Bruce Springsteen to be honored with Woody Guthrie Prize

May 4 (UPI) -- Bruce Springsteen will be honored with the 2021 Woody Guthrie Prize.

The Woody Guthrie Center said in a press release Tuesday that it will present the award to Springsteen, 71, at a virtual event May 13.

"I'm honored to receive the 2021 Woody Guthrie Prize," Springsteen said. "Woody wrote some of the greatest songs about America's struggle to live up its ideals in convincing fashion. He is one of my most important influences and inspirations."

The Woody Guthrie Prize is "awarded to an artist of any medium who continues in the footsteps of Guthrie," an American folk singer known for "This Land is Your Land." Guthrie died at age 65 in 1967.

The center said Springsteen has carried on Guthrie's traditions throughout his career.

"As an observer of the human condition and a reporter about the plight of common people, Bruce Springsteen is a true child of Woody Guthrie," center director Deana McCloud said. "He continues Woody's work by writing about our struggles in this land of hope and dreams and provided one of our favorite performances of 'This Land is Your Land' with Pete Seeger at the first Obama inauguration."

"The Woody Guthrie Center is proud to present Bruce Springsteen with this well-deserved recognition for his lifetime of speaking for the disenfranchised and inspiring generations to find the power of their own voices," she added.

Springsteen has released 20 studio albums, including Letter to You, released in October. He has received a number of other accolades, including Grammy, Tony and Oscar awards, the Kennedy Center Honors and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.