Songs spread quickly among a community and quickly develop various versions as it passes from person to person; therefore, folk musicians who collect songs rarely require royalties in exchange for their work.
Bon Iver stands out as a modern folk singer by creating music to cry to. He performs his folk tunes from a cabin in the woods.
Marianne Faithfull
Folk music is an eclectic musical genre that draws influence from multiple musical traditions, making it immensely diverse and fascinating. Folk music speaks directly to people’s soul, spirit, heart, humor, and tells their stories while sometimes taking stands against issues that matter to them.
Marianne Faithfull was an iconic English singer-songwriter and actress. She first gained prominence during the 1960s before experiencing drug issues during the 70s that would threaten to overshadow her success. But in 1979 with Broken English album she made one of pop history’s most remarkable comebacks.
After Broken English, she continued her explorations into new artistic territories. In the early 2000s, she released several albums which garnered critical acclaim, with Vagabond Ways produced by Mark Howard and featuring collaborations from Daniel Lanois, Emmylou Harris, and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters as producers; later came Horses and High Heels and later still Infernal Affairs
Faithfull has been prolific during her 2010s career, releasing several critically-acclaimed albums and working with various artists like Paul McCartney and David Bowie. Her most recent project is Give My Love to London which offers an eclectic blend of styles and genres.
Bon Iver is another celebrated musician known for writing emotive folk songs to soothe us when times get rough. While his sound draws heavily upon folk styles, he incorporates elements of other genres too; often using electronic instruments and vocal looping. Bon Iver stands out among his peers with his distinctive sound; though famous, his humble approach makes his career approachable – his goal being creating music that makes people happy!
Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger was an accomplished multi-instrumentalist who came from a musical family. His father Charles was an esteemed scholar of ethnomusicology while mother Constance was a concert violinist and music teacher. Following two years at Harvard, Seeger hitchhiked and rode freight trains around the country collecting folk ballads and working songs as well as honing his five-string banjo skills for union hall meetings, farm meetings and union hall performances, combining folk music with populist political sentiments before co-founding Almanac Singers with Woody Guthrie in 1940 and becoming active labor politics.
As a professional musician, Seeger achieved success performing with various groups and recording many pieces for his small record label, Folkways. Additionally, Seeger participated in the Folk Revival movement of the 1960s by performing at school assemblies and summer camps to keep folk alive.
Due to his leftist political activism, Seeger frequently found himself embroiled in controversy. From 1942-1950 he belonged to the Communist Party before being summoned before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1955 for questioning by their Un-American Activities Subcommittee. Never fearful to share his beliefs openly or support those with similar viewpoints publicly even though this might cost him his career, Seeger never shied away from speaking out or supporting their work openly and publicly.
Seeger was renowned as an advocate for environmental and civil rights causes during his final years, singing and recording until his death at age 94 in 2014. Known for his contributions to folk music and ideas, Seeger still enjoys widespread fame today, receiving multiple awards such as a National Medal of Arts and Kennedy Center Honor.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan has become one of the iconic voices in folk music. As an early student surrounded by its sounds and styles, he pioneered many classic songs such as “This Land Is Your Land,” which captures its essence perfectly. Unlike rock music which relies heavily on lyrics and instruments for transmission, folk music spreads organically via word of mouth transmission; thus giving rise to myriad variants with unique charm that gives this genre its authenticity.
In 1960, Dylan moved from Greenwich Village clubs and coffeehouses into Manhattan’s Greenwich Village clubs where he became a regular performer in its clubs and coffeehouses. There he wrote prolifically, produced several albums as tributes to Woody Guthrie (his idol) as well as recording an eponymous debut album that received mixed reviews for its peculiar cowboy-lament/Midwestern patois hybrid voice reminiscent of Guthrie (cowboy lament/Midwestern patois/Guthrie).
Bob Dylan’s subsequent albums Bringing It All Back Home and Blonde on Blonde solidified his status as an artist to be reckoned with, yet saw him openly use electric instruments – in violation of folk music traditions – provoking considerable backlash from purist folk fans.
Dylan eventually returned to folk music with the releases Time Out of Mind and Modern Times, which have earned him numerous accolades, such as winning a Grammy in 1998 (Time Out of Mind), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2012) and most recently, the Nobel Prize for Literature (2016).
Today there is still no shortage of talented folk singers. Lianne La Havas from Britain makes soulful folk music on an acoustic guitar; her songs are simple yet gorgeous while her voice remains hauntingly pure.
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot is one of Canada’s best-known singer/songwriters, having won him many national and international accolades – from being inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, appearing on postage stamps with Anne Murray and Paul Anka, to being honored as one of CBC’s 25 Great Canadian Songwriters Ever. His music ranges effortlessly between country/folk, folk/rock, pop and adult contemporary styles; many artists cover his songs regularly from Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan to George Hamilton IV Chad & Jeremy and Sarah McLachlan!
Beginning in 1971 and winning four consecutive Juno Awards for Top Folksinger of the Year, Lightfoot signed with UA records and went on to release six more albums including his US No.1 hit Sundown. Additionally, Lightfoot made regular appearances on Canadian variety show CBC TV as well as tours throughout both North America and Europe.
Lightfoot also played guitar for Ian and Sylvia, recording two iconic tracks: Early Mornin’ Rain and For Lovin’ Me. Albert Grossman of Peter, Paul and Mary, Gibson & Camp, and Bob Dylan management fame assisted Ian & Sylvia to break into the lucrative US market.
Over the last several decades, mom-and-pop music stores have seen their numbers decline rapidly due to rising competition from online retailers such as Amazon and large chains like Guitar Center that offer wider product selection at reduced prices compared with independent outlets. Music distributors once supplied small instruments such as harmonicas, strings and amplifiers directly to smaller stores; today musicians can purchase these items more conveniently through major online retailers.
Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie, born in Okemah, Oklahoma was a folk singer and songwriter known for his improvisational songs influenced by life experiences during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl eras of Oklahoma. As an influence on his songs were Western songs, Indian tunes, Scottish folk tunes and others which infuse his songs with an element of spontaneity and improvisational compositions that led him into activism which eventually caused the breakup of his marriage despite early success.
His wanderlust brought him to New York City, where he was welcomed warmly by leftist artists and union organizers, along with meeting and becoming close with folk musicians such as Alan Lomax, Lead Belly, Cisco Houston, Pete Seeger and Will Geer who all joined together in forming the Almanac Singers; an informal collective that championed social causes while helping establish folk music as a viable commercial genre within music industry.
Guthrie not only expressed political activism through song, but he was known for singing of love and loss too. His songs captured the everyday struggles of ordinary people as well as war’s devastation; his writing resonated with working-class listeners; furthermore, he expressed an ambition to live more organic lives.
Guthrie’s legacy has left an indelible mark on modern musicians of many genres. He is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential American songwriters, as evidenced by modern singer-songwriters such as Billy Bragg and Wilco, who incorporate folk elements such as acoustic guitars and pianos into their albums, in addition to using traditional singing styles like a cappella singing styles in their albums.