60s Folk Music

I dont know if this thread has already been made, but what are some essential folk artists of th 1960s/early 1970s? or even earlier than that?

any help is greatly appreciated

 

Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul & Mary, Leonard Cohen, Pete Seeger, Jorma Kaukonen, Jerry Garcia, Peter Rowan, David Grisman.

Just off the top of my head.

 

Simon Finn

Vashti Bunyan

Maybe they are not the "classic essential", but they are my essentials : D

 

Captain Beefheart! He's genius.

 

i luv peter paul n mary!!!

 

a few more would be buffy st. marie,phil ochs,steve goodman,woody guthrie,arlo guthrie,pete seeger.there are so many good ones.folk music was really popular in those days.it still is i guess....odetta was great listening to...the new christey minstrels.

 

Easy, Tim Buckley. You will not regret the decision to check this guy out if you haven't already.

 

^^ No regrets here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPtSVouKW10"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPtSVouKW10

 

The Holy Modal Rounders

They were at their best in the mid 60's, with just Peter Stampfel on fiddle and vocals and Steve Weber on guitar and vocals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XZXnM5wHqg"]YouTube- The Holy Modal Rounders First Album 1964 " Hesitation Blues"

 

I would start with Peter, Paul, and Mary's first LP. It's a classic....

Then I would go with a Fairport Convention LP. Afterwards I would warp to Joni Mitchell's Ladies of the Canyon.......

 

I think I would add 'The New Christy Minstrels" to the list. Or how about the Kingston Trio?

 

Dave Van Ronk

and, although he wasn't a musician, Harry Everett Smith

 

and The WEavers! there is more but at the moment that is all I can think
to add to the list...I can picture one solo lady with an awesome voice but dang I can't think of her name!
peace
Delfynasa

 

Besides John Denver (see separate thread), I think a case could be made for putting Carole King in this category. If so, that would probably make Tapestry the all-time best selling album in this genre. It's hard to know exactly where to draw the line as to what is folk and what isn't. The piano isn't a traditional folk or mountain instrument, but it isn't excluded as a modern electric instrument either. Carole's vocals, values, and general vibe embody folk, in my opinion, though clearly with a soulful edge. And James Taylor's contributions to her albums (especially Tapestry) definitely pushed her work further in the folk direction.

 

Carole King’s Tapestry was released in 1971 so technically it’s not part of 60’s music, but that’s beside the point. I’ve often considered music of that genre to fall into the category of “soft rock” - that limbo between folk music and harder rock. Where the edge lies is largely subjective. Other artists falling into this nebulous area include The Eagles, America, Carly Simon, CSN (and sometimes “Y” LOL), The Mamas and the Papas, and perhaps even The Doors. Who can forget the lilting violin backing to “Touch Me Babe,” which stands in stark contrast to the music of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and other hard-edged groups of the period. Joan Baez is usually categorized as a folk singer, but where does Bob Dylan fall? His early music certainly had a folk quality about it, but as he moved more into social issues and later electric recording his music took on a soft rock to mainstream quality. As for John Denver, he’s another anomaly. His music has the acoustic instrumentation and subject matter largely associated with folk music, but it wasn’t the same sound as Peter, Paul, & Mary, The Kingston Trio, The Rooftop Singers, the New Christy Minstrels, or the Journeymen to name a few.

 

Defining musical categories is such a quagmire.

I suppose a purist would say that folk music should be limited only to easily portable acoustic instruments, like something that a roving band of minstrels could carry to a tavern in Europe three hundred years ago. You sure as hell can't carry an acoustic piano around with you, but you can write material for the piano that is nearly interchangeable with guitar music (like Carole King and James Taylor material).

We tend to think of folk as very narrow; only the music that sounds very much like Peter, Paul, and Mary. But international folk music has deep roots in Europe, and has evolved through many different sounds over the centuries. ABBA has some album tracks that are close to pure Swedish folk music, which sounds very different from the folk music of the British Isles that evolved into American folk and American country music. But it fits the purist definition of folk.

I like a broader definition folk, partly because it doesn't create the false illusion that folk music is at death's door. It just continues to evolve, like every other genre. I consider Zydeco and Creole to be forms of folk music, and they are both very much alive in the USA.

 

Yes, that's part of what I wanted to express. It gets even more convoluted when you get into crossover recordings. Where would you place the duet between Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson ("All the Girls I've Loved Before"), LOL!! :rofl:

Yes, I believe Steve Martin had a line about things you've never heard before, "Please, hand me that piano!" :rofl:

It's often interesting to hear the variations or arrangements as well. Music can cross from one instrument to another, one genre to another, and the same song can deliver a different message or a different feel. I love music, I'm just not a musician!

True, every country has its own unique "folk" music, often evolving from the traveling minstrels or acts of the pre-recording days. As I mentioned in my previous post, the boundaries between genres are very fuzzy. It's easy to categorize "500 Miles" by the Journeymen as folk and "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix as hard rock, but then what about everything in between? I think that's where this discussion arose. Personally I see Carole King as soft rock, much in the same spirit as some of the other acts I mentioned (e.g., America), but what difference does it make in the big picture? For the most part I've got a collection of classic rock, but if there's something else I enjoy, I'll buy it, listen to it, load it on my MP3 player.

True, they just have their origins in different parts of the country from "traditional" American folk music. There are other examples of variations on a theme. For example, the New Orleans "Jazz" is different from John Coltrane "Jazz." Is one use of the term right and the other wrong? Nope, it's all good music!

I think we're pretty much in agreement on the topic, just different feels for where the "boundaries" lie. In the big picture, what difference does it make? If you enjoy it, if it produces a feeling in you, if you find it running through your hear head endlessly - it's all good!

 

Ummm, trash can?

I suppose, after giving it further thought, that the use of drums is enough to move something into the soft rock category. That was another instrument that roving musicians could not carry around with them.

Unfortunately, music categories make a HUGE difference in radio airplay. That can make or break an artist.

Jazz is without a doubt the broadest general category. Preservation jazz (New Orleans) has very little in common with progressive jazz (Coltrane/Davis). At least that difference is easy to hear and understand.

 

oh god theres a large number to list : Pete Seeger
The weavers , the rooftop singers. PPM, Joan Baez Phil Ochs mimi and richard farina, Tim Hardin, Dave van ronk, ( hes more blues), tom paxton , Ronnie gilbert as a great deal of amazing solo stuff to from the 60s, there are a dozen more that im not naming here.

 

The Seekers - lead singer Judith Durham were Aussies and in the 60s (and in latter days still seen to) 'Rock' (or "Folk out" if you like)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ga9Bs4fzSY"]The Seekers - I'll never find another you (1968) - YouTube