The Best of 1960s Folk Music

The 1960s were a golden age for folk music, with artists like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez leading the charge. If you’re a fan of this era of music, then this blog is for you! We’ll be highlighting the best of 1960s folk music, so you can enjoy the sounds of this bygone era.

The Birth of Folk Rock

In the early 1960s, American folk music was revolutionized by the likes of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Dylan’s songwriting and Baez’s clear, powerful voice helped to make folk music more popular than ever before. At the same time, groups like the Byrds were taking the traditional sounds of folk music and blending them with rock ‘n’ roll to create a new genre of music: folk rock.

The Weavers

The Weavers were an American folk music quartet, formed in 1948 in New York City. They popularized many traditional songs, as well as wrote a number of their own. Members of the Weavers were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era. Despite this, the group continued to record and perform to great acclaim, both in the United States and internationally. In 2000, they were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie is often credited as the father of folk rock for his influence on Bob Dylan and other folk singers who “went electric” in the 1960s. Guthrie was a prolific songwriter who wrote hundreds of songs during his career, many of which are now standards in the American folk repertoire. His most famous song, “This Land Is Your Land,” has been recorded by dozens of artists over the years and has become an anthem for the American dream.

Guthrie was born in 1912 in Oklahoma, and he grew up during the height of the Dust Bowl era. He was exposed to music from a young age, and he began playing guitar and writing songs when he was a teenager. He became a regional celebrity in the 1940s for his radio show on KFFA in Arkansas, where he played a mix of traditional folk songs, blues, and country music.

In 1944, Guthrie moved to New York City to pursue a career in music. He quickly became involved in the city’s vibrant folk scene, performing at clubs and coffeehouses and becoming friends with other folk musicians like Lead Belly and Pete Seeger. His column in The Daily Worker newspaper helped to spread his anti-fascist, pro-labor message to a wider audience.

Guthrie continued to perform and write songs until his death in 1967. His influence can be heard in the work of many subsequent folk singers, including Dylan, Joan Baez, John Prine, and Bruce Springsteen.

Leadbelly

Leadbelly was an American folk and blues musician, notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the influential songs he wrote and collected. He is credited with popularizing the bandana and straw hat as symbols of the rural American South. In addition to his performing, Leadbelly served time in prison on several occasions. His first prison term was served on a work farm in Sugar Land, Texas; while incarcerated, he worked as a gardener and as a field hand picking cotton. Following his release, he was arrested several more times before serving his final sentence at Angola State Prison in Louisiana.

The Rise of Bob Dylan

The 1960s was a decade of great political and social upheaval, and folk music was at the forefront of the counterculture movement. One of the most influential folk musicians of the decade was Bob Dylan, who released a string of critically acclaimed albums that captured the zeitgeist of the times.

Blowing in the Wind

Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” is one of the most important and influential songs of the 20th century. Released in 1963, the song quickly became an anthem for the civil rights and anti-war movements. Dylan was only 22 years old when he wrote the song, but he perfectly captured the zeitgeist of a nation in turmoil.

Dylan’s lyrics are deceptively simple, but they are packed with meaning and symbolism. The opening lines – “How many roads must a man walk down / Before you call him a man?” – raise larger questions about equality and freedom. The image of a lone figure standing against the wind symbolizes the strength and determination of those fighting for change.

“Blowin’ in the Wind” became an instant classic, and it helped to make Dylan one of the most important voices of his generation. The song has been covered by hundreds of artists, including Peter, Paul & Mary, Stevie Wonder, and Nirvana. It remains an timeless anthem for peace and justice.

The Times They Are A-Changin’

In the early 1960s, American folk music was enjoying a renaissance, led by artists such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Joan Baez. Into this world came Bob Dylan, a young singer-songwriter from Minnesota. Dylan’s unique style of music—which blended elements of folk, blues, and country—captured the imagination of a generation of young people who were looking for an alternative to the mainstream pop culture of the day.

Dylan’s breakthrough came in 1964 with the release of his third album, The Times They Are A-Changin’. The album’s title track quickly became an anthem for the counterculture movement, with its lyrics celebrating the power of youth to change the world. Dylan followed up this success with a string of classic albums in the late 1960s, including Bringing It All Back Home (1965), Highway 61 Revisited (1965), and Blonde on Blonde (1966).

In the years that followed, Dylan continued to push boundaries with his music, exploring different genres and experimenting with electric instruments and new production techniques. He remains one of the most influential and respected figures in popular music today.

Like a Rolling Stone

“Like a Rolling Stone” is a song by Bob Dylan, released on July 20, 1965. The song is the opening track and lead single from his sixth studio album, Highway 61 Revisited (1965). It was one of the first popular rock and roll compositions to double the length of a standard pop song at six minutes and four seconds.

Dylan’s lyrics changed pop music permanently, setting a new standard for poetic expression in rock songs. They have been cited as an instance of counterculture Wit, setting a trend for “disaffected youth” to use Dylan-esque irony. The song was ranked as number one on Rolling Stone’s list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” in 2004. In 1998, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as a “Recording That Changed the Course Of Popular Music”.

The British Invasion

The early 1960s saw a huge surge in the popularity of folk music, with artists like Bob Dylan and The Byrds becoming household names. This was due in part to the so-called “British Invasion” of American pop culture, led by bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. While the British Invasion is often associated with the Beatles and their ilk, there were many other great British bands of the 1960s, including The Kinks, The Who, and The Zombies.

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. Theline-up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr led the band to be regarded as the foremost and most influential music band in history. Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, they later utilised several genres, ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways. Their sound encapsulated the tumultuous social and cultural changes of the 1960s.

Active for a little over seven years, the Beatles released fourteen studio albums (thirteen worldwide), two live albums, four extended plays (EPs) and twenty-seven singles. They also composed several hundred songs that never saw official release but were widely bootlegged. The group had fractured acrimoniously by 1970, with Lennon departing for a self-imposed exile in Japan with his wife Yoko Ono followed by the departures of Starr in 1974 and Harrison in 1975; McCartney continued as a solo artist.

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962. They have released 30 studio albums, 23 live albums and numerous compilations. The original line-up consisted of Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Ian Stewart (piano), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals) and Bill Wyman (bass). The band’s primary songwriters, Jagger and Richards, assumed leadership after Andrew Loog Oldham became the group’s manager. Stanton Welch has been the group’s principal choreographer since 1989. Brian Jones was the original leader of the group. The Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. Rolling Stone magazine ranked them fourth on the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” list and their estimated record sales are above 250 million.

The Rolling Stones were at the forefront of the British Invasion of bands that became popular in the United States in 1964. They identified with the rebellious counterculture of the 1960s. They weresummarised by AllMusic critic Donald A. Guarisco as “not merely `Survivors’ but ` THRIVERS'”. They are one of the world’s best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 200 million records worldwide. With Richards as musical director, they continued to tour through 2007–08 and completed a short tour across Europe and Canada in summer 2013 following Charlie Watts’ announcement that he intended to retire from touring due to health issues.

The Kinks

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Dave Davies and Ray Davies in 1964. They are regarded as one of the most important and influential rock bands of the 20th century. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the US until their touring ban in 1965 (as a result of Dave Davies’s backstage fight with Mike Nesmith of The Monkees). Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned “You Really Got Me”, became an international hit in 1964, topping the charts in their home country and reaching No. 7 in the US. Between 1996 and 2018, they issued one studio album – Other People’s Lives (2006) – and five live albums.

In 1990, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[4] and Rollin’ Stone placed them at number 86 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists – “”The Kinks created some of the most enduring three-minute pop singles of all time.”” In 2005,they ranked number 26 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists Of All Time[6] and Rolling Stone magazine ranked them at number 33 on its list of The Greatest 100 Rolling Stones[]7 In 2008 Mojo ranked them at number 37 on its list “”The 100 Greatest Singles Artists Of All Time””.

The Death of Folk Rock

In the early 1960s, folk music was experiencing a renaissance. The sounds of artists like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez were introducing a new generation to the genre, and folk rock was beginning to emerge as a fresh and exciting new style. However, by the end of the decade, the folk rock scene had all but died. In this article, we’ll take a look at what killed folk rock and why.

The Byrds

The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band is best known for their influential and commercially successful music in the mid-1960s, particularly their records released between 1965 and 1967. The band’s signature blend of clear harmony singing and jangly twelve-string Rickenbacker guitar defined the genre of folk rock and acted as a major influence on subsequent popular music.

The death of folk rock is generally seen as coming about due to a number of factors, including the commercialization of the music, the rise of other genres such as psychedelia and country rock, and the increasing instability of the bands themselves. The Byrds are often cited as one of the key bands in the genre, and their fall from grace is often seen as emblematic of its demise.

Simon and Garfunkel

Simon and Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed in 1964 in Queens, New York, United States. Their music was featured in the soundtrack of the 1967 film The Graduate, which starred Dustin Hoffman.

The duo’s biggest hits—including “The Sound of Silence” (1964), “Mrs. Robinson” (1968), and “The Boxer” (1969)—reached number one on singles charts worldwide. Their final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970), was their most successful, becoming one of the world’s best-selling albums. After their breakup in 1970, both members pursued successful solo careers.

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young was a folk rock supergroup made up of four musicians who each had success in different bands. The group formed in 1968 and released their first album, “Déjà Vu,” in 1970.

The group was known for their intricate harmonies and for fusing different genres of music, including folk, rock, blues, and country. They were also known for their political activism, particularly during the Vietnam War.

The group only made two studio albums before breaking up in 1974, but they have been cited as an influence by many subsequent artists.