Arlo Guthrie Essay Example For Students

Arlo Guthrie Essay Arlo Guthrie was and still is one of the most distinctive singer-songwriters of this century. He said, I was born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY in the summer of 1947 with a guitar in my hands DAddario. Since his father was a legendary folk musician, Woody Guthrie, that is pretty close to the truth. His father, Cisco Houston, Leadbelly, Pete Seeger and many others passed on their knowledge to the young Arlo. Arlo made his first appearance at the age of thirteen Official Oughtabiography. He attended a private high school in Stockbridge, Mass. and dropped out of a college in Montana. In 1967, at twenty years old, he appeared at the Newport Folk Festival. He performed the song Alices Restaurant, the song propelled him to instant fame. That song became the anthem of a generation Official Oughtabiography. Alices Restaurant protested the draft and the Vietnam War. The lyrics of this song probably make no sense whatsoever, but there is a very long story behind it. The original version of the song is over eighteen minutes long, when done with the original story. This is a shorter version. You can get anything you want at Alices Restaurant, exceptin Alice You can get anything you want at Alices Restaurant Walk right in its around the back Just a half-a-mile from the railroad track Oh You can get anything you want At Alices Restaurant. First of all, there is no restaurant named Alices Restaurant. Rather, it is about a woman named Alice who lives near a restaurant. Alice and her husband lived in a church that they made into their residence. There was a lot of garbage in the church and it leads to Arlo getting arrested and tried for littering. A couple of years later Arlo registered for the draft because he wanted to be an All-American kid. In the end, the Army found out he was arrested before and found guilty of a crime. He then said, you want to know if Im moral enough to join the army, burn women, kids, houses and villages after bein a litterbug. He was then not permitted to be in the Army. After he sang the song, he then challenged anyone who is ever in that position to walk in and say, Shrink You can get anything you want at Alices Restaurant and then walk out. He called it the Alices Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement Alices Restaurant Masacree. A movie was then made, using the same name, which Arlo starred in. He released the album Alices Restaurant in 1967. To date he has released over twenty albums. In 1986 he formed Rising Sun Records, so he could control his own music. In 1992 Arlo purchased the Old Trinity Church, which is the church referred to in Alices Restaurant. It now houses The Guthrie Center, The Guthrie Foundation, and Rising Sun records DAddario. It is a place for all kinds of community service, especially for the aid of abused children and those suffering from HIV/AIDS. In 1995 he co-wrote an award-winning childrens book with Alice Brock, yes the Alice Rolling Stone. On the 30th anniversary of the massacree he released Alices Restaurant: The Massacree Revisited which was recorded live in the church. Arlos latest album is Mystic Journey. It is his first recording of original songs in a decade. The album is co-produced by Arlo and his son Abe, who is twenty-six Official Oughtabiography. They have been touring around the world. From 1994-1996 Arlo had recurring roles in several different network television programs. His many songs have defined a generation and led that generation through many hard times, such as the Vietnam War. Because of his distinct song-writing skills his career is still going after almost forty years, and it does not show signs of slowing down any time soon.