Woody Guthrie, father of American folk music, writer of “This Land Is Your Land,” also wrote Hanukkah songs!

In 1942, Woody Guthrie moved to Brooklyn and soon, through his mother-in-law (the renowned Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt), he became involved with the Coney Island Jewish Community. He wrote songs about Hanukkah, about Jewish history and about spiritual life.

After his death in 1967, these songs sat forgotten in archives. “Lost” for almost 30 years, Guthrie’s Hanukkah lyrics were discovered in 1998 by Woody’s daughter, Nora Guthrie. She was so inspired by what she found, she asked the Klezmatics to write new music for the lyrics. Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah is the second recorded release of this amazing material. Deftly intermingling Klezmer with American folk and bluegrass, Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah is destined to become a holiday classic for generations to come.

This delightful collection of songs, including ‘Hanuka’s Flame”, “Hanuka Gelt”, “Spin Dreydl Spin”, “(Do the) Latke Flip-Flip” and others, is among the best of Guthrie’s work, and the Klezmatics playful renditions cast a new light on the Hanukkah tradition.