the evolution of folk music

8/8/2019 The Evolution of Folk Music

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The Evolution of Folk Music in America

By: Brian Kern

12/10/2010


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Brian Kern

Professor Bouchard

12/10/2010

Research Paper

Music: The Evolution of Folk

Folk music has no origin that is set in stone as a time or date. Neither does music it self.

Music was alive before any human was there to hear it, and music will be alive after all humans are

gone. Much like blues and jazz, folk music came from the streets, homes, and troubles of the

average working man. Ruehl states in her article on folk history, There are folk songs that date so

far back, they can be considered oral histories. In its evolution over the many years that it has

been alive, folk music will continue to grow, because the best is still to come.

Before the ability of recording audio became available, songs were a musicians heirlooms,

which he passed onto different people that he came across on his journey through life. Most folk

music has been enjoyed in the streets, or with other people, and hasnt seen much commercial

success. American folk music stretches back all the way to the beginning of the country, and

foreign folk music was around as long as musical instruments have been around.

So, in essence, folk musicians, before recording equipment, were much like modern day

independent musicians. Most folk musicians never worried about what was popular in culture, they

just made a simple riff and sang about their troubles and dreams and told stories of legends and


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heroes. Writing for folk musicians came easy, as lyrics did not have to rhyme, riffs were very

similar. The songs were about any inspiration that was on their mind, and didnt have to be

reviewed by any hotshot producers or record labels.

Today, an independent musician, such as myself, is very much like many folk musicians

back in the day. Many of the worlds greatest musicians arent heard, and will never be heard. This

is because of how the music industry is run today. For instance, many low class musicians played

music in their spare time, which in the 30s they had a lot of. You have to know someone in the

music industry to be heard. So, say if there was a great musician with terrible social skills, they will

very rarely get a chance to be heard. People fear public speaking and performing. The number

one fear of people isn't dying, it's public speaking. (IMDb).

As far as the evolution of folk in America goes, a major jump off point for the popularity of

this genre of music was brought along by the field workers and lower class of America. Between

1900 and 1932, Americas economy declined to an all time low. Many men and women continued

to play the traditional folk songs that they had always heard, as well as created new songs. With

Americans having no jobs, and nothing to do, they played folk music, music of the people. John

Lomax was a major folk influence of the time. His quest was to find the songs traditional to the

California area and to write them down simply to preserve them, since they were traditionally

preserved through oral account. (Ruehl). Many other musicians of the time did the same thing in

their regions of the country.

The 1940s were a time of revival, not only for America, but for folk music as well. The 30s

were good for folk, but as stated, it was mostly anthropology of the genre, and not expansion of it.

During the 40s, many major artists emerged as Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and the famous Woody


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Guthrie. These names are seen as some of the greatest influences of all time for any genre of

music.

The Folk-Pop revival in America occurred during the 1950s. This decade was when audio

recording started becoming more refined and popular. Because many bands were becoming

popular in more than one area, they started recording songs that were more pop based instead of

pure folk music. Different regions and cultures of the country enjoyed different styles of folk, so it

was hard for an artist to easily appeal to the whole country. The integrated pop in the folk

musicians songs combined two or more of the different styles popular around different areas of the

country. Because of this, folk-pop emerged as a new genre of folk, which was popular around the

country.

The Folk-Rock revolution was one of the stronger music revolutions that the world has

seen. Due to its popularity, folk was already one of the top genres of music in the world, and

famous musicians such as Bob Dylan and WoodyGuthrie and his son Arlo Guthrie. By the time

Bob Dylan arrived in New York City and began playing regular gigs atGerde's Folk City in the early

60s, the folk-pop phenomenon of the 50s was ready to give way to a new development. (Ruehl).

The new and upcoming hit genre of rock-and-roll implemented with the everlasting genre of folk

brought about many new musicians and flavors of music that the world had not seen till the 60s.

A number of developments, such as the performance of folk music by large orchestras of

folk instruments in eastern Europe, the popularization of mixed genres such as bluegrass

and folk rock, and the emergence of urban singers of folk song who achieved mass

popularity, such as Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, and Joan Baez, characterized the history of

folk music in the mid-20th century of both Europe and America. (Harvard College).


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Many musicians of this folk rock revolution are still household names today, such as

WoodyGuthrie, his son, Arlo Guthrie, Paul Simon, Janis Joplin, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Bon Iver,

Crosy, the Grateful Dead, as well as Stills, Nash, and Young. Bob Dylan is frequently hailed as the

most significant and influential singer-songwriter of the twentieth century. (Marshall). Bob Dylan

was to folk music as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were to rock-and-roll.

With the influence ofGuthrie and the American folk revival of the late 1950s, Dylan began

his career performing and recording ballads, protest songs, and talkin blues in the early

1960s, later in the decade establishing his own fusion of folk-rock when he went electric

for the albums Highway 61 Revisited (1965) and Blonde on Blonde (1966). (Marshall).

Bob Dylan wasnt the only one in the genre that represented it well. As mentioned Woody

and Arlo Guthrie are two more of folks superstars. With WoodyGuthrie having been in the music

industry for over twenty years at this point, his son, Arlo, started out in the music business because

of his father, and soon enough, became a folk legend himself. Arlo Guthrie gave his first public

performance in 1961 at age 13 and quickly became involved in the music that was shaping the

world. (Rising Son Records). Arlo wrote a song called Alices Restaurant that, when it was

released, became a hit all over the country.

The late 1960s and 70s are known as the greatest musical decades in history. With the

emergence of many famous singer/songwriters, rock and roll bands, as well as folk artists, this

period in history would have been amazing to be alive in. Of these singer/songwriters, James

Taylor, Cat Stevens, and Joni Mitchell bring forth the more poetic, romantic, and confessional folk

songs. At the same time, folk-pop was popping back into the picture of the music industry, and


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artists such as Peter, Paul, and Mary wrote about hot topics in the nation. Many famous folk songs

were written on the subject of civil rights, or anti-war, or other issues of personal importance.

The 80s were not a great time for folk. Many artists spent this decade under the radar,

which seemingly ended folks reign as one of the greatest genres of all time.

Even in the 1980s, when folk music seemed to all but disappear from the mainstream

music world, folksingers were gathering in New York with Jack Hardy's Fast Folk circle

Meanwhile, for the most part, folk singer/songwriters were largely under the radar during

this decade, though a few folk-pop acts enjoyed limited success. (Ruehl)

But, the folk musicians had different ideas. The 1990s were a time of revolution, again, for

folk music. Many singer/songwriters were having a trouble making a decent living with record

labels and producers limiting their every move. The independent musicians of the 90s started yet

another revolution that redefined the music industry. Many of these musicians were based out of

Austin, Texas and Nashville, Tennessee, but there was one singer/songwriter in New York who

was making waves early on in the decade. Buffalo native Ani Difranco became a cultural

phenomenon like many folksingers doalmost completely unintentionally. (Ruehl). Ani did not

stand for anything that the record labels or big shot. Her music narrowed the widespread gap

between punk rock and traditional folk music, and became a star in the music industry, which was

amazing considering she was an independent musician.

The life of an independent musician is typically much more difficult seeing as that artist

must do everything for himself. Ani, along with other independent musicians such as Dar Williams

andGreg Brown, as well as signed artists such as Dispatch, helped to create what is now the indie

scene of music. Indie-folk combined rhythms and lyrical smarts commonly seen in traditional folk


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with the new trendy riffs and styles of punk rock. Dispatch, although signed with a record label, still

incorporated this new indie style in their music with traditional folk as well, and in many of their

songs, told folklore stories. Many of their songs tell a story of an idol of theirs, or a legend, which is

what folk music is about. For instance, their song The General is about a beaten, battle torn war

general that had a dream about the war he was fighting, and that it was pointless, much like many

of the anti-war songs of the 60s but with an indie twist.

There was a decorated general with

A heart of gold, that likened him to

All the stories he told

Of past battles, won and lost, and

Legends of old a seasoned veteran in

His own time

On the battlefield, he gained

Respectful fame with many medals

Of bravery and stripes to his name

He grew a beard as soon as he could

To cover the scars on his face

And always urged his men on (Dispatch)

Both Ani Difranco and Disptach are two of the very famous indie-folk artists that are still listened to

today, and are huge influences on many of the musicians that are popular in todays music

industry.


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Since the turn of the century, the Internet has become a major resource of many people in

the world. Because of this, many musicians who were struggling to be heard now have a much

greater of an opportunity of becoming heard. Folk music has remained one of the more popular

genres of music in todays music production. The Internet has expanded the folk world from a few

isolated communities who converge at festivals, to a worldwide network of players who "friend"

each other on MySpace, [along with other major social networks,] and share MP3s with endless

listeners. (Ruehl.) Not only has the Internet helped musicians, but public venues such as bars,

pubs, open mics, coffee shoppes, and taverns are avid about having folk-type musicians play at

their venue to bring in a crowd. New bands continue to arise in the folk genre, such as Nickel

Creek and Fiction Family, both of which will continue to influence many folk artists to come.

The folk genre has evolved greatly over the past century. All the way from its traditional

roots, folk music has adapted many new styles, and has become something new, something

greater. Folk, nowadays, is more than just music. Folk isnt about restaurants or generals anymore,

it is about the legend of it self. Folk music has seen many superstars and great musicians, some of

the best of the century, maybe even the best of all time. New bands will arise both in the traditional

folk genre and the subgenres of folk as well. They will pave the way of folk to bring about new

revolutions and revivals all over the world, only striving to become the best, and create something

new, that the world hasnt ever seen before. This is the new folk: music of the people, by the

people, for the people.


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Works Cited1. Disptach. "The General." Bang Bang. 1998. MP3.2. "DYLAN, BOB (1941-)." France and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History. Santa

Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Credo Reference. 13 Jan. 2009. Web. 9 Dec. 2010..3. Gillian, Mitchell. North American Folk Music Revival : Nation and Identity in the UnitedStates and Canada, 1945-1980. Ashgate Group, 2007. Print.

4. Havard College, President and Fellows Of. "Folk Music History - The History of AmericanFolk Music." Credo Reference Home. Web. 08 Dec. 2010..

5. IMDb. "American Gangster (2007) - Memorable Quotes." The Internet Movie Database(IMDb). Web. 08 Dec. 2010. .

6. Rising Son Records. "Biography Page." ArloNet. Web. 09 Dec. 2010..

7. Ruehl, Kim. "Folk Music History - The History of American Folk Music." American FolkMusic - All About American Folk Music and Americana. Web. 06 Dec. 2010..

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