, Marti picked me up at the airport, and we settled into the routine of being on the river I loved. Two nights after arriving home, I awoke in the morning and was lurching from sIde to side. I knew something was wrong, and went to keep a doctors appointment we’d previously set up. The doc said “You need to go to the hospital – Now.”
So, Marti took me to the hospital nearby in Vero Beach. They kept me there for 3 days, running tests of all kinds, and essentially informed me that I’d suffered a stroke. This time was more serious, as I’d lost some ability to walk, and I wondered if if would be able to play music. I spent about a week in a rehab center to re-learn the basics, like walking. I went home after that, and began a regimen of playing guitar, walking… All the things I would need to continue touring and performing. During the entire time, Marti kept the family and close friends advised as to my progress, and took really great care of me. I needed all the help I could get. And she was there to see it done right.
By the the time our first shows began in 2020, I was at about at 80% and felt like I was improving. Then the pandemic hit. All the shows we had planned for 2020 were at first, postponed, then rescheduled and finally cancelled. My hopes for a gradual recovery onstage came to an abrupt end.
Meanwhile, I’d decided back in 2018 to move from the home in Florida. And just as I’d returned from our last gig in Tennessee, a buyer appeared, and we had a deal on the table to sell The CrabHouse. I wasn’t in any shape to go through the intricacies of selling a guitar pick, let alone a home with 30 years of stuff we’d collected. Marti ended up doing it all. She finalized the deal, and dealt with the stuff that either had to be sold, moved or thrown out. It was quite a lot. But, through garage sales, online markets, movers and friends, she’d pretty much emptied the CrabHouse of everything, and we moved into her place about a mile away.
We were there for a few weeks, before it was safe enough to return to The Farm in Massachusetts. That was in June 2020. Since then we’ve been holed up at The Farm trying to keep out of harms way, and also trying to provide some online entertainment for our friends who were, and continue to be, holed up wherever they are. My band and crew arranged a few short gigs that were filmed at The Church, but when I saw the play-back in the editing room I realized that it was not up to the standards I expected of myself, let alone the expectations that our friends and fans had come to enjoy.
A folksinger’s shelf life may be a lot longer than a dancer or an athlete, but at some point, unless you’re incredibly fortunate or just plain whacko (either one or both) it’s time to hang up the “Gone Fishing” sign. Going from town to town and doing stage shows, remaining on the road is no longer an option.
I don’t remember answering the question on the other side of that piece of paper when I was asked “Kid! Have you rehabilitated yourself?” But, the short answer is now clearly, “No!” In fact, I hope to be a thorn in the side of a new administration pretty soon. Tom Paine once wrote “To argue with a man who has renounced the use … of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead….” In other words, you cannot and should not argue with people who don’t care, or hold the caring of others in contempt. A healthy suspicion of authority, left, right or center has been the hallmark of my career since the beginning, and I will continue to poke fun at cultural, political, or personal absurdities as I see it. I’m actually looking forward to it.
I’m happy, healthy and good to go, even if I’m not going anywhere. I’ve taken back 6-9 months that I used to spend on the road, and enjoying myself with Marti, my family and friends. In short – Gone Fishing.
Despite the sad news, Guthrie and his music will continue to be a beacon for what is best about us.
photo from http://www.michaelshrieve.com/gallery.html#
Young Drummer Michael Shrieve
OPEN-HEARTEDNESS
Michael Shrieve’s internet page opens to this statement:
MUSIC PROMPTS US TO RESPOND WITH OPEN-HEARTEDNESS INSTEAD OF JUDGMENT. IT USHERS US TO A HIGHER PLACE FROM WHERE WE CAN SEE BEYOND DISTRACTIONS TO WHAT IS TRUE AND GOOD AND LASTING. IF MUSICIANS ACCEPT THIS RESPONSIBILITY, THEY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.
Such a view is not surprising from someone who has spent a lifetime with open-hearted music.
Young Drummer Michael Shrieve
Young, not youngest Shrieve
When guests enter first part of the Main Gallery in the museum at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts they are surrounded by some of the 400,000 people who sat on the field at that historic event.
Above guests is a movie showing with commentary pieces of the festival. While Michael Shrieve does his iconic drum solo with Santana, Country Joe McDonald exclaims, “17!” referring to Shrieve’s age. On Saturday 16 August 1969, Michael Shrieve was young, but not that young.
Shrieve was born on July 6, 1949. He had just turned 20. We can forgive McDonald. By early Saturday, it was already a long weekend.
Interestingly, even Shrieve’s internet site gets it wrong. It states, “ As the original drummer for Santana, Michael – at age nineteen – was the youngest performer at Woodstock.”
Wrong twice as Sha Na Na’s Henry Gross, born on April 1, 1951 and 18 that August was likely the youngest performer.
And CSN & Y’s bassist Greg Reevesmay actually have been younger, but there’s a mystery there.
Ah well. Such is Woodstock Haze.
Young Drummer Michael Shrieve
Santana
During a performance at the Fillmore Auditorium, Shrieve came to the attention of Santana’s manager. A short time later Shrieve joined the band and became a mainstay. His jazz background helped develop a sound already influenced by the band Latin percussion component.
The aforementioned drum solo at Woodstock, it’s inclusion on the album as well as the movie put Michael Shrieve forever into the 1960s’ musical picture.
photo from http://www.michaelshrieve.com/gallery.html#
Young Drummer Michael Shrieve
Michael Shrieve
Shrive at the Monument at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (photo from Shrieve’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/michaelshrieve
Shrieve remained with the Santana band until 1974 and has continued to be active since. He has released several of his own albums and collaborated with or sat in with dozens of other albums.
He occasionally rejoined the Santana band which continued to undergo various personnel changes throughout the years.
On my Museum tours at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, when guest find out I was at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair they often ask, “Who was your favorite group?”
Remembering Alan Blind Owl Wilson
Favorite?
My answer is that “It depends.” At the time of the concert, the Who had just released Tommy and their performance at Woodstock included nearly their entire rock opera. The Who ended a long night of amazing music that greeted a sunrise which introduced the Jefferson Airplane. I loved all.
Remembering Alan Blind Owl Wilson
Emerging favorites
Since I regularly listen to music from the festival, I now can hear and appreciate groups that at the time I didn’t notice as much.
Nowadays, my answer is Canned Heat: Bob Bear Hite rambling around the stage, Larry Mole Taylor on bass, Harvey Mandel just joining band on guitar, Adolfo de la Parra on drums, and Alan Blind Owl Wilson on guitar. A great line-up banging away with a great groove.
Remembering Alan Blind Owl Wilson
Massachusetts-born
Alan Wilson was born on July 4, 1943 in Arlington, Massachusetts. Early on he developed a love not just of music (jazz in particular), but how music worked.
Like some other white kids of the 50s and 60s, Wilson also discovered the blues. American norms had long-relegated the blues to the Jim Crow back roads of American society, whose arbitrary cultural mores considered it too rude and crude for “polite” society. The civil rights movement and the evolution of rhythm & blues into rock and roll exposed the blues to teenage white youth open to new views.
More interesting is that some British youth, like Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Eric Burdon, had done the same thing and formed bands to expand that discovery.
Remembering Alan Blind Owl Wilson
Blues
Not only did Alan Wilson develop a love of the blues, he began to develop relationships with blues legends as they came to Cambridge, Massachusetts where Wilson lived. Skip James (whose vocal style Wilson imitated) and Son House in particular.
Remembering Alan Blind Owl Wilson
John Fahey
Wilson also met John Fahey, a young white kid with an equal love of acoustic blues. Fahey convinced Wilson to move to Los Angeles where Fahey was working on his master’s thesis. It was Fahey who lovingly gave Wilson the nickname “Blind Owl” because of Wilson’s extremely poor eyesight.
While in Los Angeles, Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson met Bob Hite. His collection of blues recordings immediately bonded them. They formed Canned Heat, a name from Tommy Johnson’s 1928 “Canned Heat Blues.” Where else?!
Remembering Alan Blind Owl Wilson
Festivals
Canned Heat played two of the most iconic festivals in American rock history: the Monterey International Pop Festival and the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. Their recording of “Goin’ to the Country” became part of Woodstock film’s soundtrack.
Remembering Alan Blind Owl Wilson
Love of Nature
Alan Wilson loved Nature, but Alan Wilson suffered from one of Nature’s worst illnesses: depression. Canned Heat was readying for a fall 1970 European tour when he did not show up for the flight.
On September 3, they found Wilson dead in Bob Hite’s Topanga Canyon backyard where Alan lived in a tent.
From the Wilson site: “We will never know what Alan Wilson was thinking that night, as he unrolled his sleeping bag and looked up at the stars one last time. What we do know is that he was a talented musician and musicologist who promoted the revival of early Delta blues and left his own permanent mark on the blues and the music of the late 1960s. …We hope that this web site is a fitting tribute to his life.”
Wilson was 27 and sadly became part of what now we refer to as the 27 Club.
