The Woody Guthrie Center said in a press release on Tuesday that it will present the the 2021 Woody Guthrie Prize to Bruce Springsteen at a virtual event to be held on May 13. The Woody Guthrie Prize is “awarded to an artist of any medium who continues in the footsteps of Guthrie.” Guthrie, who died at age 65 in 1967, was an American folk singer known for “This Land is Your Land.”
The 71-year old Springsteen said: “I’m honored to receive the 2021 Woody Guthrie Prize. Woody wrote some of the greatest songs about America’s struggle to live up its ideals in convincing fashion. He is one of my most important influences and inspirations.”
Director of the Woody Guthrie Center, Deana McCloud, said that Springsteen has carried on Guthrie’s traditions throughout his career, adding, “As an observer of the human condition and a reporter about the plight of common people, Bruce Springsteen is a true child of Woody Guthrie. He continues Woody’s work by writing about our struggles in this land of hope and dreams and provided one of our favorite performances of ‘This Land is Your Land’ with Pete Seeger at the first Obama inauguration. The Woody Guthrie Center is proud to present Bruce Springsteen with this well-deserved recognition for his lifetime of speaking for the disenfranchised and inspiring generations to find the power of their own voices.”
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