Folk Music From The 60's and 70's

[Guest Tristan]

I first posted this on the Mary Travers thread at the tail end. As frequently happens, the post gets few views when at the tail end. So I've re-posted it as a new thread not just about Mary Travers, but about folk music from the 60's and 70's in general.

 

Those of us who lived through that era, or who have listened to the music, not only know how talented these people were, but what a significant contribution they made in protesting the injustices of that period. The music lives on!

 

I too was very sad to hear about Mary Travers. It wasn't just about Mary, or even PP&M. She was a symbol of an era of the best in folk music the likes of which will never be repeated. There was so much talent.

 

This was the era of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Arlo Guthrie, Mimi (JB's sister) and Richard Farina, Pete Seeger, Richie Havens and so many more. I saw them all live in concert, or in an informal campus coffee house.

 

I had the good fortune of seeing PP&M in concert in 1963, just about 1-2 years after they became nationally known. It was very informal. We sat on the floor of the college gym. I can't even remember if there was any ticket admission. Mary had a sister attending the college.

 

On an interesting note, PP&M actually help make Bob Dylan a star by singing his songs. Two of them are: "Blowin' In The Wind" and "The Times They Are A Changin". They both had the same manager, who designed the strategy. You can read all about their history and connection to Dylan at:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter,_Paul_and_Mary

 

PP&M sang many songs written by other folk artists. Pete Seeger and Lee Hayes wrote "If I Had A Hammer". Pete Seeger, along with others, sang "This Land Is Your Land" at the Obama inaugural concert. The song was written by Woody Guthrie, the father of modern American folk music. The fact that PP&M sang a lot of songs written by others in no way detracts from their contribution to folk music. On the contrary, they made these songs hits because the group was so popular. And their renditions were appealing to many people. So I mention this as an interesting side note, of which many people are unaware.

 

I came across a site with videos of ten of their top songs. The sound is not great on every one, but worth checking out just to see and hear them.

 

http://listicles.thelmagazine.com/20...nd-mary-songs/

 

Any comments on either favorite folk singers, or the folk music of that era?

[Boomer]

Mary Travers, Mama Cass and Joni Mitchell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aYAUE6is7I

[Boink]

Don't forget about The Kingston Trio, another wildly popular 'pre-Beatles' group that brought folk music to the masses. All of these groups laid the foundation for the music revolution that was to come in the late 60s.

[TruthBTold]

Thanks. That was incredible. Brought back some memories. Anyone know where it is from?

[Samai139]

Thanks for re-posting your thread---I did not read it on the Mary Travers posting. Your appreciation of Peter, Paul and Mary and other FolK Musicians of the '50s and '60's is greatly appreciated.

I had the good fortune to see and hear the Kingston Trio in LA in 1962; Woody Guthrie in 1959 in NYC; Peter, Paul and Mary, several times, including one of their final tours in the late 1980's. Pete Seeger was a regular performer and activist in the Hudson Valley where I went to college and later taught. I rode on the schooner that I believe he helped finance and which was instrumental in drawing attention to water pollution in NY's rivers---especially the Hudson.

Peter, Paul and Mary were at their best, IMHO, when they performed before smaller groups and in smaller auditoriums where they could interact with the audience, particularly children--there was a magic that infected everyone in those settings.

[Guest Tristan]

Thanks. That was incredible. Brought back some memories. Anyone know where it is from?

If you're referring to Boomer's link, the information on the video says from a Mama Cass television program, 1969.

[Guest Tristan]

Thanks for re-posting your thread---I did not read it on the Mary Travers posting. Your appreciation of Peter, Paul and Mary and other FolK Musicians of the '50s and '60's is greatly appreciated.

I had the good fortune to see and hear the Kingston Trio in LA in 1962; Woody Guthrie in 1959 in NYC; Peter, Paul and Mary, several times, including one of their final tours in the late 1980's. Pete Seeger was a regular performer and activist in the Hudson Valley where I went to college and later taught. I rode on the schooner that I believe he helped finance and which was instrumental in drawing attention to water pollution in NY's rivers---especially the Hudson.

Peter, Paul and Mary were at their best, IMHO, when they performed before smaller groups and in smaller auditoriums where they could interact with the audience, particularly children--there was a magic that infected everyone in those settings.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read it, and to the others who have posted thus far. It's always a pleasure to talk to someone who knows the folk music of that era. There are so few of us who do. And you had the opportunity to attend so many concerts. I lived in the Boston area for many years. Boston is probably the folk music capital of the US. A lot of singers got their start at the Club 47, later known as Passim, in Harvard Square. There was an FM radio station from U of Mass in Boston that played folk music round the clock. I hope it still exists.

 

You're the first person I've come across who actually saw Woody Guthrie live in concert. Woody Guthrie, as you know, championed the rights of the oppressed. But it was Pete Seeger who did the most to make folk music accessible to the masses, including singing many songs for children. Pete Seeger sang with The Weavers, a fantastic group that was blacklisted during the 1950's. Lee Hayes also belonged to the group.

 

Arlo Guthrie's "City of New Orleans" is one of my favorite folk tunes.

 

My two very favorite folk singers of that era are Joan Baez and Phil Ochs. Joan Baez is still singing at age 68, though her voice is understandably not what it used to be. Phil Ochs, a brilliant song writer with a great voice, and a political activist, developed some serious problems which led to his takinig his own life at the age of 36. For me, this was the saddest story of any folk singer of that era. I had the privilege of seeing him in a small intimate campus coffee house just as he was becoming known. He had so much potential.

 

FYI: If you still like studio CDs over MP3 recordings, Tower.com is selling "The Very Best of Peter Paul and Mary" for $9.98 + shipping. It has 25 tracks and includes all their best know songs, as well as others. The sound is excellent, most of the songs having been previously remastered.

[Samai139]

Thanks for the heads up on Tower.com's cd of Peter Paul and Mary---I'll check it out, since I am still in the cd mode---haven't moved into the mp3 thing yet---keep delaying.

I'm trying my best to remember where I saw Woody Guthrie perform in NYC---it wasn't a big venue--small place in the Village, but I'll be damned if I can remember it's name. I was a freshmen in college then and not very versed in folk music, nor the various causes the singers were promoting or trying to help.

I think I saw the Kingston Trio in The Hungry I, but again, that was more than 45 years ago, and I might be mistaken. Pete Seeger on the other hand performed in the Albany area all the time in the 50's and 60's and I heard him often. He was instrumental in bringing to the public eye some of the best folk songs and protest and movement songs. I believe he was responsible for "We Shall Overcome" becoming the anthem of the civil rights movement in the 50's and 60's. I don't remember where I heard this, but I recall being told that the song was an old spiritual and he changed the wording to Shall, rather than Will and encourage Martin Luther KIng Jr. to use it.

Joan Baez was and is one of my favorites also--she has such a remarkable voice and the timbre of her vocals make them difficult to forget. I agree with you about Arlo Guthrie's Spirit of New Orleans--one of my favorites also. I know Woody died of Huntington's---has Arlo shown any signs of inheriting the disease?? I suspect if he hasn't by now, he may have been lucky. Surely hope so.

[Boink]

I envy you seeing The Kingston Trio! Another one of their group died within the past year, too. This has been a terrible year for music industry passings! My friends' kids, now aged 13 and 9, were absolutely entralled with The Kingston Trio when they were around six years old. In fact, I find a lot of folk music to be 'kid friendly', including Peter Paul & Mary and also don't forget Burl Ives!

 

Another of my favorites is early Judy Collins - another artiste who had a knack for popularizing other song-writers' works.

[Guest adnyuki]

I envy you seeing The Kingston Trio! Another one of their group died within the past year, too. This has been a terrible year for music industry passings! My friends' kids, now aged 13 and 9, were absolutely entralled with The Kingston Trio when they were around six years old. In fact, I find a lot of folk music to be 'kid friendly', including Peter Paul & Mary and also don't forget Burl Ives!

 

Another of my favorites is early Judy Collins - another artiste who had a knack for popularizing other song-writers' works.

 

Thanks Boink for menioning my all-time favourite from this era - Judy Collins. At one time I think I had all of he albums. But the thread brought back many great memories of high school college and grad school, spent listening to (and singing along with) such greats as Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, the Kingston Trio, Peter-Paul-and Mary, Burl Ives, the Smothers Brothers (how I lusted after Tommy as a teen), Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot (what a haunting voice), and so many others.

 

Perhaps shows my age, but their music was always lyrical, singable, and soothing as well as carrying a message. Thankfully we can still download these songs, but I too am still caught only in CD's and have yet to meet the chappenge of the MP3 or whatever player.

[Samai139]

I think I can still sing many of the lyrics to the songs of The Kingston Trio, after spending many, many nights in college and Peace Corps training singing them!! I wonder what college kids do these days? I can't imagine they have singing fests at bars or in frat houses--but maybe they do. "Hoist up the John B. Sails" was one of my favourites!!

Speaking of Judy Collins: when my niece graduated from college in 2002, Judy Collins was the main speaker. What she said was not remarkably memorable, BUT at the end she asked the audience if she could sing "Amazing Grace" for us, and of course we yelled our YES!! When she opened her mouth and sang the first few notes of that song, I couldn't believe it!! No musical accompaniement, a field hockey dome with lousy acoustics, and yet, that voice was truly mesmerizing. It was rich, instantly on key and full of personality---I'll never forget it. I know it's a cliche, but she made the hair on my arms and neck respond!! Wonderful, wonderful person, and even "up close" she looks like a real person---wrinkles, gray hair and all---and to me that reality is more beautiful than attempts to hide the years.

[+ Charlie]

Tristam, we had very similar tastes in our youth: my two favorite singers at the time were also Joan Baez and Phil Ochs.

[Boink]

adnyuki -

 

OMG I LOVE Gordon Lightfoot!!!! I literally wore out his 'Gord's Gold' album...it was one of the first CDs I bought when I started replacing all my old LPs.

[Guest Tristan]

Tristam, we had very similar tastes in our youth: my two favorite singers at the time were also Joan Baez and Phil Ochs.

 

That's amazing! Guess you have good taste.

 

We should talk about our favorite songs by both singers sometime.

[Guest Tristan]

Pete Seeger on the other hand performed in the Albany area all the time in the 50's and 60's and I heard him often. He was instrumental in bringing to the public eye some of the best folk songs and protest and movement songs. I believe he was responsible for "We Shall Overcome" becoming the anthem of the civil rights movement in the 50's and 60's. I don't remember where I heard this, but I recall being told that the song was an old spiritual and he changed the wording to Shall, rather than Will and encourage Martin Luther KIng Jr. to use it.

 

According to Wikipedia, Pete Seeger says he changed the wording to "shall". He also added some verses. Thanks for mentioning this. It inspired me to do some research.

 

The song has a very long and complex history. If you have the time, check out Wikipedia, noting that it's flagged for a need for more citations. The history of "We Shall Overcome" is very interesting. I learned quite a bit by reading the Wiki piece on it. What surprised me the most was how many people affected what eventually became the current rendition.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Shall_Overcome

[Samai139]

Tristan~~

Glad my posting inspired you to do some research---later today, I'll read Wikipedia's entries on Pete Seeger, "We Shall Overcome" etc.

Last night my local PBS station had a Pledge Night re-run on Peter, Paul and Mary. I had not seen it before, and missed the first 45 minutes, but the parts I saw were great. I had forgotten how instrumental the group was in not only the Civil Rights movement but the anti-war rallies. I also missed somehow two songs the group, or one of them was responsible for: "There is Love" or Wedding Song, and something written for a Holiday Concert celebrating Channukah about The Light. Can't remember the exact title, but it was sung by PP and M and a large group of children during a holiday concert in the '80's.

Maybe you have seen the PBS program?

[Guest Tristan]

My thanks to those members who posted, and to those who took the time to view the thread. I wasn't sure what kind of response the topic would get. I was gratified to see that, for some people, it brought back fond nostalgic memories of concerts they had attended long ago and singers they loved. And some of the comments inspired me to go back in time and refresh my memory about many things from that era, as well as learn some things I didn't know at the time.

 

Some of the folk singers of the 60's and 70's have passed away, and others are getting on in years. But the music from the era of the truly great folk artists will live on.