The Folk Music Revival of the 1960s
The Folk Music Revival of the 1960s was a time when folk music was making a comeback. Here are some of the best folk songs of the 1960s.
The Rise of Folk Music
The folk music revival of the 1960s was a time when people rediscovered the power and passion of traditional folk music. This was a time when artists like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez rose to prominence, and when folk music became a force to be reckoned with. The folk music revival of the 1960s was a time of great change, and it left a lasting mark on music and culture.
The Weavers and the Folk Music Scene
The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the New York City area, one of the most influential groups of the 1950s in the revival of traditional folk music. Inspired by what they saw and heard at an Almanac Singers concert in December 1940, Pete Seeger and Lee Hays decided to form a group with Woody Guthrie and Millard Lampell. The group’s repertoire included songs by Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, Sam Hinton, Josh White, BUddy Moss, and Cisco Houston, as well as Seeger’s own compositions (“Kisses Sweeter than Wine”, “Wasn’t That a Time?”) andtraditional songs such as “On Top of Old Smokey” and “Goodnight Irene”.
The Weavers achieved considerable success on the pop charts with such recordings as Lead Belly’s “Goodnight Irene” (1950), which sold over two million copies and was a number one hit for 13 weeks; their cover of Josh White’s “On Top of Old Smokey” (1951); their recording of Hays’ composition “The Wreck of the John B.” (1952); and their version of Woody Guthrie’s “So Long, It’s Been Good to Know Yuh” (1952). The group was blacklisted during the McCarthy Era for its leftist political beliefs.
The Kingston Trio and the Folk Music Scene
The Kingston Trio’s 1958 hit “Tom Dooley” — about the 1866 murder of a man by his former lover — was a harbinger of the folk music revival of the early 1960s. The trio, which consisted of Bob Shane, Dave Guard, and Nick Reynolds, popularized a more polished and commercialized version of folk music that appealed to mainstream audiences.
The success of the Kingston Trio spurred interest in folk music among young people, and many university-based “folk clubs” sprang up across the country. These clubs provided a venue for both new and established folk musicians to perform. Among the most popular performers on the college folk circuit were Peter, Paul and Mary; Joan Baez; and Bob Dylan.
The popularity of folk music was given a major boost by the 1963 release of Dylan’s album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, which featured such classics as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” Dylan’s confessional lyrics and harmonica-backed melodies struck a chord with young people who were disillusioned with the materialism and conformity of 1950s society.
The rise of folk music coincided with the political turmoil of the 1960s, as youth culture challenged traditional values and authority figures. Folk songs such as Pete Seeger’s “We Shall Overcome” and Phil Ochs’ “I Ain’t Marching Anymore” became anthems for the civil rights and anti-war movements, respectively.
While most folk musicians avoided explicit political statements in their songs, they nonetheless played an important role in fostering a climate of social change. The popularity of folk music waned in the late 1960s as other musical genres took center stage, but its legacy can still be heard in the work of contemporary singer-songwriters such as Ani DiFranco and Billy Bragg.
The Resurgence of Folk Music
The folk music revival of the 1960s was a time when people rediscovered the music of their heritage. This was a time when people were interested in social change and were looking for music that was meaningful to them. Folk music was the perfect answer. The music was simple and honest and spoke to the issues that people were concerned about. The folk music revival of the 1960s gave rise to some of the most iconic musicians of our time.
The Beatles and the Folk Music Scene
The Beatles are often credited with being one of the driving forces behind the folk music ‘revival’ of the 1960s. In fact, their influence can be seen in two different ways. Firstly, their own music contained elements of folk – most notably in their early hits such as ‘She Loves You’ and ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, which were both heavily influenced by traditional American folk songs. Secondly, they popularized a number of existing folk artists by including them on their influential television show, The Ed Sullivan Show.
Some of the most popular folk performers of the 1960s, such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, were exposed to a wider audience thanks to The Beatles. This helped to increase interest in folk music and led to a mini-revival of the genre during the latter part of the decade. Artists such as Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby Stills & Nash, and even The Byrds all benefited from The Beatles’ exposure and went on to have highly successful careers in their own right.
So while it would be wrong to say that The Beatles single-handedly revived interest in folk music, there is no doubt that they played a significant role in the genre’s resurgence during the 1960s.
The Byrds and the Folk Music Scene
The Byrds were a hugely popular and influential band during the 1960s, and their sound was very much rooted in the folk music tradition. The band’s lead singer, Roger McGuinn, was a former member of the folk group The Chad Mitchell Trio, and he brought his love of folk music to the Byrds. The band’s biggest hit, “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season),” was aAdapted from a poem by Pete Seeger, and it quickly became an anthem for the burgeoning folk music scene.
The Legacy of Folk Music
The folk music revival of the 1960s was a time when people rediscovered the music of their ancestors. This includes music from England, Scotland, Ireland, and America. The revival led to the popularity of groups like The Kingston Trio, The Weavers, and Peter, Paul and Mary. It also inspired musicians like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. The legacy of folk music continues today with artists like Sting, Emmylou Harris, and John Prine.
The Grateful Dead and the Folk Music Scene
During the early 1960s, a group of young musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area began playing a type of music that would come to be known as “psychedelic rock.” This new style of music incorporated elements of traditional folk music, blues, and country, as well as Eastern influences such as Indian sitar music. The Grateful Dead was one of the most successful and influential bands to emerge from this scene.
The Dead were not particularly interested in political activism, but their music often had a strong social conscience. For example, their song “Uncle John’s Band” is a ode to the value of working together for the common good. The Dead also incorporated traditional folk songs into their repertoire, which helped to popularize folk music among young people who might otherwise have been unaware of it.
The Folk Music Revival of the 1960s was a cultural phenomenon that had a significant impact on the Grateful Dead and their music. This movement brought traditional folk songs to a whole new audience, and the Dead were instrumental in spreading this music to even more people.
The Simon and Garfunkel and the Folk Music Scene
The impact of Simon and Garfunkel on the American folk music scene of the 1960s was profound. The duo’s music was at the forefront of the folk music revival that took place in the United States during that decade. Simon and Garfunkel’s rise to prominence coincided with the growing popularity of folk music in general, and their success had a significant impact on the genre.
The duo’s debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., was released in 1964, just as the folk music revival was beginning to gain momentum. The album was not a commercial success, but it did receive some positive reviews from critics. One of the most important aspects of Simon and Garfunkel’s music was its focus on social and political issues. Their songs tackled topics such as racism, poverty, war, and social injustice. This socially conscious elements of their music helped to make them popular with young people who were looking for something more than simply entertainment.
In 1965, Simon and Garfunkel released their second album, Sounds of Silence. The lead single from that album, “The Sound of Silence,” became a huge hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The success of “The Sound of Silence” helped to propel Simon and Garfunkel to stardom and establish them as one of the most important musical acts of the 1960s.
The duo continued to release successful albums throughout the remainder of the decade, including Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966), Bookends (1968), and Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). Simon and Garfunkel’s music had a profound impact on American culture during the 1960s, and their legacy continues to this day.
