Darryl Holter: The Making of Radio Songs
Darryl Holter: The Making of Radio Songs On July 19, 1937, Woody Guthrie and his cousin, Jack “Oklahoma” Guthrie, aired their first radio show on KFVD in Los Angeles. It was a fifteen-minute show that started at 8 a.m. Jack took the lead with singing-cowboy songs while sidekick Woody played harmonica and provided back-up vocals. In August, the duo added Maxine Crissman to the show and Frank Burke, the station owner, gave them an extra slot at 11 pm. When Jack decided to leave the show for other work, Guthrie renamed it “Woody and Lefty Lou” (Crissman’s family had ... [Read More]
Love and the Shorter Work Week
Yesterday one of my dear old friends from Madison, Dave Poklinkoski, sent me an email telling me that he had heard my recording of “Love and the Shorter Work Week” on the radio. I was surprised since I haven’t heard or played that song for nearly fifty years. I dug up the lyrics and was struck by how relevant they are for today. So I pulled my old ’55 Martin off the wall and recorded the song with a little intro and no rehearsal. After nearly half a century I though it sounded pretty good. DH ... [Read More]
Los Angeles New Year’s Flood: In Song and Video
Los Angeles New Year’s Flood: In Song and Video By Darryl Holter | April 2019 On New Year’s Day in 1934 a powerful rainstorm turned the Los Angeles River into a raging torrent of water boulders that destroyed bridges, roads, and homes. The bodies of more than 40 persons were found, but many more were swept away and lost forever. Five years after the flood, Woody Guthrie wrote this song for his radio show. I rearranged the song and created this video to remember those whose lives were lost. Los Angeles New Year’s Flood: In Song and Video ... [Read More]
2020 Vision
Why I Wrote 2020 Vision I wrote the song “2020 Vision” in December, a few weeks after the election. I wanted to propel listeners into the future—the next presidential election-- and show how Trump voters, especially working class people who believed his promises in 2016, now saw that his policies have betrayed their trust and worsened their already tenuous situation. I used the analogy of not being able to see clearly without eyeglasses. When we have the proper prescription our vision can be corrected and become 20-20. My fear is that Trump will betray his voters. My hope ... [Read More]
New Video: Welcome to the New Depression
Welcome to the New Depression: A New Song by Darryl Holter To write a song about the state of today’s economy I thought it would be useful to look at how other songwriters wrote about the Great Depression in the 1930s. The famous Carter Family had a very popular song called "No Depression in Heaven". It reflected the fears of many religious leaders and their followers that the Depression might be a signal that the end of the world was coming, that the “latter days” had arrived and we would soon be facing the final Day of Judgment. ... [Read More]
My Flowers Grow Green
My Flowers Grow Green by Woody Guthrie Performed by Darryl Holter featuring Julia Holter From the album “Radio Songs” Darryl Holter Radio Songs: Woody Guthrie in Los Angeles 1937-1939 Produced by Ben Wendel, 2015 Featuring guest vocals by Ani DiFranco, Julia Holter and Sara Watkins, Radio Songs offers new arrangements of some of Woody Guthrie’s oldest songs, written primarily during Guthrie’s years in Los Angeles between 1937 and 1939. Holter and co-producer, twice Grammy-nominated Ben Wendel, brought together a talented cadre of musicians for the project including Greg Leisz (pedal/lap steel guitar), Gabe Witcher (fiddle), Dave Kemper (drums), Tim ... [Read More]
Darryl Holter grew up playing the guitar and singing country and rock and roll songs in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His current brand of Americana music draws from country, blues and folk traditions and often tells stories about people, places and events.