Ramblin’ Jack goes Guthrie

Woody Guthrie, America’s legendary folk music troubadour, was born 100 years ago and died nearly a half-century ago, in the fall of 1967.

But his songs, including such classics as “This Land Is Your Land” and “Ain’t Got No Home,” live on. Folks will be singing his songs Sunday at “A Woody Guthrie 100th Birthday Jubilee” in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square.

The headliner will be Ramblin’ Jack Elliott of West Marin County, who figures he and Pete Seeger are about the only folk singers left who actually worked with Woody Guthrie.

Elliott performed and traveled with Guthrie from 1951 to 1954.

“I drove Woody down to Florida in 1953 in a Model A Ford,” Elliott said, “and in 1954, we drove out to California.”

Because Guthrie died at age 55, just as a new generation of folk singers was coming up, Elliott served as an inter-generational link between Woody Guthrie and the young Bob Dylan and even Woody’s son, Arlo.

Born Aug. 1, 1931, in Brooklyn, New York, Elliott will be 81 next month, according to the calendar. But Elliott reckons his age differently.

“When I turned 79, Pete Seeger sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me and played the banjo, and I got embarrassed,” Elliot said. “So I decided to go back the other way, and the next year, I turned 78. On Aug. 1, I’ll be 77. It’s the best idea I’ve had in a long time. I feel a lot younger.”