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Billy Bragg & Wilco
1,470,707 plays (101,457 listeners)
alt-country, folk, indie, americana, rock… see all
(1997 – 2000)
The British singer Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco collaborated to put to music and perform previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. The project was organized by Guthrie’s daughter, Nora Guthrie. The ensuing album “Mermaid Avenue” was released on the Elektra Records label on June 23, 1998. A second volume of recordings, “Mermaid Avenue Vol. II”, followed in 2000. The projects are named after a song “Mermaid’s Avenue” written by Guthrie. This was also the street in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York on which Guthrie lived.
According to Bob Dylan’s autobiographical Chronicles, Woody Guthrie gave his unpublished songs to Dylan but Bob was unable to get them from Guthrie’s family (he tells a story about a reluctant babysitter).
Nora Guthrie’s liner notes in Mermaid Avenue indicate that it was her intention that the songs be given to a new generation of musicians who would be able to make the songs relevant to a younger generation. She therefore contacted singer-songwriter Billy Bragg in spring 1995 about recording some unreleased songs by her father, folk singer Woody Guthrie. Most of the songs were written late in Guthrie’s life when he was unable to record due to the motor impairments of Huntington’s disease. By the 1990s, Woody Guthrie had become a “relic” to the MTV generation, and Nora sought to establish a different legacy for the musician. To Nora, Bragg was “the only singer I knew taking on the same issues as Woody.” Bragg was concerned, however, that his fans would not realize that the songs were written by Guthrie when he performed them on tour, so he decided to record the album with another band.
According to Bob Dylan’s autobiographical Chronicles, Woody Guthrie gave his unpublished songs to Dylan but Bob was unable to get them from Guthrie’s family (he tells a story about a reluctant babysitter).
Nora Guthrie’s liner notes in Mermaid Avenue indicate that it was her intention that the songs be given to a new generation of musicians who would be able to make the songs relevant to a younger generation. She therefore contacted singer-songwriter Billy Bragg in spring 1995 about recording some unreleased songs by her father, folk singer Woody Guthrie. Most of the songs were written late in Guthrie’s life when he was unable to record due to the motor impairments of Huntington’s disease. By the 1990s, Woody Guthrie had become a “relic” to the MTV generation, and Nora sought to establish a different legacy for the musician. To Nora, Bragg was “the only singer I knew taking on the same issues as Woody.” Bragg was concerned, however, that his fans would not realize that the songs were written by Guthrie when he performed them on tour, so he decided to record the album with another band.
Videos
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Play
Billy Bragg & Wilco - Black Wind Blowing
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Play
Billy Bragg - All You Fascists
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Billy Bragg - Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key
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Cover: Wilco - Remember the Mountain Bed
Top Albums
Shoutbox
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iamalik wrote:
Blood of The Lamb is one of greatest songs I think I've ever heard.
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hawkw wrote:
There ain't nobody that can sing like me!
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leivreed wrote:
Very similar artist Leiv Reed, new album: http://www.last.fm/music/leiv+reed/only+color+true/
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mcassie wrote:
RIGHT ON GUYS
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thisisall1word wrote:
One Glasto, years ago saw Bill do his version of California Stars and also saw Wilco do a different version - good times...
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watthead wrote:
Bragg should've recorded the songs with the Red Stars or the Blokes instead of with Wilco.
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JoelofArc wrote:
The first Mermaid Avenue is one of the few albums I can't imagine being any better than it is.
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ladyanorak87 wrote:
California Stars is such a good song.
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CenturyOfFakers wrote:
ahhhh so great
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Marshallsaaret wrote:
hesitating beauty is the hidden gem of the albums
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kecilaw wrote:
http://www.last.fm/group/Jeff+Tweedy
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frallen wrote:
aint nobody that can sing like me
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LurgeeTelex wrote:
Anyone else think One By One is such a great song.. And Ingrid Bergman, hah, always makes me laugh.
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ConradPoohs19 wrote:
My eye came out
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unlovely wrote:
california stars is something, i could be listening to that song anywhere, anytime, any situation and it would fit it perfectly.
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keep wrote:
I third that - remember the mountain bed ^^
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CandaceAlmighty wrote:
i second that emotion about remember the mountain bed.
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beauty-fool wrote:
fuck! california stars is one of the most sincere musics i've ever listened to. *_*
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tiredsymphony wrote:
Remember the Mountain Bed makes me cry. Like a little schoolgirl with a skinned knee.
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PorscheFanatica wrote:
Eugh Billy Bragg is a bitch
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Recent Activity
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- Poppycrock tagged Billy Bragg & Wilco with ‘nd’. August 2008
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Billy Bragg and Wilco
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Extensive Musical Taste
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90s Alternative
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