The Sinking of the Reuben James
"The Sinking of the Reuben James" is a song by Woody Guthrie about the sinking of the U.S. convoy escort , which was the first U.S. naval ship sunk by German U-boats in World War II.
Woody Guthrie had started to write a song including each name on the casualty list of the sinking.
This was later replaced by the chorus "tell me what were their names."
The song is set to the melody of "Wildwood Flower", an antebellum tune by Joseph Philbrick Webster.
Antoinette Flegenheim
Antoinette Flegenheim( 11 May 1863 – 8 April 1943) was a survivor of the sinking of the" RMS Titanic".
Lawrence Beesley
Lawrence Beesley (31 December 1877 – 14 February 1967) was an English science teacher, journalist and author who was a survivor of the sinking of .
George Dunton Widener
George Dunton Widener( June 16, 1861 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman who died in the sinking of the RMS" Titanic".
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American western folk music; his music, including songs, such as "
This Land Is Your Land", has inspired several generations both politically and musically.
He wrote hundreds of country, folk, and children's songs, along with ballads and improvised works.
His album of songs about the Dust Bowl period, "Dust Bowl Ballads", is included on "Mojo" magazine's list of 100 Records That Changed The World.
Many of his recorded songs are archived in the Library of Congress.
Songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Hunter, Harry Chapin, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, Andy Irvine, Joe Strummer, Billy Bragg, Jerry Garcia, Jay Farrar, Bob Weir, Jeff Tweedy, Bob Childers, Sammy Walker, Tom Paxton, AJJ, Brian Fallon, and Sixto Rodríguez have acknowledged Guthrie as a major influence.
He frequently performed with the slogan "This machine kills fascists" displayed on his guitar.
Guthrie was brought up by middle-class parents in Okemah, Oklahoma, until he was 14, when his mother Mary was hospitalized as a consequence of Huntington's disease, a fatal hereditary neurological disorder.
His father moved to Pampa, Texas, to repay debts from unsuccessful real estate deals.
During his early teens, Guthrie learned folk and blues songs from his parents' friends.
He married at 19, but with the advent of the dust storms that marked the Dust Bowl period, he left his wife and three children to join the thousands of Okies who were migrating to California looking for employment.
He worked at Los Angeles radio station KFVD, achieving some fame from playing hillbilly music; made friends with Will Geer and John Steinbeck; and wrote a column for the communist newspaper "People's World" from May 1939 to January 1940.
Throughout his life, Guthrie was associated with United States communist groups, although he did not appear to belong to any.
With the outbreak of World War II and the non-aggression pact the Soviet Union had signed with Germany in 1939, the owners of KFVD radio were not comfortable with Guthrie's political leanings.
He left the station, ending up in New York where he wrote and recorded his 1940 album "Dust Bowl Ballads", based on his experiences during the 1930s, which earned him the nickname the "Dust Bowl Troubadour".
In February 1940 he wrote his most famous song, "
This Land Is Your Land".
He said it was a response to what he felt was the overplaying of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" on the radio.
Guthrie was married three times and fathered eight children.
His son Arlo Guthrie became nationally known as a musician.
Guthrie died in 1967 from complications of Huntington's disease.
His first two daughters also died of the disease.
During his later years, in spite of his illness, Guthrie served as a figurehead in the folk movement, providing inspiration to a generation of new folk and country musicians, including mentoring Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Bob Dylan.
Ella Holmes White
Ella B. Holmes White( December 18, 1856 – January 31, 1942) was an American woman who was a survivor of the sinking of the RMS" Titanic".
Alonso Mudarra
Alonso Mudarra( c. 1510 – April 1, 1580) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance, and also played the vihuela, a guitar- shaped string instrument.
He was an innovative composer of instrumental music as well as songs, and was the composer of the earliest surviving music for the guitar.
Louise Kink
Louise Kink Pope( April 8, 1908 – August 25, 1992) was one of the last remaining survivors of the sinking of the" RMS Titanic" on April 15, 1912.
Archibald Gracie IV
Archibald Gracie IV( January 15, 1858 – December 4, 1912) was an American writer, soldier, amateur historian, real estate investor, and survivor of the sinking of RMS" Titanic".
He survived the sinking by climbing aboard an overturned collapsible lifeboat and wrote a popular book about the disaster, which is still in print today.
Less than eight months after the sinking, he became the first adult survivor to die.
Grace Hanagan
Grace Hanagan Martyn( May 16, 1907 – May 15, 1995) was the youngest and last survivor of the sinking of the" Empress of Ireland" on May 29, 1914.
She was one of four children( out of the 138 children on board) who survived the sinking.

Question: What is the cause of death of composer of song The Sinking Of The Reuben James?
Answer: Huntington's disease