Which Song Initiated the Folk Music Revival in Mainstream Pop?
The answer to this question may surprise you. It wasn’t Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” Peter, Paul, and Mary’s “If I Had a Hammer,” or even Joan Baez’s “We Shall Overcome.”
The Weavers
The Weavers were a folk music quartet, formed in 1947 in New York City. They were one of the most popular and influential groups of the folk music revival in the early 1950s. Their repertoire included traditional folk songs, labor songs, and protest songs. The Weavers’ version of “Goodnight, Irene” was a #1 hit on the Billboard charts in 1950.
Formed in 1948
The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City. They performed traditional folk songs from around the world, as well as modern songs written in the folk idiom, and occasional works by mainstream songwriters. Formed in 1948, they were one of the most commercially successful and influential groups of the early years of the American folk music revival.
The group’s repertoire included such standards as Lead Belly’s “Goodnight, Irene”, Woody Guthrie’s “So Long (It’s Been Good to Know Yuh)” and Pete Seeger’s arrangement of “If I Had a Hammer”. Their success popularized many songs, leading to numerous hit records over the next decade by other artists including Peter, Paul and Mary, Odetta and Trini Lopez. The Weavers were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era for their leftist political beliefs. After disbanding in 1953, they reformed in 1955 with a new lineup under the leadership of Ronnie Gilbert. The group continued to perform until 1964 when they were again forced to disband because of Gilbert’s poor health.
“Goodnight, Irene” topped the charts in 1950
In January 1950, Gordon Jenkins and the Weavers recorded “Goodnight, Irene” at Decca Studios in New York. Released in February, it quickly went to the top of the Billboard pop charts, where it stayed for 13 weeks. The success of “Irene” gave the Weavers a national profile and helped initiate the folk music revival in mainstream pop. The song also established the Weavers as one of the first commercially successful integrated pop groups; their lineup included two African-American members, Russ Savakus and Fred Hellerman.
Had a string of hits in the early 1950s
The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City. They were part of the folk music revival movement and are credited with helping to bring folk music to the mainstream of American popular music. The group was founded in 1948 by Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman and achieved popularity in the 1950s with a string of hit records including “On Top of Old Smokey” and “Kisses Sweeter than Wine”. The Weavers disbanded in 1964 but reunion concerts and recordings continued into the 1990s.
The Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio was a highly successful mainstream pop group during the late 1950s and early 1960s. They popularized folk music with a series of hits, including “Tom Dooley”, “Greenback Dollar”, and “M.T.A.”. The group’s success helped to initiate the folk music revival of the 1960s.
Formed in 1957
The Kingston Trio was an American folk and popular music group that helped launch the folk music revival of the late 1950s to early 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with a lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds. It rose to national prominence after it released two hit singles, “Tom Dooley” and “M.T.A.”, in 1958. The Kingston Trio’s first album was released in early 1959 and spent 131 weeks on Billboard’s Top LP chart, including 32 weeks in the No. 1 position.
“Tom Dooley” reached #1 in 1958
The Kingston Trio’s recordings of “Tom Dooley” and “M.T.A.” helped initiate the folk music revival in mainstream pop music in the late 1950s. “Tom Dooley” was a #1 hit on Billboard’s Pop Singles chart in 1958, while “M.T.A.” reached #5 in 1959. The Trio’s success with these two songs led to numerous other folk-styled recordings by mainstream pop artists in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including Peter, Paul and Mary, The Brothers Four, The Chad Mitchell Trio, The Highwaymen, and Bob Dylan.
Had a number of hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s
The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped initiate the folk music revival in mainstream American pop music in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The group started as a band called The Hi-Fi’s, which played jazz and folk music in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1950s. The band was renamed The Kingston Trio after they signed with Capitol Records in 1957. The Kingston Trio’s first hit single was “Tom Dooley”, which reached number one on Billboard magazine’s pop singles chart in 1958.
Bob Dylan
While many people credit the Beatles for initiating the folk music revival in mainstream pop, it was actually Bob Dylan who did it first. In early 1962, Dylan released his debut album, which included the song “Blowin’ in the Wind.” The song became a hit, and people began to take notice of Dylan’s talent.
“Blowin’ in the Wind” reached #2 in 1963
“Blowin’ in the Wind” is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962 and released as a single in 1963. The song helped Dylan gain recognition as a songwriter and established him as a leading voice of the American folk music revival. “Blowin’ in the Wind” has been covered by many artists, including Peter, Paul and Mary, who reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their version in 1963.
“The Times They Are a-Changin'” reached #20 in 1964
Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin’” is often cited as the anthem of the civil rights movement and the youth rebellion of the 1960s. Released in early 1964, the song enjoyed modest success on the pop charts, reaching #20. But its impact was far greater than its sales or radio airplay would suggest. The song’s simple but sweeping message—that an era of profound social change was underway—resonated with millions of young people who were coming of age in a time of turmoil.
With its stirring call for generational justice, “The Times They Are a-Changin’” became an instant folk classic and helped spark the “folk revival” that began to take hold in mainstream pop music later in the decade. The song has been covered by hundreds of artists over the years, including Bob Dylan himself, who recorded a live version with Johnny Cash in 1969 that appeared on Dylan’s Self Portrait album.
“Like a Rolling Stone” reached #2 in 1965
In the summer of 1965, “Like a Rolling Stone” was released as a single by Bob Dylan. The song quickly became a hit, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The success of the single helped to initiate the folk music revival in mainstream pop music.
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band was initially influenced by the British Invasion and folk rock, but later veered towards psychedelia and baroque pop. The band released eight albums in a five-year span, with their fifth album, The Byrds, being their most successful. The album included their most successful single, “Mr. Tambourine Man”.
“Mr. Tambourine Man” reached #1 in 1965
The Byrds were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band’s signature sound was derived from a unique blend of folk and rock music, and their debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man, is often cited as being one of the key albums that initiated the folk music revival in mainstream pop music. The single “Mr. Tambourine Man” reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1965, making it the first folk song to achieve this feat. The Byrds continued to have success throughout the 1960s and 1970s with hits like “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season),” “Eight Miles High,” and “Wild Mountain Thyme.”
“Turn! Turn! Turn!” reached #1 in 1965
In December 1965, “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)”, with a lead vocal by Roger McGuinn and adapted from the Book of Ecclesiastes, became the only #1 pop hit single with credits to both a rock band and a folk singer: Byrds’ member Pete Seeger, who wrote the song’s original lyrics. These lyrics were based on the first nine verses of the third chapter of Ecclesiastes, which begins with the words “To everything there is a season”. The opening and closing verses of Seeger’s song were omitted from the Byrds’ recording.
“Turn! Turn! Turn!” is significant as an early example of what would come to be known as country rock. The Byrds’ performances of “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!” on The Ed Sullivan Show in October 1965 marked the first time that electric folk music was played on national television in the United States.
“Eight Miles High” reached #14 in 1966
“Eight Miles High” is a song by the American rock band the Byrds. The song was written by Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn, and David Crosby and released as a single in March 1966. It was the first cut from the band’s Fifth Dimension album, and carred on the Byrds’ trend of releasing singles which differed from their album tracks, being much longer and featuring extended jamming and improvisation not present on the Fifth Dimension version. “Eight Miles High” reached number 14 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and number 24 in the UK Singles Chart.
The song is notable for its position at the forefront of the folk rock genre and as an early example of psychedelic rock, with innovative use of feedback and Guitarist Roger McGuinn’s use of a Rickenbacker 12-string electric guitar. The lyrics, which were written by Gene Clark, have been interpreted as both a drug anthem and an ode to an aborted attempt by the band to fly to London.
Simon and Garfunkel
The folk music revival in mainstream pop began with Simon and Garfunkel. The release of their album “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” in October of 1964 was the start of the folk music revival. The album did not gain much attention at first, but after the release of the single “The Sound of Silence” in January of 1965, the album began to sell.
“The Sound of Silence” reached #1 in 1966
Initially released in 1964, “The Sound of Silence” was a slow-moving ballad that didn’t gain much traction. But after being re-released in 1965 with some electric instrumentation added, it became a number-one hit in early 1966. The song’s popularity initiated the folk music revival of the 1960s and helped to launch Simon & Garfunkel’s career.
“I Am a Rock” reached #3 in 1966
“I Am a Rock” is a song by Simon and Garfunkel, released in 1966. The song was a hit, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “I Am a Rock” is often cited as the song that initiated the folk music revival in mainstream pop.
“The Dangling Conversation” reached #21 in 1967
The Dangling Conversation” is a song by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released in October 1966 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966). The song peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The lyrics were written by Paul Simon and refer to a deteriorating relationship. The song’s title refers to a line from T. S. Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land”, which itself alludes to a painting by Hieronymus Bosch.
Simon and Garfunkel were not known for writing politically charged songs, but “The Dangling Conversation” has been interpreted as being about the Vietnam War. The lyrics refer to a “soldier girl” and “a boy in uniform”. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1968, Simon said that the song was not specifically about the Vietnam War but that it was “very much about fear”.
