Which Song Initiated the Folk Music Revival in Mainstream Pop?

We take a look at which song initiated the folk music revival in mainstream pop and how it influenced the genre.

The Folk Music Revival

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was a renewed interest in the traditional folk music of the United States. This is often credited to the release of the album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan in 1963, which contained two traditional folk songs. The folk music revival led to the popularity of artists such as Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie.

The late 1950s and early 1960s

The late 1950s and early 1960s saw the beginnings of the folk music revival in mainstream pop. The Kingston Trio’s cover of “Tom Dooley” in 1958 was one of the first hits to bring folk back into the mainstream. The song, about the murder of a Union soldier by a Confederate during the Civil War, topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks. It was followed by other pop covers of folk songs, such as Pete Seeger’s “We Shall Overcome” and Odetta’s “Midnight Special.” These and other artists helped to make folk music popular again, leading to the rise of groups like Simon and Garfunkel, The Byrds, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

The Weavers and the Kingston Trio

The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City. They are credited with helping to initiate the post-World War II folk music revival in the United States and revitalizing interest in traditional folk music. The Weavers’ repertoire included songs by Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lee Hays, as well as their own arrangements of traditional songs from around the world.

The Kingston Trio was an American folk group popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their hits included a cover of “Tom Dooley” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”, both of which sold over a million copies and were awarded gold discs. The Kingston Trio was one of the few American pop groups to survive the British Invasion of 1964 unscathed.

The Mainstreaming of Folk Music

In the early 1960s, there was a growing interest in folk music. This was partly due to the political and social changes taking place at the time. Folk music was seen as a way to express the problems and issues of society. It was also seen as a way to promote peace and love.

The Beatles

The Beatles helped to initiate the folk music revival in mainstream pop music when they recorded their self-titled double album, commonly known as “The White Album.” This album, which was released in 1968, featured the song “Rocky Raccoon.” This song, written by Paul McCartney, was a clear nod to the traditional folk song form. The Beatles’ use of traditional folk instruments on this album, including acoustic guitar, banjo, and harmonica, also helped to bring folk music into the mainstream pop consciousness.

The Byrds

The Byrds, an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964, is considered by many to be the first folk rock band. The band was initial met with skepticism by the American Folk Music Revival scene, as their style blended traditional folk music with elements of popular music. However, their sound quickly caught on with audiences, and their debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man, reached #1 on the Billboard charts. The single “Mr. Tambourine Man” also topped the charts in both the US and the UK. From there, the Byrds went on to release a string of successful albums that further solidified their place as one of the most important bands of the 1960s.

Simon and Garfunkel

Folk music experienced a massive revival in mainstream pop culture during the early 1960s. One of the most successful and well-known performers of this era was Simon and Garfunkel. The duo’s first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., was released in 1964 and featured traditional folk songs such as “The Sound of Silence” and “I Am a Rock.” Although the album was not initially successful, it was re-released in 1966 after the single “The Sound of Silence” became a hit. The album eventually reached number one on the Billboard charts and cemented Simon and Garfunkel’s place in folk music history.

The Legacy of the Folk Music Revival

Few people know that the song that started the folk music revival in mainstream pop was written by a man who was not a folk musician. The song, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” was written by Bob Dylan in 1962.

The impact on popular music

The folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s brought the music of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly to a wider audience and helped to inspire a new generation of songwriters. The songs of the folk revival helped to shape the sound of popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Simon & Garfunkel helped to bring the sounds of folk rock and protest singer-songwriter into the mainstream. The legacy of the folk revival can still be heard in the work of contemporary artists like Bruce Springsteen, Emmylou Harris, and Ani DiFranco.

The influence on singer-songwriters

The Folk Music Revival initiated in the late 50s and early 60s had a profound influence on the singer-songwriter movement that would emerge a few years later. The most important figure in the transition from folk to pop was Bob Dylan, who, with his electrified band, released “Like a Rolling Stone” in 1965. Other artists who were influenced by the Folk Music Revival and helped to create the singer-songwriter movement include Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, and James Taylor.