Have you ever heard of Bod Dylan? He was one of the most legendary folk artists. If you didn't know him, well, where on earth do you live? Honestly, I didn't use to listen to folk music. When I was in elementary grades, I listened to Westlife, everyday. Every morning before I went to school I (sometimes my dad) played their songs using our VCD player. Oldie, yes. Then in junior high school I started to listen to pop and rock music. Busted, Simple Plan, Linkin Park, Evanescence. But recently, I love to listen to folk music, both old and modern folk music. My favorite is Bob Dylan, of course, and The Civil Wars. The Civil Wars was the best duo I've ever known. Unfortunately they broke up already.
Folk music is often called as traditional music. Many articles said that folk music came from 'folk' who were mostly farmers and workers living in villages or country sides. Music is a way to express their thoughts, like freedom of speech. That is why most folk songs telling about everyday's life, protests, social & politics, love, whatever they want to tell the world. For what I know, the lyrics of folk songs are usually simple and uncomplicated. And one thing I want to point it out here, folk music doesn't require such expensive instruments, like piano or violin. You can just use an old guitar, or just clapping your hands, or you can just simply sing! It's up to you, make your own style!
So what's the difference between folk and country music? Country is a style of folk music. And it's more relatable to pop music. That's the reason why country music is more 'familiar' than folk music. And country music is often related to Cowboy, yihaaa!
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| Woodie Guthrie |
Woodie Guthrie is often mentioned as one of the main contributors to the revival of folk music. He was an American folk musician. His music works includes political, traditional, and children songs. He's one of Bob Dylan's major influence. His most popular song is "This Land is Your Land".
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| Lead Belly |
Another American folk musician to be considered as the man behind folk music expansion is Lead Belly. His true name was Huddie William Leadbetter. He's older than Woodie Guthrie. He was well known for his strong vocals and his twelve–strings guitar. He wrote songs not only about women, racism, everyday's life, but also about people such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, and Jean Harlow.
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| Bob Dylan |
And last, everyone knows Bob Dylan. Even Steve Jobs was a fan of him. You must have known some of his songs such as "Like A Rolling Stone" or "Tangled Up in Blue" or "Knonckin' On Heaven's Door". His lyrics have incorporated a variety of political, social, philosophical, and literary influences. He's now 73 and still producing music. He's even ready for American tour this fall with his band.
There has been many improvements of folk music. It's like combining original folk music with another genres such as pop, blues, rock. Music is always an experiment, indeed. You can check out many modern folk songs, especially American folk songs that seem more various than in another countries. If you have no idea, open your Spotify. It is really recommended. They provide 'Browse' menu that helps you to find songs based on their classification and it will directs you to their provided–playlists. Go go go!
Source
- Bob Dylan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan
- Folk Music http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_music
- Lead Belly http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_Belly
- The History of American Folk Music http://folkmusic.about.com/od/historyoffolk/a/Folk_History.htm
- The History of Folk Music http://www.music-folk.com/the-history-of-folk-music/
- Woodie Guthrie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie
