ABSTRACT
Popular opinion holds that Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen are the only legitimate heirs to Woody Guthrie's legacy, a mantle both singer/songwriters courted, when it suited them. Early association with Guthrie bought Dylan credibility with folk singers like Pete Seeger and Joan Baez. Dylan essentially created the rock and roll singer/songwriter and made space in rock music for political agitation. But both had interests other than radicalism. When Joe Strummer launched his BBC "Cross-Cultural Transglobal show", one of the first songs he played was Trini Lopez's mariachi cover of "This Land is Your Land", Woody Guthrie's alternative national anthem. For those only passingly familiar with Strummer from the Clash or fans blinded by labels like "punk" and "hippie", it might have seemed an odd selection, but it was an apt choice. "Woody Mellor" is a fossil excavated from rock and roll history, containing various strata of Joe Strummer's identity. Guthrie and Strummer's compassion focused on identification with the other.
