Sarah Lee Guthrie speaks out about legendary folk musician and grandfather; Woody Guthrie

Aug. 9, 2012 - PRLog -- (Long Island, New York) August 7, 2012- Sarah Lee Guthrie shares the passion of songwriting and performing with her late grandfather and folk music legend, Woody Guthrie.

In a recent interview with TheCelebrityCafe.com. Sarah Lee Guthrie spoke about her grandfather, her music with husband Johnny Irion, and what lies ahead for the pair.

When asked how it feels to be born into a musical legacy Sarah Lee Guthrie responded “I feel a lot of times like it is very overwhelming. [Laughs] As a third generation singer/songwriter of this family, there are people that have these high expectations of me. As if they want me to be like Woody and in the past I had a tough time with that. But I’m not like my grandfather and I don’t think anyone should expect that from me. However, when I step back and look at the big picture, I feel like I have been blessed with a gift of music and having a grandfather who made such an impact on our culture. So I intend to do the best I can with this gift of mine.”

Woody Guthrie, known best for writing the lyrics to “This Land Is Your Land”, passed away in the late 60’s but not before becoming a political activist. The clever lyrics that Guthrie wrote exposed social injustices and challenged the traditional viewpoint of the American Dream. Guthrie’s words set the standard of speaking up for the average Joe and thus redefined the genre of folk music.

His granddaughter, Sarah Lee Guthrie and other family members have dedicated this year to celebrating the 100th birthday of Woody Guthrie.

“Since we have a big family each member plays at different places, but it’s only Johnny (Sarah’s husband and music partner) that make records and go out on the road. It seems like every festival or event we’ve done this year has celebrated Woody’s 100th birthday. We first started out in Scotland at the Celtic Connections Festival. Then we did a show at the Nokia Center featuring Jackson Browne, Crosby & Nash, Tom Morello, and many others. After this family tour, Johnny and I will be going on a six week tour in Germany to celebrate Woody over there. It’s really incredible to see the impact my grandfather has, not only on Americans, but everyone around the world. People are still receptive to the spirit of Woody.”

Read the complete interview here:
http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/2012/08/sarah-lee-gut...