The Never Ending Pool

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Very nice review, saut. I enjoyed the read.

I'm not sure why you would wonder if Elliott's attributing of authorship of "Talkin' Sailor" and "Talkin' Columbia" to Woody Guthrie might not be so. Anyway, here's some background for you:

http://www.woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/Talking_Sailor.htm

Here's Woody singing "Talkin' Columbia:"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z58V-NxJcEI


This video is about 9 minutes long. It describes how Guthrie got a contract with the Bonneville Power Administration (Columbia River) to write songs. It opens with Studs Terkel saying a few words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUoh2QSjXAw


The next link is the full 56-minute documentary (Roll On Columbia: Woody Guthrie and the Bonneville Power Administration) that begins, first, with the 9-minute segment, above. Jack Elliot (misspelled), Woody's first wife, kids Arlo and Nora along with Pete Seeger and others all tell anecdotes about Guthrie that aren't always that well known. This is quite an amazing film with Depression-era photos and film clips. It also includes remarkable footage of the building of the Grand Coulee Dam. It was a colossal project.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8gr2EOmlv8

Btw, that tale of Ramblin' Jack traveling to New Orleans to see Billy Faier is the song Elliott will forever be remembered by. It's called "912 Greens" and is on his album, "Young Brigham." Sounds like you got a mailed-in performance. Elliott was traveling with Guy Carawan who had a hand in the development, if you will, of "We Shall Overcome," and Frank Hamilton whose name is synonymous with the Old Town School of Folk Music, in Chicago. They were all in the 20s, at the time:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Faier

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Carawan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hamilton_%28musician%29