Woody Guthrie

Weathered, lean, and kindly, Woody Guthrie's face is the face of American folk music. Born in 1912, this astonishingly prolific composer is to the gritty, acoustic story-song what Louis Armstrong is to jazz and Elvis Presley is to rock & roll — the clearest, deepest source. In the Thirties and Forties he reinvented the American folk ballad as a vehicle for social comment and protest, laying the groundwork for Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Odetta, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Strummer, Tom Morello and numerous other folk and rock singer/songwriters.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archive/Getty