Who was the greates Folk, Singer/Song writer

[Quixote1818]

When you make your choice try to go by number of great songs written, quality of the songs, strength of the poetry in the lyrics (simplicity can be a strength if it's done right), versatility of the artist's talents and ability to write many kinds of songs with different sounds to them.

[Radical Activist]

1. Where is Woody Guthrie?

You did NOT just leave him off the list!

[lenidog]

2. It could have been an accident

Just like going into the video store with a whole list of movies to rent and when you get there you can't remember a single one.

[villager]

3. that was my question...

n/t

[Quixote1818]

5. I put him on in place of Neil Young nt

[Radical Activist]

8. OK

I would have kept Neil Young and replaced John Denver or James Taylor, but we have different tastes in Folk Music, and there's nothing wrong with that. :)

[Radical Activist]

4. I disagree with your criteria

The beauty and strength of folk music is often its simplicity and straightforwardness. I don't think they should necessarily be judged primarily by versatility and complexity.

[Quixote1818]

6. That's a good point. nt

[Blue_In_AK]

7. Does Joni Mitchell count

or is she too eclectic?

[Radical Activist]

10. She should count

Blue is still one of my all time favorite albums. Its a shame I only discovered it a year ago.

[Quixote1818]

12. I was on the edge with her

I am not sure much of her music would be considered 'folk'. Folk music generally tells a story and while some of hers do tell a story it seems many don't. For instance 'Help Me, I Think I'm Falling, In Love With You' in my opinion is not Folk but I could be wrong. I am no expert and I am more familiar with more modern folk singers.

[Blue_In_AK]

13. More modern???

God, you make me feel so old.

[Quixote1818]

18. When I say more modern I mean 1960's to present

I am not familiar with Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. I was not speaking of Joni Mitchell their. I would consider her more modern.

[xmas74]

39. But it does tell a story of sorts.

So by that reasoning, it is folk.
Folk music is actually very hard to put your finger on. It's the idea of "I know it when I hear it."
And to me she is folk.

[Quixote1818]

14. I just added her in place of Janis Ian nt

[Blue_In_AK]

16. Thanks for clearing that up...

I saw her name there this time and wondered if I was losing my mind. :crazy:

[Radical Activist]

9. My favorites are:

Woody Guthrie
Bob Dylan
Pete Seeger
Joni Mitchel
Neil Young
Jewel, when she decides to play folk music.

[rwenos]

11. Where are Woodie Guthrie and Pete Seeger? n/t

*

[mykpart]

15. Where's Joan Baez?

And Peter, Paul & Mary?

I love Pete Seegar's "See the boxes, pretty boxes, little boxes made of ticky-tacky, and they're all made out of ticky-tacky and they all look just the same."

[Quixote1818]

19. Peter, Paul and Mary is a group. This is for the greatest individual

I can't put everyone on with only 8 slots but I would if I could.

[Jack Rabbit]

45. Joan Baez writes very few songs

The best known song that she composed is Diamonds and Rust, which is often thought of (rightly, I believe) as the "she said" to Dylan's Don't Think Twice.

I would say that no single female vocalist in the folk genre is better than the young Joan Baez. If you can get hold of CDs remastered from her early albums, treat yourself.

[Wickerman]

17. An impossible task

both to pick one, and to get the list together.

For instance, I would've had Townes Van Zandt topping the list. There is no way that Janis Ian would've been booted with Dan Fogelberg remaining within sight line of the list. And, I woulda had Neil Young on for sentimental favorite.

Nice shot, sure did make me think a bit.

[Quixote1818]

21. Actually Dan Fogelberg would be my second pick because

He has written hundreds of songs and has more Gold Records than Janis Ian by far. His stuff that is not known to the public is amazing. Albums like Netherlands, Home Free, Souvenirs, Captured Angle, etc. etc. have dozens of haunting, powerful songs like: As the Raven Flies, False Faces, The River, Netherlands, Dancing Shoes and so on and so fourth. The songs I listed just scratch the surface. Fogelbergs early albums are masterpieces.

[Wickerman]

34. Yeh, I prefered his work up to Netherlands

too, but I never saw him as a folk singer. To me, Ian, Steve Goodman, Phil Och, Townes, were folk, Dan was a guy who wrote songs and played guitar. However, you have a point. I need to loosen my perspective on what folk was and is. Oh, and I would through in Iain Matthews.

[tmooses]

20. I'd vote for Townes van Zandt or Woodie Guthrie-but hard to choose

the best. Also would put Phil Ochs on my list.

[The empressof all]

22. It's Phil Ochs

"Pleasure of the Harbor", "Rehersal for Retirement",

His music still makes me weep:

http://www.furious.com/perfect/philochs.html

http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/




If you have never heard of him or his music-please do yourself a big favor and get to know him. He was and is an inspiration.



"And the night comes again to the circle-studded sky
The stars settle slowly, in loneliness they lie
Till the universe explodes as a falling star is raised
The planets are paralyzed, the mountains are amazed
But they all glow brighter from the brilliance of the blaze
With the speed of insanity--then he dies!" (Phil Ochs)

[shanti]

31. i have that album

pleasures of the harbor. bought it when i was 17, but my best friend was the one who really liked him. i bought it for that one song.

[enigmatic]

33. Bingo

The "Gunfight At Carnegie Hall" album is a classic, and has my favorite version of "Pleasures Of The Harbor"..

[Parrcrow]

23. John Prine

so many great ones. Prine is just my favourite.

[gmoney]

24. Just heard "Sam Stone" this morning...

Really powerful song on Memorial Day.

[Radical Activist]

28. I can't wait to see him at bonnaroo this year

woohoo!

[Parrcrow]

29. Looks like it will be a great festival

Have a blast at it and let us know.

http://bonnaroo.com/2005/

[PegDAC]

52. John Prine

Just saw him in concert in April. What a great show!!!! Have you heard the new album?


:applause:

[Parrcrow]

61. I bought it today

I just got home. Going to listen to it now.:woohoo:

[Quixote1818]

25. I love Bob Dylan, but in my opinion most of his songs sound similar

I don't think he has near the range as say Gordon Lightfoot who can write a soft romantic song then do a song about a Ship then a song that like Sundown. Lightfoot has ten times more range and diversity than Dylan. It's not even close in my opinion.

[leftofthedial]

26. where is Townes Van Zandt?

[Zorro]

27. Gordon Lightfoot got my vote

For those of you that haven't heard his music other than "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (a powerful song in its own right), virtually every album he recorded in his first 15 years is a gem of exquisite lyricism and poetry.

His anti-war songs are especially moving. Listen to "The Lost Children" on his live album and you'll get a feeling on the powerful emotions that then gripped the country about Viet Nam.

[Quixote1818]

30. I agree 100% Lightfoot has a lot more diversity

than say Dylan in my opinion. Not to mention he wrote many of Peter Paul and Mary's music. He has so many different kinds of songs with different sounds and use of instruments. He can be very simple and folksy or be very complex. He can write songs about the sea, songs about tender romance, songs about children's fairy tails, songs about the meaning of life, anti war songs, drug songs etc. etc. etc. etc. Anyone who voted Dylan over Lightfoot just does not know of all the obscure yet amazing songs Lightfoot has written and performed.

[livetohike]

41. Another vote for Gordon Lightfoot

My favorite album is Don Quixote and I have seen Lightfoot in concert many times over the years.

It's too bad some only know him by "Sundown" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". He's a brilliant songwriter and artist, imo.

[Swamp Rat]

32. Woody Guthrie, pero me gusta también Victor Jara. n/t

[JimmyJazz]

35. I love Victor Jara! Wow! He gets my vote, too!

You just made my morning :D

[Swamp Rat]

56. Have you heard his work with Inti Illimani? n/t

[deutsey]

44. Guthrie was a raw, natural talent

He wrote amazing poetic, funny, sad, and angry songs about the plight of working people, and he did it with little formal education. He also did not receive much recognition or money for his work until he was dying from Huntington's Chorea.

Because he was a huge influence on Dylan and an entire generation of folk singers, I think Woody is the greatest.

[Swamp Rat]

55. Check out Victor Jara. He was murdered for his music by Pinochet. n/t

[Bridget Burke]

36. It's hard even to pick a list--much less vote for just one.

Maybe a better title would be "Singer-Songwriters who came out of the Folk Boom, writing & performing an eclectic mix of music". But that's too long.

Except for Woody & Pete, who helped found the Folk Music movement. But Woody wasn't some isolated hillbilly--he hung with NY bohemians & Alan Lomax urged him to "adapt" Carter Family tunes to tell his Dust Bowl stories. (A P Carter had "adapted" most of those tunes in the first place, anyway.) Pete Seeger was born to a musicologist & a music teacher & dropped out of Harvard to collect tunes. (Let's not forget Hudie Ledbetter--"Leadbelly"--as long as we're mentioning Lomaxes. And Mike Seeger--Pete's half brother--helped revive Old Timey music with the New Lost City Ramblers.)

Yeah, I picked Dylan. He learned from/stole from the folkies & became "the voice of his generation." ("Stole?"--Dick Farina wrote "Morgan the Pirate" about his almost-brother-in-law Bob.) Then Bob got more original with personal tunes, convinced most of the folkies to go electric & managed to survive his motorcycle accident. (Shout out to Ramblin' Jack--who never wanted to be famous.)

Judy Collins didn't write much but introduced some fine songwriters to the world. Especially from the Canadian contingent--Joni Mitchell looked like the quintessential blond folkie chick but wrote & continues to write highly sophisticated music. Gordon Lightfoot actually studied music & has excellent range as a writer. Neil Young can do a sensitive-singer-songwriter acoustic set or bring out the band & make your ears bleed. While we're looking North, let's not forget the sweet harmonies of Ian & Sylvia & the croaking poetry of Leonard Cohen.

The list could go on & most of these artists are related--in one way or another. (Down here in Texas, we'd say "The road goes on forever & the party never ends.")

[Bzzzz]

37. Harry Chapin n/t

[City of Mills]

63. Seconded. N/T

[graywarrior]

38. Dylan, of course, but Ramblin Jack Elliot is a close second

and Woodie Guthrie influenced both, so he should probably be #1

[xmas74]

40. I can't pick just one.

Dylan is the most well-known but Guthrie is the father and grandfather of the movement. And I can never discount Lightfoot-I love his music too much.

[peekaloo]

42. Without Seeger and Guthrie there's no Dylan (probably)

I voted Seeger. American hero.

[Jack Rabbit]

43. My vote goes to Woody Guthrie

Also, the name Huddie Ledbetter, aka Leadbelly, should have been included on the list.

I see most votes are going to Bob Dylan, who is a good choice.

I might also suggest Daniel Decatur Emmett (1815-1904). His best-known song is Dixie; ironically, Emmett was not a Southern sympatizer. Other songs by Emmett include The Blue Tail Fly (also called Jimmy Crack Corn) and Old Dan Tucker.

[AngryAmish]

46. Lemmy

[Jack Rabbit]

47. The very best writer of folksongs

Actually, the very best one was somebody named Anonymous.

Does anybody know anything more about him?

[welshTerrier2]

48. Kate Wolf

well, maybe Dylan but Kate Wolf was a better poet, a better singer, and wrote more from the heart than Dylan ...

is anyone on DU familiar with her music ???

btw, folkies, my favorite folkie stations on the internet are:

www.folkAlley.com and www.wumb.org - all folk, all the time ...

[dxstone]

49. I vote Joni!

One of the greatest poets of her age, with a voice of unalloyed angelic beauty and an emotional range second to none...

Even Dylan agrees! (I think...)
http://presidentevilonline.com/dylan.html

[Lannes]

50. These days...

I like Freedy Johnston although his music has lost some of the edge it used to have.He is still a great songwriter though.I like Neil Young the best out of that list but Dylan was the heavyweight of that bunch.

[PegDAC]

51. Greatest Folkie

By the criteria you've given, it's Gordon Lightfoot, with John Prine a close second.
:applause:

[greendog]

53. Richard Thompson...

...is the singer/songwriter that best fits your criteria.

[Maine-ah]

54. Don McLean

[warrens]

57. Where's Bruce Cockburn?

He'd be my second choice.

[musette_sf]

60. Bruce should be up there in the poll, I agree

Been a fan since 1972. And now you've got me thinking about digging out the Bruce LPs from the garage... and then I'll have to get out ome of Murray McLaughlin's, too.

[hfojvt]

58. any Johnny Cash fans?

I recently listened to the "Ballad of Ira Hayes" which sounded pretty folksy.

[Bridget Burke]

65. Peter LaFarge wrote "The Ballad of Ira Hayes"

Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan & Townes van Zandt all did versions of the song. Here's more about Peter LaFarge: www.bobdylanroots.com/laf.html

Johnny Cash did quite a bit of work on the "folky" side. He presented Bob Dylan with his guitar at a Newport Folk Festival & Dylan made a rare appearance on his TV show. Cash didn't write much but part of "the folk process" involves passing on good tunes, whatever the source.

[sharonking21]

59. Ian and Sylvia Tyson

Canadians-- back in the 70s. But love some of the others--Does anyone remember Woody Guthrie's Jolly Banker?

[Bridget Burke]

66. Ian & Sylvia actually started in the 1960's

Their "sound" was quite beautiful & they were favorites of mine. They wrote some fine songs & covered others by such folk as Gordon Lightfoot.

Later, they formed a band--"The Great Speckled Bird"--which pioneered country rock. Too few bought the LP; a CD was finally released but it's only available used.

Then they broke up--personally & professionally--but have continued their separate careers up North.

[cleofus1]

62. heathens!

The New Christy Minstrels!

[ScreamingMeemie]

64. Oops! Your poll is now flawed...I voted for the wrong person.

:blush:

[Marnieworld]

67. Bruce Springsteen

Tell me after listening to Devils and Dust that he isn't a folk singer. And if versatility is the question he is the answer.

Biased Jersey Girl