Folk Music in the United States: An Introduction

This article focusses on the concept of cultural pluralism in the North American folk music revival of the 1960s. Building on the excellent work of earlier folk revival scholars, the article looks in greater depth at the “vision of diversity” promoted by the folk revival in North America – at the ways in which this vision was constructed, at the reasons for its maintenance and at its ultimate decline and on the consequences of this for anglophone Canadian and American musicians and enthusiasts alike.

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Hungarian Folk Music in the United States

Ethnomusicology ◽

10.2307/851262 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 586

Author(s):

Balint Sarosi ◽

Laszlo Kurti

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Folk Music ◽

The United States ◽

Hungarian Folk Music

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Folk music in the United States

10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.a2241135 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Norm Cohen

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Folk Music ◽

The United States

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Gillian Mitchell, The North American Folk Music Revival: Nation and Identity in the United States and Canada, 1945–1980 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007), ISBN 0754657566 (hb)

twentieth century music ◽

10.1017/s1478572209990107 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 263-268

Author(s):

BYRON DUECK

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

North American ◽

Folk Music ◽

The United States ◽

The North ◽

Folk Music Revival

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I Come for to Sing

The Invention and Reinvention of Big Bill Broonzy ◽

10.5149/northcarolina/9781469646497.003.0006 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 96-114

Author(s):

Kevin D. Greene

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

New York ◽

African American ◽

Folk Music ◽

The United States ◽

American Music ◽

African American Music ◽

Vernacular Music ◽

Folk Music Revival ◽

The Way

From 1930 to 1970, a second folk music revival took hold in the United States and Europe, determined to capture and preserve for posterity US and European vernacular music. Critical to this collection of folklorists, academics, political activists, and entrepreneurs was the history and impact of African American music on folklore and culture. Big Bill, quite familiar with the types of country and Delta blues the folk music revival craved stood happy to oblige. Soon, one of the most sophisticated and urbane performers of the age began performing alone accompanied by his guitar for folk audiences from New York to Chicago. Within this community, Broonzy found a culture and environment willing and able to support his transitioning career from black pop star to folk music darling. Along the way, he would meet more individuals who could aid in his career reinvention and he both accepted and rejected their expectations of him and his music.

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“The Folk of the Nation”

10.5406/illinois/9780252039041.003.0008 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Peter Gough ◽

Peggy Seeger

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Folk Music ◽

The United States ◽

Ethnic Composition ◽

Theodore Roosevelt ◽

Original Meaning ◽

Federal Music Project ◽

Academic Recognition ◽

American Society ◽

Definition Of

This chapter provides a definition of folk music. Precise definition of the term folk music has long confounded scholars and been the source of endless debate and controversy; general agreements, either popular or academic are rare, and misunderstandings abound. Folk music in the United States reflects the complex history and diverse ethnic composition of American society. Indeed, academic recognition of these native musical forms preceded the development of the Federal Music Project (FMP); in 1882, Theodore Baker published a scholarly study of American folk music, and in 1910, Theodore Roosevelt wrote a preface for John Lomax's groundbreaking Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads publication. Meanwhile, some scholars argue that if a song has a known author, it cannot be classified as folksong “because the original meaning of folk music was something ancient and anonymous.”

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Background in the United States and Great Britain to 1950

10.5406/illinois/9780252038518.003.0002 ◽

2017 ◽

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Twentieth Century ◽

Great Britain ◽

Folk Music ◽

The United States ◽

Major Influence ◽

Political Agenda ◽

Anglo Saxon ◽

The Public ◽

The 1950S

Throughout the twentieth century, folk music has had many definitions and incarnations in the United States and Great Britain. The public has been most aware of its commercial substance and appeal, with the focus on recording artists and their repertoires, but there has been so much more, including a political agenda, folklore theories, grassroots styles, regional promoters, and discussions on what musical forms—blues, hillbilly, gospel, Anglo-Saxon, pop, singer-songwriters, instrumental and/or vocal, international—should be included. These contrasting and conflicting interpretations were particularly evident during the 1950s. This chapter begins by focusing on Alan Lomax (1915–2002), one of the most active folk music collectors, radio promoters, and organizers during the 1940s. Lomax had a major influence on folk music in both the United States and Great Britain, tying together what had come before and what would follow. The chapter then discusses folk festivals and performers; British folk music, musicians, and trans-Atlantic musical connections; and Carl Sandburg's publication of the The American Songbag in 1927.

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