American Folk Music Theme
Traditional Songs
American Folk Music
Folk Revival
The great folksong revival of the 1940s through 1960s made rural white and African American artists and their music favorites of audiences everywhere. While key figures associated with the American folksong revival, such as Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Alan Lomax, and Moses Asch, were white, the music traditions on which they drew were frequently African American as well as Anglo-American. Lead Belly is perhaps the best known name of the African Americans that helped define the genre, but you'll also find portraits of Mississippi John Hurt, Odetta, and Joshua Daniel White, and music by Bill McAdoo and Bernice Reagon, among others.
Politics and Protest
As the civil rights movement gained momentum in the 1960s, folk music gave voice to a new generation longing for equality and justice. "We Shall Overcome" is particularly well-known as a civil rights anthem. Folk music also played an influential role in environmental political efforts and anti-war protests during the United States' engagement in Vietnam. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings playlists, Sounds of the Civil Rights Movement and Peace Songs of the 1960s, reveal the vibrancy of the genre.
Text and photos courtesy of the Smithsonian Institute.
In November come to the American Corner Trieste and view the Folks Giving Portrait Gallery of the Icons of American Folk Music (courtesy of the Smithsonian Institute).
Don't Miss the "Folks Giving Concert" on November 26th at 5 pm at Sala Luttazzi. FREE with a Reservation.
More Folk Music Resources:
Watch: Pete Seeger. The Power of Song (2007) PBS American Masters 1 hour
Read: Alan Lomax - American Music Historian - Library of Congress
Listen to: Classic Folk Music from Smithsonian Folkways
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