Woody Guthrie’s Home Recordings Released for the First Time: ‘Woody At Home – Volumes 1 & 2’ Out August 14

Woody Guthrie’s 1951–1952 Home Recordings to Be Released for the First Time on August 14 as Woody at Home – Volumes 1 & 2,
via Shamus Records (a Subsidiary of TRO Essex Music Group)
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​Nearly 75 years after Woody Guthrie hit “record” in his Brooklyn apartment, 35 intimate home recordings are finally stepping into the spotlight. Woody At Home – Volumes 1 & 2 will be released August 14 via Shamus Records—the new imprint of TRO Essex Music Group, Guthrie’s longtime publisher—and features 22 previously unreleased tracks, including 13 songs found nowhere else, plus three revealing spoken-word pieces.

A Living-Room Window into Woody’s World
Captured on a single-mic reel-to-reel recorder between 1951 and 1952 at 49 Murdock Court, Beach Haven, these tapes reveal Guthrie at his most unfiltered. You’ll hear doors creak, toddlers babble, guitar strings squeak—everyday sounds woven into the fabric of his music. The collection includes alternate verses to “This Land Is Your Land,” early drafts of now-iconic songs like “Pastures of Plenty” and “Jesus Christ,” and long-rumored originals such as “I’m a Child Ta Fight”—a fierce anti-fascist anthem released today as the album’s first single. Listen now on YouTube and pre-save the album.

Restoration Without the Gloss
Rescued from fragile Ampex reels, the recordings were transferred using period-correct machines by GRAMMY® winner Steve Rosenthal and GRAMMY® nominee Jessica Thompson. Their restoration process employed advanced de-mixing tools—not to polish the recordings, but to strip away layers of hiss and hum while preserving their raw authenticity.
“These aren’t studio takes,” says Rosenthal. “They’re highlights from Woody’s audio sketchbooks—raw, human, and vital.” Co-producer Kathryn Ostien adds, “This is 100 percent Woody, heard clearly for the first time. It’s brilliant.”

Volume 1
    This Land Is Your Land (Home Tape)
    The Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done
    Howie, I’d Like To Talk To Yuh (spoken)
    Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)
    Great Ship
    Pastures of Plenty
    Jesus Christ
    I’m a Child Ta Fight
    Innocent Man
    I’ve Got to Know
    Backdoor Bum and the Big Landlord
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Volume 2
    I Just Want to Tell You Fellers (spoken)
    Peace Call
    Ain’t Afraid to Die
    Buoy Bells from Trenton
    Einstein Theme Song (+ spoken)
    One Little Thing an Atom Can’t Do
    Forsaken Lover
    My Id & My Ego
    Lifebelt Washed Up
    Funny Mountain
    You Better Git Ready
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​About Woody Guthrie
​Born July 14, 1912, Guthrie wrote more than 3,000 songs that shaped American folk music and social consciousness. His work has earned him honors from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to GRᴀᴍᴍʏ Lifetime Achievement. As author John Steinbeck once said, “He sings the songs of a people… there is the will of a people to endure and fight oppression. I think we call this the American spirit.”

Release Details
Woody At Home – Volumes 1 & 2 arrives August 14, 2025 on one CD, double-LP, digital download, and all major streaming platforms via Shamus Records. The package includes unpublished family photos, original lyric sheets, and extensive liner notes by Kathryn Ostien detailing the transfer and restoration process.