SkiffleSkiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, it became extremely popular in the United Kingdom in the 1950s, where it was played by such artists as Lonnie Donegan, the Vipers Skiffle Group, Ken Colyer, and Chas McDevitt.
Bob DylanAmerican singer-songwriter (born 1941)Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his 69-year career. Dylan added increasingly sophisticated lyrical techniques to the folk music of the early 1960s, infusing it "with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry".
Contemporary folk musicContemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid-20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century, a new form of popular folk music evolved from traditional folk music.
American folk music revivalThe American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Early folk music performers include Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Richard Dyer-Bennet, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, John Jacob Niles, Susan Reed, Mississippi John Hurt, Josh White, and Cisco Houston. Lead Belly recorded "Cotton Fields" and "Goodnight, Irene" and folk singer Odetta released folk albums.
The Holy Modal RoundersThe Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally a duo (members Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber) who formed in 1963 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Joan BaezJoan Chandos Baez (, Spanish: [ˈbaes]; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more than 30 albums. Baez is generally regarded as a folk singer, but her music has diversified since the counterculture era of the 1960s and encompasses genres such as folk rock, pop, country, and gospel music.
Woody GuthrieAmerican singer-songwriter (1912–1967)Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism and has inspired many generations politically and musically with songs such as "This Land Is Your Land" and "Tear the Fascists Down".Comus (band)Comus are a British progressive folk band who had a brief career in the early 1970s. Their first album, First Utterance, garnered them a cult following that persisted. They reunited in 2009, and have played several festivals and released a third album called Out of the Coma.
Charles SeegerCharles Louis Seeger Jr. (December 14, 1886 – February 7, 1979) was an American musicologist, composer, teacher, and folklorist. He was the husband of the composer Ruth Crawford Seeger, father of the American folk singers Pete Seeger, Peggy Seeger, and Mike Seeger; and brother of the World War I poet Alan Seeger and children's author and educator Elizabeth Seeger.
Pete SeegerAmerican musician and social activist (1919–2014)Musical artistPeter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, especially their recording of Lead Belly's "Goodnight, Irene", which topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950.
Hesitation Blues"Hesitation Blues" is a popular song adapted from a traditional tune. One version was published by Billy Smythe, Scott Middleton, and Art Gillham. Another was published by W.C. Handy as "Hesitating Blues". Because the tune is traditional, many artists have taken credit as writer, frequently adapting the lyrics of one of the two published versions. Adaptations of the lyrics vary widely, though typically the refrain is recognizably consistent.
CountercultureA counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior are opposed to those of the current mainstream society, and sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores. A countercultural movement expresses the ethos and aspirations of a specific population during a well-defined era. When oppositional forces reach critical mass, countercultures can trigger dramatic cultural changes.UK undergroundThe British counter-culture or underground scene developed during the mid-1960s, and was linked to the hippiesubculture of the United States. Its primary focus was around Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill in London. It generated its own magazines and newspapers, bands, clubs and alternative lifestyle, associated with cannabis and LSD use and a strong socio-political revolutionary agenda to create an alternative society.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.