Grand Coulee Dam (song)
Encyclopedia
"Grand Coulee Dam" is an American
folk song
written in 1941 by Woody Guthrie
, during a brief period when he was commissioned by the Bonneville Power Administration
to write songs as part of a documentary film project about the dam
and related projects.
The song was part of the Columbia River Ballads
, a set of 26 songs written by Guthrie as part of a commission by the BPA, the federal agency created to sell and distribute power from the river's federal hydroelectric facilities, in particular the Bonneville Dam
and Grand Coulee Dam
. On the recommendation of Alan Lomax
, the BPA hired Guthrie to write a set of propaganda
songs about the federal projects to gain support for federal regulation of hydroelectricity.
Although the intended documentary film was never completed, Guthrie's songs were recorded in Portland, Oregon
in May 1941. The tune for "Grand Coulee Dam" is based on that of the traditional song, "The Wabash Cannonball". Guthrie's recording was reissued on the Folkways
album Bound For Glory in 1956, and subsequently on numerous compilations of Guthrie's songs.
The song was later recorded by British
skiffle
musician Lonnie Donegan
, whose version entered the British pop charts in April 1958, rising to no.6 on the chart. Donegan was featured performing the song in the movie Six-Five Special, a spin-off of the British TV show
of the same name. One critic has written:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk song
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
written in 1941 by Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
, during a brief period when he was commissioned by the Bonneville Power Administration
Bonneville Power Administration
The Bonneville Power Administration is an American federal agency based in the Pacific Northwest. BPA was created by an act of Congress in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam located on the Columbia River and to construct facilities necessary to transmit that power...
to write songs as part of a documentary film project about the dam
Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam is a gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation. It was constructed between 1933 and 1942, originally with two power plants. A third power station was completed in 1974 to increase its energy...
and related projects.
The song was part of the Columbia River Ballads
The Columbia River Collection (Woody Guthrie Album)
The Columbia River Collection, originally released as the Columbia River Ballads, is a compilation of songs folksinger Woody Guthrie wrote during his visit to the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington in 1941...
, a set of 26 songs written by Guthrie as part of a commission by the BPA, the federal agency created to sell and distribute power from the river's federal hydroelectric facilities, in particular the Bonneville Dam
Bonneville Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located east of Portland, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge. The primary functions of...
and Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam is a gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation. It was constructed between 1933 and 1942, originally with two power plants. A third power station was completed in 1974 to increase its energy...
. On the recommendation of Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax was an American folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He was one of the great field collectors of folk music of the 20th century, recording thousands of songs in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy, and Spain.In his later career, Lomax advanced his theories of...
, the BPA hired Guthrie to write a set of propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
songs about the federal projects to gain support for federal regulation of hydroelectricity.
Although the intended documentary film was never completed, Guthrie's songs were recorded in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
in May 1941. The tune for "Grand Coulee Dam" is based on that of the traditional song, "The Wabash Cannonball". Guthrie's recording was reissued on the Folkways
Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
album Bound For Glory in 1956, and subsequently on numerous compilations of Guthrie's songs.
The song was later recorded by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
skiffle
Skiffle
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly...
musician Lonnie Donegan
Lonnie Donegan
Anthony James "Lonnie" Donegan MBE was a skiffle musician, with more than 20 UK Top 30 hits to his name. He is known as the "King of Skiffle" and is often cited as a large influence on the generation of British musicians who became famous in the 1960s...
, whose version entered the British pop charts in April 1958, rising to no.6 on the chart. Donegan was featured performing the song in the movie Six-Five Special, a spin-off of the British TV show
Six-Five Special
The Six-Five Special is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain.-Description:...
of the same name. One critic has written:
"...[I]t remains arguable that, without recordings like [Donegan's] version of Woody's "Grand Coulee Dam", later performers (perhaps even DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
himself) might not have beaten their way to Guthrie's door."