Joan Baez
1941
- . This angelic singer single-handedly brought an entire generation to traditional
music. After her 1959 performance at the Newport Folk Festival, this singer
with a clear soprano and a fierce social conscience pumped out several albums
of traditional songs performed with such heartbreaking beauty that no one could
resist them. Baez had a huge early influence on Bob Dylan and others who began
to rework the tradition to convey a modern message. Though most valued for her
voice and service to traditional music, she is rightfully lauded for the songs
on her album, "Diamonds and Rust," particularly the title track. She
has also been a tireless activist for progressive causes, though it's generally
agreed that her art suffered in the process. Baez has recently performed and
recorded with several top artists of the current generation including Dar Williams,
the Indigo Girls, Mary-Chapin Carpenter and Richard Shindell, helping to bridge
the gap between the folk establishment and younger audiences.
Immortal Songs
- "Silver Dagger" (trad.)
- "Mary Hamilton" (trad.)
- "Barbara Allen" (trad.)
- "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (lyrics/chords)
- "Diamonds and Rust" (chords/tab)
Best Books
- David Hajdu. Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez,
Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina, and Richard Farina. (Buy
it online)
Essential
Discs
Heirs
Every female folksinger who uses the beauty of the voice to convey the depth
of feeling in authentic ballads is indebted to Baez. Whereas pop singers generally
invite listeners to identify with their characters' stories - mostly love woes
and occasional victories - the ballad is someone else's story, and so has similarities
to opera - which partly explains Baez's success.
- Linda Ronstadt
- Grace Griffith
- Lisa Mosciatello
- Tish Hinojosa
Sites to Check Out
Hugh Blumenfeld, Editor
hugh@balladtree.com
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© 2001 Hugh Blumenfeld/The Ballad Tree
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