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Singer-Songwriter. Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (GUH-three) was born in 1912 in Oklahoma hill country; he was named for the Democratic presidential candidate, Woodrow Wilson. His father, Charles Guthrie, was a town official and businessman; his mother, Nora Belle Tanner, was musically inclined and sang ballads to Woody and his siblings Clara, Roy, George, and Mary Josephine. When Woody was thirteen he heard an African American boy, George, playing blues music on his harmonica. Woody saved up to buy his own harmonica and was soon playing with George. When Woody was sixteen his mother was committed to an insane asylum for suspicion of setting her husband on fire. (Clara had also died from a fire.) Shortly afterward, the family moved to Texas. Already accomplished on the harmonica, Guthrie spent hours practicing the guitar. Guthrie, Woody Guthrie, Woody [g]United States;Woody Guthrie[Guthrie, Woody] [c]Folksingers;Woody Guthrie[Guthrie, Woody] [c]Guitarists;Woody Guthrie[Guthrie, Woody] [c]Singer-Songwriters;Woody Guthrie[Guthrie, Woody] [p]Almanac Singers Guthrie, Woody