Guthrie, Arlo (1947- )

US singer and songwriter. The son of folk singer Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie came to prominence in 1967 at the Newport Folk Festival with the song ‘Alice's Restaurant’. An autobiographical tale with an anti-Vietnam War stance, satirizing both the police and the army, the song went on to become an anthem for the anti-Vietnam War movement.

Guthrie involved himself with environmental and peace causes, performing regularly with his father's contemporary, Pete Seeger. In 1992, he purchased the Old Trinity Church, where ‘Alice's Restaurant’ was set, and established the Guthrie Center - a non-profitmaking organization offering programmes for children recovering from abuse, support for HIV/AIDS, and other services for the local community.