The Early Years of Folk Music

This history of folk music looks at musicians, collectors and other figures from around the world. The book presents an overview of international folk roots and shows the contributions of the artists and the evolution of folk music as a force for political and social change. Profiles of Pete Seeger, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie and others show how the stage was set for the American folk revival of the 1960s.

David Dicaire is the author of numerous works about music history. He lives in Leamington, Ontario, Canada.

David Dicaire
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 252
Bibliographic Info: discographies, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4431-1
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5737-3
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction      1

Part One. Historical Figures      7

Thomas D’Urfey (1653–1723), English Folk Comic      9

Turlough O’Carolan (1670–1738), The Gaelic Harpist      12

Denis O’Hampsey (1695–1807), Harp Magic      15

Niel Gow (1727–1807), Scottish Fiddle Dance Master      19

Edward Bunting (1773–1843), The Transcriber      22

Targjei Augundsson (1801 –1872), Father of Norwegian Folk      25

Ostap Veresai (1803–1899), Ukrainian Minstrel      28

Francis J. Child (1825–1896), The Collector      31

Cecil Sharp (1859–1924), Folklore Revivalist      33

Part Two. American Pioneers      37

Stephen Foster (1826–1864), Father of American Folk Music      39

John A. Lomax (1867–1948), The Ballad Hunter      44

Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1882–1973), Minstrel of the Appalachians      48

Charles Seeger (1886–1979), American Musicologist      52

Aunt Molly Jackson (1880–1960), Pistol Packing Mama      55

Helen Flanders (1890–1972), The Vermont Songcatcher      59

John Jacob Niles (1892–1980), Dean of American Balladeers      64

Elizabeth Cotten (1893–1987), The Fingerpicker      67

Clarence Ashley (1895–1967), The Blue Ridge Entertainer      71

Dock Boggs (1898–1971), Primeval Hillbilly Folk      75

Buell Kazee (1900–1976), Lonesome Balladeer      78

Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901 –1953), Folk Music Matriarch      81

Part Three. Political Connections      85

Joe Hill (1879–1915), The Initiator      87

Burl Ives (1909–1995), The Wayfarin’ Stranger      90

Earl Robinson (1910–1991), Ballad for Americans      96

Woody Guthrie (1912–1967), Bound for Glory      99

Lee Hays (1914–1981), Lonesome Traveler      109

Josh White (1914–1969), Folk-Blues Protest      112

Cisco Houston (1918–1961), The Pure Voice      119

Joe Glazer (1918–2006), Labor’s Troubadour      123

Pete Seeger (1919–), Twentieth Century Folk Man      126

Fred Hellerman (1927–), The Little Cowboy      133

Part Four. Folk Around the World      139

Béla Bartók (1881 –1945), The Hungarian Ethnomusicologist      141

Udi Hrant Kenkulian (1901 –1978), The Oud Master      146

Atahualpa Yupanqui (1908–1992), Modern Argentine Folk King      149

Luiz Gonzaga (1912–1989), Forró Folk      153

Edith Fowke (1913–1996), Canadian Folklorist      158

Vassilis Tsitsanis (1915–1984), Urban Greek Folkie      161

Amália Rodrigues (1920–1999), Voice of Portugal      165

Buddy MacMaster (1924–), Dean of Cape Breton Fiddlers      171

Hamza El Din (1929–2006), Nubian Folk Master      174

Severino Dias De Oliveira (1930–2006), Sivuca      180

Part Five. The Pre–Folk Boom Era      185

Hobart Smith (1897–1965), Blue Ridge Legacy      187

Moses Asch (1905–1986), Folkways Founder      190

A.L. Lloyd (1908–1982), Father of English Folk      194

Richard Dyer-Bennet (1913–1991), Renaissance Man      199

Alan Lomax (1915–2002), Folksong Revivalist      203

Ewan MacColl (1915–1989), English Folk Revivalist      209

Oscar Brand (1920–), The Can-Am Folklorist      215

Jean Ritchie (1922–), The Mother of Folk      220

Harry Smith (1923–1991), The Anthologist      224

Bibliography      229

Index      233

“an ideal book for undergraduates researching folk music giants and musicians for quick information for reports…a welcome addition”—Reference Reviews.