Ken Lindsay Collection of Woody Guthrie Correspondence
Catalog Record: http://lccn.loc.gov/2004659958
General International Standard for Archival Description
Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center Library of Congress Washington, D.C. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.home
Encoded by Amarantha Dyuaaxchs, August 2006; Revised by Nora Yeh
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Ken Lindsay Collection of Woody Guthrie Correspondence February 1952 – September 1953
Lindsay, Ken, 1923-2001
Biographical History for: Ken Lindsay Collection of Woody Guthrie Correspondence February 1952 – September 1953
Biographical History Ken Lindsay (1923-2001) was a founding partner in the Challenge Jazz Club, the first sizable jazz club in London after World War II. As a jazz and folk enthusiast, Lindsay was connected with the jazz revival and folk movement of the 1950s in the United Kingdom, and made a career of promoting such musicians and organizing performances. Lindsay also worked for the International Bookshop where he oversaw the department that would import records from America and Europe and sell them by mail. This was the period during which he established a correspondence relationship with Woody Guthrie. Lindsay went on to work for other record shops and continued to manage bands, lecture on music at universities, and write articles for such music publications as Melody Maker and Music Mirror. Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Guthrie (1912-1967) was a singer, songwriter, and social activist who influenced twentieth-century American music and culture. Having lived through the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl Migration, World War II, and the political upheavals that resulted in the labor union movement, Guthrie called upon these experiences as he expressed the plight of common people through his songs, prose, and poetry. He was a seminal figure in the folk music revival of the 1950s, and his songs and philosophy had a profound impact on society and on contemporary musicians such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
Scope and Content The correspondence between Ken Lindsay and Woody Guthrie began in 1952, while Lindsay was responsible for the mail order record department at the International Bookshop on Charing Cross Road in London, England. Lindsay first wrote to Guthrie encouraging him to write and record material for the European market. Although the recording projects and the European tours discussed in their letters never materialized, this correspondence (1952-1953) captures the development of a special relationship between two men who never met, but shared a passion for music. The correspondence also provides a glimpse at the creative flair and the personal challenges that shaped this period of Guthrie’s life. In his letters to Lindsay, Guthrie discusses music, politics, and family relationships and reveals his struggle with alcoholism and the disease that claimed his life, Huntington’s chorea. The letters also document Guthrie’s whereabouts during these years as he writes from Brooklyn, New York; Jacksonville, Florida; and Topanga, California. Additionally, there is correspondence from Guthrie’s second and third wives, Marjorie Mazia Guthrie and Anneke Van Kirk, who communicate details about Guthrie’s personal health and professional endeavors to Lindsay. Letters MS01, MS03, MS04, and MS24 are even embellished with sketches made by Guthrie and Anneke Van Kirk. Interestingly, Guthrie concluded many of his letters with the number “30.” This symbol is often found at the closing of a press release and is believed to have descended from the practice of typing “XXX” at the conclusion of telegraph transmissions during the Civil War.
series
Manuscripts
file
Finding Aid. 7 leaves.
MS01. February 15, 1952. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Woody Guthrie. 2 leaves.
MS01.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS01.02 [leaf 1, verso] MS01.03 [leaf 2, recto] MS01.04 [leaf 2, verso]
MS02. February 26, 1952. Letter from Woody Guthrie to Ken Lindsay. 2 leaves.
MS02.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS02.02 [leaf 2, recto]
MS03. February 21, 1952. Song lyrics, “Un Americans,” by Woody Guthrie sent to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf.
[EMPTY FOLDER: See Oversized Box 2 of 2, Folder 31]
MS04. February 21, 1952. Song lyrics, “Sunny Sun Sun,” by Woody Guthrie sent to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf.
MS05. February 1952. Song lyrics, “Love Says No,” by Woody Guthrie sent to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf.
MS06. March 14, 1952. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Woody Guthrie. 2 leaves.
MS06.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS06.02 [leaf 1, verso] MS06.03 [leaf 2, recto]
MS07. March 27, 1952. Letter from Woody Guthrie to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf.
MS07.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS08. May 1, 1952. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Woody Guthrie. 1 leaf.
MS08.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS09. May 31, 1952. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Woody Guthrie. 1 leaf.
MS09.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS09.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS10. June 18, 1952. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Woody Guthrie. 1 leaf.
MS10.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS11. June 26, 1952. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Woody Guthrie. 1 leaf.
MS11.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS12. July 17, 1952. Letter from Marjorie Guthrie to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf.
MS12.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS13. July 21, 1952. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Marjorie Guthrie. 1 leaf.
MS13.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS13.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS14. July 31, 1952. Letter from Marjorie Guthrie to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf.
MS14.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS15. August 8, 1952. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Marjorie Guthrie. 1 leaf.
MS15.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS16. September 23, 1952. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Woody Guthrie. 1 leaf.
MS16.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS16.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS17. September 30, 1952. Letter from Woody Guthrie to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf.
MS17.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS18. September 30, 1952. Letter from Woody Guthrie to Ken Lindsay. 2 leaves.
MS18.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS18.02 [leaf 2, recto]
MS19. September 31, 1952. Letter from Woody Guthrie to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf.
MS19.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS19.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS20. November 10, 1952. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Woody Guthrie. 1 leaf.
MS20.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS20.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS21. April 16, 1953. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Woody Guthrie. 1 leaf.
MS21.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS21.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS22. April 17, 1953. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Marjorie Guthrie. 1 leaf.
MS22.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS23. June 18, 1953. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Woody Guthrie. 1 leaf.
MS23.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS24. June 22, 1953. Letter from Woody Guthrie to Ken Lindsay dictated to Anneke Van Kirk. Accompanied by letter from Anneke Van Kirk to Ken Lindsay. 2 leaves.
MS24.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS24.02 [leaf 2, recto]
MS25. July 7, 1953. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Woody Guthrie. 1 leaf.
MS25.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS25.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS26. September 13, [1953]. Letter from Ken Lindsay to Woody Guthrie and Anneke Van Kirk. 1 leaf.
MS26.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS26.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS27. [September 15, 1953]. Letter from Anneke Van Kirk to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf.
MS27.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS27.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS28. September 16, 1953. Letter from Woody Guthrie to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf.
MS28.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS29. September 1953. Song lyrics, “Hard Travelin’,” by Woody Guthrie sent to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf
MS29.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS03 and MS04 February 21, 1952, and MS05 February 1952.
Song lyrics, “Un Americans,” by Woody Guthrie sent to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf. MS03.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS03.02 [leaf 1, verso] Song lyrics, “Sunny Sun Sun,” by Woody Guthrie sent to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf. MS04.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS04.02 [leaf 1, verso] Song lyrics, “Love Says No,” by Woody Guthrie sent to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf. MS05.01 [leaf 1, recto] MS05.02 [leaf 1, verso]