ABSTRACT
Woody Guthrie had a most remarkable and creative musical career, particularly for a little over a decade starting in the late 1930s. His life and influences have been well documented, particularly in the two detailed biographies by Ed Cray and Joe Klein. ‘Woody Guthrie was, is, America’s balladeer’, Cray quotes from Studs Terkel in his fine account, while Klein concludes that before his death in 1967, ‘Woody Guthrie had become a cultural institution strong enough to weather the vagaries of folk boom or bust’.2 Many others have captured and interpreted various aspects of his prolific, wandering, fascinating life. But Woody was not alone during his quest for musical and political creation and inspiration. He counted among his close friends Pete Seeger, Huddie Ledbetter (Lead Belly), the record producer Moses Asch and Cisco Houston, as well as the actor Will Geer. Although Geer was less prominent (in folk music circles) than some of the others, a close look at his personal relationships and professional collaborations with Guthrie show him to be a steadfast friend and dedicated supporter over many years, through the good times as well as the bad ones.
