The Evolution of Folk Music in America

By: Brian Kern

 12/10/2010
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 it’s 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

musician’s 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 hasn’t 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 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 didn’t 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 world’s greatest musicians aren’t

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 30’s 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, America’s 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 1940’s were a time of revival, not only for America, but for folk music

as well. The 30’s were good for folk, but as stated, it was mostly anthropology of

the genre, and not expansion of it. During the 40’s, many major artists emerged

as Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and the famous Woody 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 1950’s. 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

musician’s 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 Woody

Guthrie and his son Arlo Guthrie. “By the time Bob Dylan arrived in New York

City and began playing regular gigs at Gerde's Folk City in the early 60’s, the

folk-pop phenomenon of the 50’s 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 60’s.

“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).

Many musicians of this folk rock revolution are still household names

today, such as Woody Guthrie, 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 of Guthrie 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 wasn’t the only one in the genre that represented it well. As

mentioned Woody and Arlo Guthrie are two more of folk’s superstars. With

Woody Guthrie 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 “Alice’s

Restaurant” that, when it was released, became a hit all over the country.

The late 1960’s and 70’s 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

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 80’s 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 1990’s 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 90’s 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 do—almost 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 and Greg 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 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 60’s 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 today’s music industry.

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 today’s 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 isn’t 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 hasn’t ever seen

before. This is the new folk: music of the people, by the people, for the people.
 Works Cited
1. 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. <https://www.crown.edu:2443/form?
qurl=http://www.credoreference.com/entry/abcframrle/dylan_bob_1941>.
3. Gillian, Mitchell. North American Folk Music Revival : Nation and Identity
in the United States and Canada, 1945-1980. Ashgate Group, 2007. Print.
4. Havard College, President and Fellows Of. "Folk Music History - The
History of American Folk Music." Credo Reference Home. Web. 08 Dec.
2010. <http://www.credoreference.com/entry/harvdictmusic/folk_music>.
5. IMDb. "American Gangster (2007) - Memorable Quotes." The Internet
Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 08 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765429/quotes>.
6. Rising Son Records. "Biography Page." ArloNet. Web. 09 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.arlo.net/>.
7. Ruehl, Kim. "Folk Music History - The History of American Folk Music."
American Folk Music - All About American Folk Music and Americana.
Web. 06 Dec. 2010.
<http://folkmusic.about.com/od/historyoffolk/a/Folk_History.htm>.