Popular Culture Review Vol. 12, No. 2, August 2001 | Page 65

Reuben James

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lem, someone suggested the line: “What were their names.”
Woody took it from there and finished the song, (quoted in
Cohen & Samuelson).
But now the question arose, who would receive the credit for actually
writing the song? Guthrie wanted credit, and group member Alan Lomax took his
side, making the point that giving one person credit would avoid copyright issues
later. The other members of the group were opposed,