Up the Downstair
Being a weeklie podcaste from Madison, Wisconsin featuring several remarkable curiosities therein occurring being a compendium of live music from divers artistes
Show #75: The V.D. Blues
June 28th, 2006
I’m going to cheat this week and put up a mini-show. It’s a Public Service Announcement about 15 minutes long and features American folk icon, Woody Guthrie.
Unfortunately, I don’t have much information about this ditty other than it was produced by the U.S. Department of Health. The title is “The Lonesome Traveler” and Guthrie’s character is named Rusty the Traveler. Rusty sings the “V.D. Blues” and has various encounters with people. Listen as he escapes the clutches of a loose woman…
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2 Responses to “Show #75: The V.D. Blues”
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This program was one of at least 4 fifteen-minute transcriptions produced by the Columbia University Communications Material Center, and folk musicologist Alan Lomax. They were aimed at rural people who needed to be educated about syphillis. The other 3 known shows (all in the Library of Congress) featured Hank Williams, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Tom Glazer. I’ve heard rumors that Roy Acuff and Merle Travis were also featured in shows. A couple of comic books were published in 1948 as part of the program by EC Comics, with art by Harvey Kurtzman.
Jim Stephenson
Jim – thanks much for the correction and the additional info.