#GuitarHeroes
Many thanks to Ellie for another guitar hero recommend, this time from the world of Folk Music.
In 1957, a 16-year-old Joan Baez bought herself a Gibson acoustic guitar. In 1958 she gave her first concert at the Club 47 in Cambridge, Massachusetts - the start of a 50-year residency - and 1959 saw her play at the first Newport Folk Festival.
'Folk' is an incredibly appropriate word when looking at Joan Baez. If anyone is a person 'of the people' then I think it's safe to say that Joan definitely earns that title. Musically she plays songs under the all-encompassing umbrella of 'Folk' which is best defined as music that tells stories about people; and as varied as people are, so are the songs of this genre - ballads and blues, lullabies and cowboy tunes, songs of freedom and songs of the people that fight for it. And they were not empty words that she sang (which she did in 6 languages, including English and Spanish, both of which she spoke fluently). Joan acted on every one of them, whether standing in fields alongside migrant farm workers striking for fair wages, withholding income tax from the IRS to protest against military spending or, as was seen in the recent anniversary documentary (here), performing at the legendary 1963 March on Washington, a pivotal point in the american Civil Rights Movement - the same year that she began touring with Bob Dylan. She opposed the death penalty and fought for LGBT rights, she took on a whole host of environmental issues as well as global poverty, she occupied Wall Street and Amnesty International created the Joan Baez Award for Outstanding Inspirational Service in the Global Fight for Human Rights. More information about her social and political activism can be found here.
So not only was she a fantastic musician (as can be seen from the taster links below and the respect she commanded of her peers) but she truly used the full potential of music as a social instrument: to carry a message across states and continents; to share a sentiment and inspire generations; to tell a story; to change the world...
'The Lily of the West'
'We Shall Overcome' (Woodstock, 1969)
Footage from the 1963 March including Joan Baez and Bob Dylan
Many thanks to Ellie for another guitar hero recommend, this time from the world of Folk Music.
In 1957, a 16-year-old Joan Baez bought herself a Gibson acoustic guitar. In 1958 she gave her first concert at the Club 47 in Cambridge, Massachusetts - the start of a 50-year residency - and 1959 saw her play at the first Newport Folk Festival.
'Folk' is an incredibly appropriate word when looking at Joan Baez. If anyone is a person 'of the people' then I think it's safe to say that Joan definitely earns that title. Musically she plays songs under the all-encompassing umbrella of 'Folk' which is best defined as music that tells stories about people; and as varied as people are, so are the songs of this genre - ballads and blues, lullabies and cowboy tunes, songs of freedom and songs of the people that fight for it. And they were not empty words that she sang (which she did in 6 languages, including English and Spanish, both of which she spoke fluently). Joan acted on every one of them, whether standing in fields alongside migrant farm workers striking for fair wages, withholding income tax from the IRS to protest against military spending or, as was seen in the recent anniversary documentary (here), performing at the legendary 1963 March on Washington, a pivotal point in the american Civil Rights Movement - the same year that she began touring with Bob Dylan. She opposed the death penalty and fought for LGBT rights, she took on a whole host of environmental issues as well as global poverty, she occupied Wall Street and Amnesty International created the Joan Baez Award for Outstanding Inspirational Service in the Global Fight for Human Rights. More information about her social and political activism can be found here.
So not only was she a fantastic musician (as can be seen from the taster links below and the respect she commanded of her peers) but she truly used the full potential of music as a social instrument: to carry a message across states and continents; to share a sentiment and inspire generations; to tell a story; to change the world...
'The Lily of the West'
'We Shall Overcome' (Woodstock, 1969)
Footage from the 1963 March including Joan Baez and Bob Dylan
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