Columbia River Collection
1987 studio album by Woody Guthrie
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| New Musical Express | 6/10 |
Columbia River Collection, also known as Woody Guthrie: The Columbia River Collection, is a compilation album of songs folksinger Woody Guthrie wrote during his visit to the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington in 1941. Guthrie traveled to these states on the promise of a part narrating a documentary about the construction of public works dams and other projects in the Pacific Northwest. The documentary was delayed by WWII but eventually was released in 1949. 17 of the 26 songs he wrote during this period were later compiled and released in 1987 as this collection, including some of his most famous songs, such as "Roll on Columbia", "Grand Coulee Dam", "Hard Travelin’," and "Pastures of Plenty."
, Guthrie's introduction in the Columbia River Songbook"I pulled my shoes on and walked out of every one of these Pacific Northwest Mountain towns drawing pictures in my mind and listening to poems and songs and words faster to come and dance in my ears than I could ever get them wrote down."
01Production
In May 1941, after a brief stay in Los Angeles, Guthrie moved to Portland, Oregon, in the neighborhood of Lents, on the promise of a job. Gunther von Fritsch was directing a documentary about the Bonneville Power Administration's construction of the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River, and needed a narrator. Alan Lomax had recommended Guthrie to narrate the film and sing songs onscreen.
The original project was expected to take 12 months, but as the filmmakers became worried about casting such a political figure, they minimized Guthrie's role. The United States Department of the Interior hired him for one month to write songs about the Columbia River and the construction of the federal dams for the documentary's soundtrack.
Guthrie toured the Columbia River and the Pacific Northwest. Guthrie said he "couldn't believe it, it's a paradise", which appeared to inspire him creatively. In one month Guthrie wrote 26 songs, including three of his most famous: "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On", "Pastures of Plenty", and "Grand Coulee Dam". These were all included in the 1949 film Columbia: America's Greatest Power Stream.
02Track listing
- "Oregon Trail"
- "Roll on Columbia"
- "New Found Land"
- "Talking Columbia"
- "Roll Columbia, Roll"
- "Columbia’s Waters"
- "Ramblin’ Blues"
- "It Takes a Married Man to Sing a Worried Song"
- "Hard Travelin’"
- "The Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done"
- "Jackhammer Blues"
- "Song of the Coulee Dam"
- "Grand Coulee Dam"
- "Washington Talkin’ Blues"
- "Ramblin’ Round"
- "Pastures of Plenty"
- "End of My Line"
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Columbia River Collection”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Woody Guthrie Columbia River Collection Album Cover.jpg by Unknown author, Fair use
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.
