PBS Folk Music: The Best of the Best

PBS Folk Music: The Best of the Best is a collection of the greatest folk songs of all time. This blog will teach you how to write a quality meta description tag for your page that may be displayed in Google Search results.

Introduction

PBS Folk Music: The Best of the Best is a four-part documentary series that profiles the lives and careers of some of the most important and influential folk musicians of the 20th century. The series features interviews with, and performances by, such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Odetta, and many others.

The Best of the Best

PBS Folk Music has been around since 2003 and has since become one of the most popular places to find the best in folk music. If you’re a fan of folk music, then you’ll definitely want to check out PBS Folk Music. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the best of the best that PBS Folk Music has to offer.

Joan Baez

Joan Baez is one of the most influential and iconic figures in the history of folk music. A singer, songwriter and activist, she has been a major force in the folk scene for over six decades, releasing over 30 albums and touring extensively both in the United States and internationally. Her work has helped to shape the sound and style of contemporary folk music, and she has been a major inspiration for many other artists, including Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and Emmylou Harris.

Odetta

Odetta was an American singer, actress, and civil rights activist, who is often referred to as “The Queen of American Folk Music”. She was a major influence on both the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, and on the development of the Civil Rights Movement. Her singing style was rooted in African-American spirituals, work songs, and blues, and she was particularly known for her powerful vocal delivery.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Odetta moved to Los Angeles with her family in1937. She began her career as a folk singer in the early 1950s, playing at coffeehouses and clubs in Greenwich Village. In 1954 she made her first recordings for Vanguard Records, which helped to launch her career. Odetta’s 1956 album Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues was hugely successful and is considered one of the classic albums of the folk music genre.

Over the course of her career Odetta released more than 20 albums, including several live recordings. In 1963 she performed at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where she sang “O Freedom” with Mahalia Jackson. Odetta continued to perform and record until shortly before her death in 2008.

Judy Collins

Judy Collins is a celebrated folk singer and songwriter whose career has spanned more than five decades. Born in Seattle in 1939, Collins began playing the piano at the age of five and soon after took up the guitar. As a teenager, she became interested in traditional folk music and the work of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. In the early 1960s, she moved to New York City, where she became involved in the burgeoning folk music scene.

Over the course of her career, Collins has released more than 30 albums, including several gold and platinum-selling records. She is perhaps best known for her Renditions of traditional folk songs like “Amazing Grace” and “Danny Boy,” as well as her original compositions like “Both Sides Now” and “Send in the Clowns.” A prolific recording artist, Collins has also toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. In addition to her musical accomplishments, Collins is also a noted philanthropist; she is involved with a number of charitable organizations, including UNICEF and Greenpeace.

Judi Collins’ music is timeless.

Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger was an American folk singer and social activist. A key figure in the development of both the folk music and protest song genres, he wrote some of the most recognizable songs of the twentieth century, including “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!” His best-known song, “We Shall Overcome,” was a staple of the civil rights movement and has been adapted into many other languages.

The Weavers

An article in the **PBS Folk Music: The Best of the Best** series looks at the history and influence of The Weavers, who “helped to secure a place for traditional and contemporary folk music in American culture.” Composed of Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman, the group was “known for lighthearted arrangements of songs with serious messages.” Though their career was cut short by the blacklist, their music “endures as an inspiration to folk musicians and fans around the world.”

Woody Guthrie

WoodrowWilson “Woody” Guthrie was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music; his compositions, which include “This Land Is Your Land”, exhibit a uniquely American experience and perspective of the people, the land and the everyday lives of ordinary people. He frequently performed with the slogan “This machine kills fascists” displayed on his guitar. His best-known song is “This Land Is Your Land”. Many of his recorded songs are about his experiences during the Great Depression and dust bowl years when he traveled with migrant farm workers from Oklahoma to California and learned their traditional folk songs. Guthrie’s lyrics strayed from topical issues such as late 1930s competition between labor union leaders John L. Lewis and Sidney Hillman over leadership of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) to more universal concerns such as racism and anti-Semitism in post–World War II America. Throughout his life, Guthrie was associated with United States Communist groups, though he was seemingly not a member of any himself.

Lead Belly

One of the most influential figures in American folk and blues music, Lead Belly’s songs have been covered by everyone from Woody Guthrie to Nirvana. Born in 1888 near Shreveport, Louisiana, Huddie Ledbetter was first introduced to music by his family and neighbors. He began playing the guitar at a young age and was soon performing at local parties and dances. In 1918, he was sentenced to 30 years in Angola State Prison Farm for killing a man in a fight.

It was during his time in prison that Lead Belly began to hone his skills as a musician, performing for inmates and guards alike. Upon his release in 1925, he made his way to New York City, where he quickly became a fixture on the city’s vibrant folk music scene. Over the next decade, Lead Belly released a series of critically acclaimed albums and toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe. His popularity continued to grow after his death in 1949, with many of his songs becoming standards of the folk and blues genres.

The New Generation

The young folk musicians of today are carrying on the traditions of their elders while adding their own unique twists. They’re playing the music we love in ways that are both fresh and familiar. In this program, we’ll hear some of the best of the best.

The Kingston Trio

The Kingston Trio’s first album was released in 1958. It immediately topped the charts and stayed there for over six months, becoming one of the biggest hits of the decade. The trio’s success marked the beginning of a new era in folk music.

The Kingston Trio was not the first group to bring folk music to a mainstream audience, but they were the most successful. Their popularity helped to launch a folk music revival that would last for years. The trio’s success also ushered in a new generation of folk musicians, many of whom would go on to have successful careers of their own.

The Kingston Trio was composed of three young men: Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds, and Dave Guard. The trio was originally formed as a college campus act, and their first album was recorded on a whim. The album, simply titled “The Kingston Trio,” was an instant success. It included such Folk classics as “Tom Dooley” and “MTA.”

The Kingston Trio continued to release successful albums throughout the 1960s. They were one of the few folk groups to achieve mainstream success during that decade. By the early 1970s, however, the group’s popularity had begun to wane. They disbanded in 1967, but reformed ten years later with a new lineup. The group has remained active ever since, touring and recording intermittently.

Although their popularity has faded somewhat over the years, the Kingston Trio is still considered one of the most important Folk groups of all time. Their influence can be heard in the work of many subsequent Folk artists, including Bob Dylan and The Byrds.

Peter, Paul and Mary

While the trio of Peter, Paul and Mary may have come to be known as an oldies act, their music was actually at the forefront of the American folk music revival of the early 1960s. Hailed as “the new generation” of folk music, they popularized traditional songs like “The Times They Are A-Changin'” and “Blowin’ in the Wind,” helping to bring the sound of folk music to a whole new audience.

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is one of the most influential singer-songwriters of our time. His impact on music, culture, and politics is undeniable. He has been a voice of change and rebellion for more than 50 years, and his influence can still be felt today. Dylan started out as a folk musician in the 1960s, but he quickly became one of the most popular and influential voices of his generation. His lyrics were often political and social commentary, and he was not afraid to speak out against injustice. Dylan’s music has inspired other artists and musicians for decades, and his legacy continues to this day.

Simon and Garfunkel

Simon and Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first taste of success with the minor hit “Hey, Schoolgirl”. As Simon and Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, backed by the hit single “The Sound of Silence”. Their music was featured in the seminal film The Graduate, propelling them further into the public consciousness.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

The foursome of Neil Young, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash became music legends with their harmonies and songwriting. They released their first album, Crosby, Stills & Nash, in 1969, followed by Deja Vu in 1970. The album featured the hit song “Teach Your Children.” CSNY struggled with personal tensions through the 1970s, but released a live album entitled Four Way Street in 1971. The group reunited in 1974 for the album So Far, followed by another live album, CSN. A new studio album, American Dream, was released in 1988.

Conclusion

What started in the 1940s as a grassroots movement to preserve and promote traditional American music has blossomed into a genre that is enjoyed by millions of people around the world. Folk music is truly an American art form, and one that we should all be proud of.

The artists featured on PBS Folk Music: The Best of the Best represent the best of what this genre has to offer. We hope you enjoy their music as much as we do.