Meet the Beatles

Beatles exhibition by The GRAMMY Museum opens Feb. 4 at the Woody Guthrie Center

1940 was a good year for Woody Guthrie—he wrote “Tom Joad” and “This Land Is Your Land” (originally titled “God Blessed America”) and spent most of that year in New York City, where he was a recurring guest performer on the CBS radio network. He also released the album “Dust Bowl Ballads” and met Huddie Ledbetter, better known as the blues and folk singer Lead Belly. Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and other icons discuss the pair’s collective impact on global music and pop culture in the 1988 documentary, “A Vision Shared.” 

Lonnie Donegan’s version of Lead Belly’s “Rock Island Line” gave the subgenre known as “skiffle” a boost onto the pop culture landscape and inspired young British groups like the Quarrymen (later to become the Beatles). George Harrison famously said, “No Lead Belly, no Beatles,” referring to Ledbetter’s influence on him as a young musician and the influence of rhythm and blues on John Lennon. 

Given the connection, it’s fitting that “Ladies and Gentlemen… The Beatles!”—a multimedia exhibition curated by The GRAMMY Museum—will make its Tulsa debut at the Woody Guthrie Center on Feb. 4. Commemorating more than 50 years of Beatlemania, the show examines the cultural impacts of the Fab Four with original band artifacts, videos and other interactive displays. 

The exhibit is scheduled to run through May but could move early due to demand; don't delay. For more information, visit woodyguthriecenter.org.

Want more stories like this? Check out A. Jakober's reviews of documentary "Alive Inside," Low Litas' self-titled release and Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey's Worker.