PBS Folk Music Rewind: The Best of the Best

PBS’s Folk Music Rewind brings together the best of the best in folk music. From the classic sounds of the 1960s to the modern era, this compilation features some of the most influential and iconic folk musicians of our time.

Introduction

PBS Folk Music Rewind is a two-hour concert celebrating some of the best folk music of the past 50 years. The concert will air on PBS on November 28, 2015 at 8pm ET (check local listings).

The concert will feature performances by some of the biggest names in folk music, including Joan Baez, Judy Collins, John Denver, Donovan, Peter, Paul & Mary, and more.

The Best of the Best

The best of the best PBS Folk Music Rewind features some of the best Folk songs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. This album has something for everyone with a wide variety of Folk songs that are sure to please.

The Weavers

The Weavers were a hugely popular and influential folk music group in the 1950s. Their version of “Goodnight, Irene” was a number one hit in 1950 and they were instrumental in introducing folk music to a mainstream audience. The Weavers were blacklisting during the McCarthy era, but made a comeback in the 1960s with the help of Bob Dylan.

Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie was an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children’s songs, ballads and improvised works. 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 archived in the Library of Congress.

Lead Belly

Lead Belly was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1885 and is considered one of the most important folk musicians of all time. He learned to play the guitar and sing from his father and went on to perform for presidents and dignitaries, as well as at prisons and juke joints. His songs about social injustice, love, and loss have been covered by artists like Nirvana, Bob Dylan, and Led Zeppelin.

Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger was an American folk singer and songwriter. He was a key figure in the development of the American folk music revival movement in the 1940s and ’50s. His best-known songs include “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?,” “If I Had a Hammer,” and “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season).” Seeger was also known for his political activism, including his work with young people as founder of the first modern youth folk music group, the Weavers, and his participation in various protest movements, most notably the civil rights movement and opposition to McCarthyism. He was indicted for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about his supposed communist affiliations, but the charges were later dropped. In the 1960s, he helped found the Greenwich Village music club The Bitter End, where many young folk singers began their careers.

The Legacy of Folk Music

Folk music has been around for centuries, and it has been passed down from generation to generation. Folk music is the music of the people, and it has always been a part of our cultures and heritage. PBS’s Folk Music Rewind is a great way to experience the best of the best in folk music.

The Civil Rights Movement

African Americans have been making music for centuries. In the early 1600s, they were brought over to the United States as slaves. For the next two hundred years, they were forced to work in plantations in the southern states. Despite their difficult circumstances, they found ways to express themselves through music.

During the Civil War, African American soldiers marched to battle with drums and fifes. After the war, African American spirituals became popular. These songs told stories of hope and freedom. In the early 1900s, blues music began to develop in the southern states. This new style of music reflected the struggles and joys of everyday life.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum. African Americans were fighting for their rights as citizens of the United States. Folk musicians played an important role in this struggle. They wrote and sang songs that encouraged people to stand up for their rights. Artists like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul & Mary helped bring attention to the cause.

The Civil Rights Movement reached its peak in 1963 with the March on Washington. Thousands of people came together to demand equal rights for all Americans, regardless of skin color. The march ended with a speech by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most influential leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. His stirring words still resonate today: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

The Anti-War Movement

The anti-war movement of the 1960s gave rise to a new form of folk music that protested the Vietnam War and advocated for peace. This music was marked by its political lyrics and its use of traditional folk melodies.

During the early years of the war, many folk musicians were reluctant to take a political stance, but as the conflict dragged on and public opinion turned against the war, more and more artists began to speak out. Some of the most famous anti-war songs were written by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Phil Ochs.

The folk music of the 1960s was instrumental in uniting people against the war. It brought together young people who were opposed to the conflict and helped them express their views in a powerful way. The songs of this era are still remembered and sung today, making them a important part of our musical heritage.

The Folk Revival

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a renewed interest in the music of earlier generations led to the folk revival. The Kingston Trio’s 1958 recording of “Tom Dooley,” a folk song about a 19th-century murder, became a Top 40 hit. Inspired by the Kingston Trio, other groups such as the New Christy Minstrels and Peter, Paul and Mary began to perform and record traditional songs for a new audience.

At the same time, young people were rediscovering the music of Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly and other folk performers from an earlier era. In 1961, Bob Dylan began his career singing traditional folk songs in coffeehouses in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Dylan’s concert at Carnegie Hall in 1963 featured Pete Seeger and Odetta—artists who had been performing folk music for more than a decade.

The popularity of the folk revival continued into the 1960s with the release of Dylan’s album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan in 1963. The album included two of Dylan’s most famous compositions—”Blowin’ in the Wind” and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”—as well as traditional songs such as “Corrina, Corrina” and “House of the Rising Sun.” The album was a critical and commercial success, cementing Dylan’s reputation as one of the most important songwriters of his generation.

Conclusion

Here are the results of our “Folk Music Rewind: The Best of the Best” survey. We received an incredible response, with votes coming in from all 50 states and dozens of countries around the world. We want to give a big thank you to everyone who participated.

And now, without further ado, here are your top 10 favorite folk songs of all time:

1. “The Times They Are A-Changin'” – Bob Dylan
2. “Blowin’ in the Wind” – Bob Dylan
3. “The588 percent of the respondents said they had never heard of the Songcatchers Project before taking this survey. Only 12 percent said they were familiar with the work of the Songcatchers, and 8 percent said they had heard some of the music but didn’t know much about it.
4. “We Shall Overcome” – Pete Seeger
5. “This Land Is Your Land” – Woody Guthrie
6. “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” – Pete Seeger
7. “If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)” – Pete Seeger & Lee Hays
8. “Danny Boy” – Traditional
9.”Shenandoah” – Traditional
10.”House of the Rising Sun” – Traditional