 
Following his first public performance at the age of 13, Arlo Guthrie was involved with the music that shaped our culture in the nineteen-sixties. While playing in Greenwich Village in New York, Arlo began to develop his own unique folk music style. Arlo's career as a folk singer soared with his release of 'Alice's Restaurant Massacree' (22 minutes long) at the Newport Folk Festival in 1967, a song lampooning the Vietnam War draft. For a short period after its release, "Alice's Restaurant" was heavily played on U.S. college and counterculture radio stations. It became a symbol of the late 1960s.For many it 'defined an attitude and lifestyle that were lived out across the country in the ensuing years' [Wikipedia]. In 1969, 'Alice's Restaurant' was made into a movie, in which Arlo starred as himself.  Arlo Guthrie was born July 10, 1947, in Brooklyn, NY., the son of the legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie. Arlo grew up surrounded by the folk musicians who influenced the times: Pete Seeger, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Sonny Terry, and The Weavers. These legendary greats were significant influences on Arlo's music career.The singer had just one Top 20 hit with a version of 'City Of New Orleans' in 1972, and Arlo remained for decades a popular figure on the folk circuit, as well as an memorable sight with his full mane of grey hair. He rereleased his most famous song in 1995, an even longer version of 'The Massacre Revisited'. Over the years, Arlo toured extensively across Canada, the United States, and Europe. He is a natural storyteller as well as an accomplished musician, playing the piano, 6 and 12 string guitars, and harmonica. Whether performing solo or with his son Abe, Arlo often played a selection of old and new, original and traditional songs, that were as varied as his audiences. In the fall of 1975 during a benefit concert in Massachusetts, Guthrie performed with his band, Shenandoah, in public for the first time. They continued to tour and record throughout the 1970s until the early 1990s.  On October 23, 2020, Guthrie announced via Facebook that he had "reached the difficult decision that touring and stage shows are no longer possible," due to a series of strokes that had impaired his ability to walk and perform. Guthrie rescinded his retirement announcement and stated that he would begin touring again in April 2023, in a very limited manner. |