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Folk rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and Canada around the mid-1960s. The sound was epitomized by tight vocal harmonies and a relatively "clean" (effects- and distortion-free) approach to electric instruments epitomized by the jangly sound of the Byrds' guitarist Roger McGuinn. The repertoire was drawn in part from folk sources, but even more from folk-influenced singer-songwriters such as Bob Dylan.
This, in turn, spawned several other variants: the self-consciously English folk rock of the Albion Band and some of Ronnie Lane's solo work, and the more prolific current of Celtic rock, incorporating traditional music of Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, and Brittany. Through at least the first half of the 1970s, Celtic rock held close to folk roots, with its repertoire drawing heavily on traditional Celtic fiddle and harp tunes and even traditional vocal styles, but making use of rock band levels of amplification and percussion. Image:Byrds-MrTambourineMan.jpg The Byrds' folk rock album, Mr. Tambourine Man In a broader sense, folk rock includes later similarly-inspired musical genres and movements in the English-speaking world (and its Celtic fringes) and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere in Europe. As with any genre, the borders are difficult to define. Folk rock may lean more toward folk or toward rock in its instrumentation, its playing and vocal style, or its choice of material; while the original genre draws on music of Europe and North America, there is no clear delineation of which folk cultures music might be included as influences. Still, the term is not usually applied to rock music rooted in the blues-based or other African American music (except as mediated through folk revivalists), nor to rock music with Cajun roots, nor to music (especially after about 1980) with non-European folk roots, which is more typically classified as world music.
The roots of folk rockFolk rock arose mainly from the confluence of three elements: urban/collegiate folk vocal groups, singer-songwriters, and the revival of North American rock and roll after the British Invasion. Of these, the first two owed direct debts to Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and the Popular Front culture of the 1930s.
When the term singer-songwriter was coined in the mid-1960s, it was applied retroactively to Bob Dylan and other (mainly New York-based) folk-rooted songwriters. Scottish songster Donovan also fit this mold. Dylan's material would provide much of the original grist for the folk rock mill, not only in the U.S. but in the UK as well. None of this would likely ever have intersected with rock music, though, if it had not been for the impulse of the British Invasion. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and numerous other British bands reintroduced to America the broad potential of rock and roll as a creative medium. One of the first bands to craft a distinctly American sound in response was the Beach Boys; while not a folk rock band themselves, they directly influenced the genre, and at the height of the folk rock boom in 1966 had a hit with a cover of the 1920s West Indian folk song "Sloop John B", which they had learned from The Kingston Trio, who, in turn, had learned it from the Weavers. However, there are a few antecedents to folk rock in pre-British Invasion American rock; one could cite some of the later recordings of Buddy Holly, which highly influenced artists like Dylan and the Byrds, and to some extent some recordings by country-influenced performers like The Everly Brothers. This was not a recognized trend at the time, and probably would have not been noticed if not for subsequent events. The original folk rock impulseIn the United States the heyday of folk rock is likely between the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies, not only aligning itself but also becoming the medium of expression for the hippie movement. Cities such as San Francisco, Denver, New York and Phoenix became centers for the folk rock culture, playing on their central locations among the original folk circuits. It is to be noted that the earthy "unplugged" musically simplified sound of the music and common presentation reflected the genre's connection to a more earthy look at society's state of affairs. Unlike pop music's escapist lyrics that were disconnected from reality, a fantasy distraction fro the problems in life, folk artists were actually speaking to massess their connected-to-life messages for peace, global awareness, and other touchstones of the revolutionary era. Country folkArising originally from the folk-influenced music of Bob Dylan and earlier musicians, the folk revivalist vocal combo, and the rock music of the British Invasion, it folk rock later incorporated elements of country music, drawing on Hank Williams and others. Such success in the country folk blend led to pioneering records for '60s folk singers like John Denver and Judy Collins. British and Celtic folk rockThe British style of folk rock (in its early years, often called electric folk) was established by the band Fairport Convention, who formed in North London in the late 1960s, and by Pentangle who were also influenced by classical and jazz traditions and avoided electric instruments for several albums. Steeleye Span, also prominent in this vein, was formed by folk musicians who wished to add electric instruments and experiment with song structures. Nick Drake's music has had a large impact on modern folk rock. Several temporary groups, such as the duo, Bert and John, also contributed to the development of the genre. Bert and John, in particular, developed a style of intricate acoustic guitar duet sometimes referred to as 'folk=baroque'. Across the English Channel in Brittany or France, a similar fusion of folk and rock elements can be found in the Breton folk rock music of Alan Stivell (1970s and later) and the French Malicorne, founded by one of Alan Stivell's musicians. British folk rock was also influenced by some experimental work, found for example in The Incredible String Band, who found considerable popularity in the university town of Cambridge, Massachusetts, for several years, and this line of development eventually contributed to prog rock. Elsewhere in Europe and the MediterraneanIn Romania Transsylvania Phoenix (known in Romania simply as Phoenix), founded in 1962, introduced significant folk elements into their rock music around 1972 in an unsuccessful attempt to compromise with government repression of rock music. The attempt failed, and they ended up in exile during much of the Ceauşescu era, but much of their music still retains a folk rock sound. The present-day bands Spitalul de Urgenţă (Romanian) and Zdob şi Zdub (Moldova) also both merge folk and rock. Other fusions of folk and rock include New Flamenco (Spain), the pop-oriented forms of North African raï music, and in the music of The Pogues and the Dropkick Murphys, both of whom draw on traditional Irish music and punk rock. Turkey, during the 1970s and 1980s, also sustained a vibrant folk rock scene, drawing inspirations from diverse ethnic elements of Anatolia, the Balkans, Eurasia and the Black Sea region and thrived in a culture of intense political strife, with musicians in nationalist and Marxist camps. See Music of Turkey. Another folk rock band is Gåte from Norway who combines Norwegian folk songs (Stev) and rock. Folk rock artistsAll of the performers listed here had or have both significant folk elements and significant rock elements in their music. Singer-songwritersA number of singer-songwriters are associated strongly with folk rock. Among those who started out strongly identifying with folk music but later incorporated rock influences in their music, or vice versa, are:
In addition, others (usually of at least a slightly younger generation) seem to have mixed both elements from the outset of their careers:
Singer-songwriter Paul Simon, as one half of Simon & Garfunkel, was a transitional figure between a Dylanesque singer-songwriter and the folk rock vocal sound. Canadian singer-songwriter Nathan Bishop performs both folk and rock instrumentation and leans on both the lyrical and narrative traditions in his songs. 1960s North American folk rock vocal groupsThese bands were associated with original North American "folk rock" sound, drawing to some extent on traditional folk music, but to a greater extent on the work of folk-influenced contemporary songwriters, such as Bob Dylan or the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan.
Other U.S. bands of this eraThere were also significant folk influences in the music of several other North American bands of this period who were not generally identified with the folk rock label.
British and Irish folk rockThe British and Irish folk rock (or "electric folk") sound started out as an offshoot of the North American. Fairport Convention and Pentangle, were almost certainly the seminal bands of this movement. Fairport first releases had a sound very close to that of North American folk rock, but began deliberately incorporating elements from the folk music of the British Isles in short order. Pentangle was more electic, and remained acoustic longer. Several bands in Brittany were also closely associated with this musical movement following the work of Alan Stivell. Unrelated to this movement are a few British acts of the mid-1960s whose music was based on or paralleled US folk rock of the time, such as Chad and Jeremy, Peter and Gordon, The Searchers or Marianne Faithfull.
The Incredible String Band began doing straight folk before heading off into experimental folk, then folk rock and finally in other musical directions. Band member Robin Williamson has often returned to this style of music. All of the above were active in the late 1960s or early 1970s. A clearly related sound can be found in Irish music of a slightly later period. The Canadian bands Spirit of the West and Great Big Sea are also more associated with this sound that with the earlier North American folk rock. The Canadian band Celtae are fusing two folk traditions, that of Cape Breton and Newfoundland with a broad definition of rock that includes elements of hard rock, funk, and jazz while retaining the original flavour of the traditional music. A similar impulse (but a very different sound) can be found in bands who mix traditional Irish music with punk rock. The prototype of this approach might be Thin Lizzy's heavy-metal-inspired 1973 version of "Whiskey in the Jar" A recent book, "Electric Folk" by Britta Sweers (2005) concentrates on Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. Another recent book "Irish Folk, Trad and Blues: A Secret History" by Colin Harper (2005) covers Horslips, The Pogues, Planxty and others. Modern Folk RockPresent folk rock includes bands such as Aaron Sprinkle, The Tossers, The River Bends, One Star Hotel, Tegan & Sara, Bill Mallonee, The Lost Dogs, Wilco, Son Volt, Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers, The Jayhawks, David Wolfenberger, Over the Rhine, Dawn Xiana Moon, The Greencards, Two Gallants, Denison Witmer and many more.
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