The Folk Music Revival of the 1960s
The folk music revival of the 1960s was a time when people rediscovered the music of their ancestors. This blog explores the history and legacy of this musical movement.
The Rise of Folk Music
The folk music revival of the 1960s was a time when folk music became popular again. This was due to a number of factors, including the growing popularity of rock and roll, the rise of the counterculture, and the civil rights movement. This revival led to the popularity of folk singers like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Peter, Paul and Mary.
The Weavers and the Folk Music Revival
The Weavers were an American folk music quartet, founded in 1948 by Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, and Ronnie Gilbert. They were one of the most commercially successful and influential folk music groups of the 1950s. Their repertoire included folk standards such as “Goodnight, Irene”, “Tzena, Tzena, Tzena”, “On Top of Old Smokey”, and “Kisses Sweeter than Wine”, as well as labor songs such as “Wasn’t That a Time”, “pay Me My Money Down”, and “If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)”.
The group’s political affiliations led to their blacklisting during the McCarthy Era. After the Weavers disbanded in 1963, Seeger and Hays continued to perform together as a duo until Seeger’s death in 2014.
The 1960s Folk Music Revival saw the formation of many new folk music groups inspired by the Weavers, including Peter, Paul and Mary, the Kingston Trio, and the Clancy Brothers. These groups brought folk music to a wider audience and helped to revive traditional folk songs that had been forgotten. The revival also saw a renewed interest in American folk music among young people.
The Kingston Trio and the Folk Music Revival
The Kingston Trio was a folk music group that rose to prominence in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The group’s popularity sparked a renewed interest in folk music, which led to the folk music revival of the 1960s. The trio was composed of Bob Shane, Dave Guard, and Nick Reynolds. The group’s signature sound was a blend of close harmonies and acoustic guitars.
The Kingston Trio gained popularity with their self-titled debut album, which was released in 1958. The album featured the group’s versions of traditional folk songs, such as “On Top of Old Smokey” and “Tom Dooley.” The album was a commercial success, peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. The group followed up their debut with a string of successful albums, including 1959’s Here We Go Again and 1961’s String Along.
The Kingston Trio’s success helped to fuel the folk music revival of the 1960s. This revival was spearheaded by artists such as Bob Dylan, who released his debut album in 1962. Dylan’s lyrics were highly political and social commentaries on the state of America at the time. His songs helped to inspire a new generation of folk singers, who began to write their own material and experiment with new sounds.
The folk music revival of the 1960s led to a renewed interest in traditional folk music from around the world. This resulted in a fusion of traditional folk sounds with contemporary pop and rock styles. Folk rock bands such as Simon & Garfunkel and The Byrds became popular during this time. The popularity of folk rock would continue into the 1970s with bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival and America.
The Impact of Folk Music
The folk music revival of the 1960s brought the music to a whole new audience and had a profound impact on popular culture. The music of the folk revival was often used to convey messages of social and political importance, and it helped to shape the sound of popular music for years to come. Let’s take a closer look at the impact of folk music.
The Weavers and the Civil Rights Movement
The Weavers were an American folk music quartet, formed in 1948 by Ronnie Gilbert, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, and Pete Seeger. They are best known for popularizing many traditional folk songs, such as “Goodnight, Irene”, “Tzena, Tzena, Tzena”, “On Top of Old Smoky”, “Kisses Sweeter than Wine”, and “Wimoweh”. The Weavers were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era.
The Weavers’ success inspired many other folk groups of the 1950s and 1960s including Peter, Paul and Mary; the Kingston Trio; Joan Baez; Judy Collins; Nina Simone; and Bob Dylan. The group’s political involvement led to their being blacklisted during the McCarthy Era.
In 1955, the group was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall. The sold-out concert was a watershed moment in the American folk music revival. It helped to bring traditional folk music to a wider audience and served as an inspiration for many future performers.
During the early 1960s, the Weavers became increasingly involved in the Civil Rights Movement. They participated in benefits for CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) and SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), and they allowed their music to be used in political campaigns such as that of John F. Kennedy’s presidential bid in 1960. In 1963, they performed at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
The Kingston Trio and the Cold War
The Kingston Trio was a folk music group formed in 1957 in San Francisco, California. They were one of the most popular groups of the 1960s, and their recordings helped to revive interest in folk music in the United States.
The Kingston Trio was one of the first American pop music groups to achieve widespread success while using exclusively acoustic instruments. Their success was due in part to their ability to appeal to both young and old listeners. The group’s members were also skilled at fuse various musical styles, including country, blues, and jazz.
The Kingston Trio’s appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and other television programs helped to make them household names. Their recordings of “Tom Dooley” and “MTA” also became Top 40 hits.
In addition to their musical skills, the members of the Kingston Trio were known for their witty stage banter. This banter often took on a political edge, as the group was outspoken in its opposition to the policies of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his administration.
The Kingston Trio’s popularity began to decline in the late 1960s, as folk music fell out of favor with young listeners who were increasingly drawn to rock music. The group disbanded in 1967 but later reunited several times for reunion tours and albums.
The Legacy of Folk Music
The folk music revival of the 1960s was a time when people rediscovered the music of their roots. This is the music that was passed down from generation to generation, and it was a time when people realized that this music was worth preserving. The legacy of folk music is one of the most important things that came out of the 1960s.
The Weavers and the American Folk Music Tradition
The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in New York City. They are best known for popularizing traditional folk songs, such as “Goodnight, Irene”, “Midnight Special”, and “Kumbaya”. The original members of the group were Lead Belly (Huddie William Ledbetter), Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, and Ronnie Gilbert. The Weavers were founded in 1948 by Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and Ronnie Gilbert as a revue to perform
contemporary songs written in the folky style of artists such as Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly. The group’s repertoire included many songs written by Guthrie, including some of his children’s songs. They also sang traditional folk songs from a variety of cultures.
The Weavers’ style was defined by Seeger’s use of the five-string banjo – which he had learned from Guthrie – and their close four-part harmony singing. Their first recorded song was “Tzena Tzena Tzena” in 1950, which hit the charts and sold over a million copies. The group was blacklisted during the McCarthy era for their left-wing political beliefs, but they continued to perform and record after Seeger left the group in 1955.
The Weavers’ influence continued after they disbanded in 1964; their music was rediscovered by a new generation of folk musicians in the late 1960s, including Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. The group was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.
The Kingston Trio and the American Folk Music Tradition
The Kingston Trio was one of the most successful and influential American folk music groups of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The group’s style blended elements of folk, jazz, and pop music, and their popularity helped spur the American folk music revival of the 1960s.
The Kingston Trio was formed in 1957 by Bob Shane, Dave Guard, and Nick Reynolds. The group’s sound was built around Shane’s smooth baritone voice, Guard’s jazz-influenced guitar playing, and Reynolds’ intricate tenor banjo work. The trio’s debut album, “The Kingston Trio,” was released in 1958 and quickly became a bestseller.
The group went on to release a string of successful albums throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, including “At Large” (1959), “String Along” (1961), “‘Live’ at the Village Gate” (1962), and “Here We Go Again!” (1965). The Kingston Trio also scored a number of hit singles, including “Tom Dooley” (1958), “Greenback Dollar” (1959), “MTA” (1959), and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” (1962).
The Kingston Trio’s success helped revive interest in American folk music, which had been largely overshadowed by rock ‘n’ roll in the years since World War II. The group inspired a new generation of folk musicians, including Peter, Paul & Mary, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and others.
The Kingston Trio continued to perform and record together until 1967, when Guard left the group to pursue other interests. The remaining members Shane and Reynolds carried on as a duo until 1971, when they retired from performing altogether. In 1981, however, Shane reformed the Kingston Trio with two new members: George Grove and Bill Zorn. The new lineup released several albums over the next decade before once again disbanding in 1988.
