Arlo Guthrie Information Continued
Arlo Guthrie's famous song, "Alice's Restaurant", is about
him being called up for a draft examination and rejected as unfit for
military service as a result of a criminal record consisting in its
entirety of a single arrest, court appearance, fine and clean-up
order for littering. For a short period in the late 1960s, "Alice's
Restaurant" was in nearly constant rotation on nearly every college
and counter-culture-oriented radio station in the country - quite an
accomplishment for an 18 minute long song (albeit in an era not
averse to extended jams). A 1969 film, directed and co-written by
Arthur Penn, was based on the story. In addition to acting in this
film, also called "Alice's Restaurant", Arlo Guthrie has had
minor roles in several movies and television series. His memorable,
although "stoned" appearance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival was
documented in the Michael Wadleigh film Woodstock.
Arlo Guthrie also made famous Steve Goodman's song "City of
New Orleans", a paean to long-distance rail travel. He also had a
minor hit with his song "Coming into Los Angeles", which was played
at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, and success with "The Motorcycle
Song". Arlo Guthrie's 1976 album Amigo, received a
5-star rating from Rolling Stone, and for that reason alone may be
his best-received work.
Like his father, Arlo Guthrie often sings songs of protest
against social injustice. He collaborated with poet Adrian Mitchell
to tell the story of Chilean folk singer and activist Victor Jara in
song. He enjoys the privilege of regularly performing with folk
legend Pete Seeger - one of his father's long time partners.
