Billy Bragg & Wilco
Play Radio
Listen to Billy Bragg & Wilco Radio,
featuring artists like Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy, Billy Bragg and more…
-
Search on Spotify
Yes, it scrobbles! Learn more
3,213,796 plays (205,887 listeners)
(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According to Bob Dylan’s autobiographical Chronicles, Woody Guthrie gave his unpublished songs to Dylan but Bob was unable to get them from Guthrie’s family (he tells a story about a reluctant babysitter).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According to Bob Dylan’s autobiographical Chronicles, Woody Guthrie gave his unpublished songs to Dylan but Bob was unable to get them from Guthrie’s family (he tells a story about a reluctant babysitter).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.
Shouts:
43 shouts
Top Albums
-
Mermaid Avenue
Billy Bragg & WilcoBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.99
- 7digital Search
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
Mermaid Avenue Volume 2
Billy Bragg & Wilco
Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
Mermaid Avenue Demos
Billy Bragg & Wilco Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
Mermaid Avenue Vol. II
Billy Bragg & WilcoBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.99
- 7digital Search
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
Shoutbox
-
enoughWithThis wrote:
Very good!
-
indieopa wrote:
Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key wonderfull music!
-
StormandStatic wrote:
You're right, you don't get it.
-
CountWasilij wrote:
Bragg songs suck, really. Hes such a lame songwriter, i don't get it why it was to him they gave these lyrics.
-
academyofrock wrote:
You might enjoy this post on Punk Rock People Management http://humandynamics.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/punk-rock-people-management-%E2%80%93-blowing-away-the-cobwebs-from-pomp-and-circumstance-hr/
-
Thinspread wrote:
Great stuff! Heavily influenced my songwriting during my latest project. Honest Nashville music: http://www.last.fm/music/Ike+Catrett/Shine+Brightly
-
benadlard wrote:
Really good records
-
jaarolavi wrote:
Listening to the Mermaid demos kind of forced me to fetch the proper albums from the shelf, true classics, love them...
-
J-a-m-e-s_R wrote:
2 of the best albums ever
-
dave_yas wrote:
i'll be playing something from mermaid ave this week on my radio show. tune in. more info here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=325489097391
-
BlackSirius wrote:
"Against the law" is the best!
-
ghmanage wrote:
Has anyone heard the new Langhorne Slim record? Thoughts? Here is a live song from it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHN2BYvImK4
-
NightStar01 wrote:
Greatness ♥
-
tomgottasered wrote:
also, Hoodoo Voodoo
-
tomgottasered wrote:
i've heard them play One by One and California Stars live
-
vacationsays wrote:
Mermaid Avenue Vol. II is incredible. I got both volumes a couple summers ago, and California Stars was playing all throughout June and July and August for me. But I just pulled out Volume II the other day and I haven't been able to stop listening.
-
REDT1DE wrote:
this would be less lame if the songs were more than 30s clips
-
CesarIsAPuppy wrote:
california stars makes me want to drive to the beach and lay in the trunk with my girlfriend while watching the sunset. but.. i don't have a girlfriend..
-
changing_horses wrote:
amazing music
-
wildwoodflwr wrote:
"All you fascists" is empowering. Woody Guthrie was amazing and Billy Bragg delivers it so well.
Videos
-
Play
Someday Some Morning Sometime
-
Play
Wilco - Another Man's Done Gone
-
Play
Cover: Wilco - Remember the…
1 shout
Top Listeners
-
Iainjura
Top Listener
-
lesko
Top Listener
-
stankcouch
Top Listener
-
mrtcereal
Top Listener
Recent Activity
-
jessefranklin1, philbot1979 and CND380sec added Billy Bragg & Wilco to their libraries. yesterday evening
-
BringtheKY connected Billy Bragg & Wilco to the group Jay Bennett. Tuesday evening
-
burlamacca, sstasiuk, heatherbarglof and 5 other people added Billy Bragg & Wilco to their libraries. Tuesday evening
-
KrissQuarme wrote about Sigur Rós – ( ) in Cd'ar. last week
-
KrissQuarme wrote about Sigur Rós – ( ) in a deleted journal. last month
-
alpn00 tagged Billy Bragg & Wilco with rock, americana, indie and 2 other tags. last month
-
LoreTorino, ckgo69, irishaggie05 and 8 other people added Billy Bragg & Wilco to their libraries. last month
-
bussyari tagged Billy Bragg & Wilco with ‘folk’. last month
-
laurenvz, hhjkhkhkhkhkh, albsk and 4 other people added Billy Bragg & Wilco to their libraries. last month
-
Chromefox tagged Billy Bragg & Wilco with folk rock, americana and alt-country. last month
Related Journals
-
Alt-Country's Finest.
by AnUnholyVoid |
30 Dec 2011
-
My collection (yeah, I'm that bored) (Last update: 9-17-11)
by TheRandomGuy |
25 Jul 2011
| 1 comment
-
Top Played albums February 26
by justinainsworth |
27 Feb 2011
Groups (16)
-
Billy Bragg and Wilco
69 members
-
Extensive Musical Taste
33,460 members
-
Get Your Damn Tags Right
7,834 members
-
90s Alternative
1,891 members
-
Lot's of Folk Music
858 members
More Information
- Labels
