Songs by Woody: Cisco Houston Sings the Songs of Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie. The man’s name is a statement in itself. Woody was able to create a legacy that is as seemingly endless as the highway. His guitar strumming accompanied his vocals delivered in a plain and simple fashion. Woody was able to speak the truth in broad strokes while painting mental pictures with precision. His imagery was often that of rural highways, rail roads, the poor and working class, towns, cities, farms, the dust bowl,  and a world at war. Woody championed themes of equality, religious conviction, truth, honesty, justice, corruption of power, and anti-fascism. Woody Guthrie was able to stand between the highly polarized lines that direct the political landscape we are in today. Guthrie was a patriot, a laborer, honest, and in a sense, a man’s man. He was also an artist, who believed all people to be equal, and was a sworn enemy of fascism. As Bruce Springsteen once said of Woody, “… he is a ghost in the machine….”

Cisco Houston is note worthy in his own right as a singer, actor, entertainer, and personality. Houston is able to take Woody Guthrie’s material and clean it up some while retaining it’s fiery integrity. Cisco Houston has a wonderful singing voice, a rich tone, and excellent control. He sings these monumental songs as if he was there with you in your living room. He is certainly a most welcomed guest! He adds his own humble passion to these ditties of freedom. These songs speak to the qualities in a person that are shared among all people – the truth of the human fabric is woven into these quaint and yet robust songs of challenging corruption, praising the hard work that is life, and calling things as you see ’em.

Respect,
Derek/CTEP/O’KNC