Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion
| Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | California, United States |
| Genres | Folk, country rock, singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Rt.8/RCAM |
| Website | sarahleeandjohnny.com |
| Members | Sarah Lee Guthrie Johnny Irion |
Sarah Lee Guthrie (born February 17, 1979) and Johnny Irion (born February 3, 1969), are a musical duo. Guthrie and Irion were married on October 16, 1999 and began performing together as an acoustic duo in the fall of 2000. Their music combined Irion's love of rock and blues with Guthrie's roots of folk and country.
Guthrie is the youngest daughter of folksinger Arlo Guthrie and the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie. As a third generation singer/songwriter Guthrie released her first self-titled album on the family owned and operated Rising Son Records in 2002. As a child she was involved in theater and dance. Her interest in music was sparked when she worked as her father's road manager on the 1997 Further Festival tour and saw other members of the tour group having fun at late-night hootenannies. She picked up an acoustic guitar and started playing as a way to join in on the fun. "I always wrote poems, so it wasn't that far off for me to turn that into songs."
"My dad was absolutely thrilled, of course, and would teach me stuff every day when we were on the road together. That was a really cool way to get to know my dad, because I'd never known him that way. And that's another thing that made it easy: my dad was so supportive."
Irion originates from a family of artists. His uncle is author Thomas Steinbeck, his great uncle is author John Steinbeck, and his grandmother, Rubilee Knight, is a classical violinist. His late grandfather, Fred Knight, sang tenor in numerous venues. Irion and Guthrie met through a mutual friend (Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes) while the two were working together in Los Angeles. In 1999 Guthrie and Irion joined guitarist Tao Rodríguez-Seeger, grandson of Pete Seeger, and performed as a trio under the name RIG.
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