Bruce Springsteen receives this year's Woody Guthrie Prize

Bruce Springsteen has won the Woody Guthrie Prize, which is given annually to an artist seen as carrying on the spirit of the folk singer whose music focused on the plight of the poor and disenfranchised

TULSA, Okla. -- Bruce Springsteen has won the 2021 Woody Guthrie Prize, which is given to an artist seen as carrying on the spirit of the folk singer whose music focused on the plight of the poor and disenfranchised. Guthrie, who grew up in Okemah, Oklahoma, was one of the most important figures in American folk music and penned hundreds of songs, including some that The Boss has performed over the years. “Woody wrote some of the greatest songs about America’s struggle to live up its ideals in convincing fashion," Springsteen said in a statement Tuesday. The New Jersey rocker called Guthrie, who died in 1967 at age 55, “one of my most important influences.” Springsteen and previous prize recipient Pete Seeger performed Guthrie's “This Land is Your Land” at Barack Obama's 2008 presidential inauguration.