Knowra American folk music revival American folk music revival A mid-20th-century movement that renewed interest in American traditional and contemporary folk music through recordings, concerts, festivals, and political song.
Woody Guthrie : An American singer-songwriter whose topical songs and plainspoken style influenced generations of folk musicians. His songs and example linked older ballad traditions to the revival’s labor and protest music.
Anthology of American Folk Music : A 1952 compilation of 84 commercial folk recordings made between 1927 and 1932, assembled by Harry Smith. Its unusual selection became a key sourcebook for the revival’s repertoire and sensibility.
Newport Folk Festival : An annual folk music festival founded in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1959. It became a prominent stage for revival performers and a meeting point for folk audiences.
Bob Dylan : An American singer-songwriter whose lyrics and changing musical styles reshaped popular music from the 1960s onward. His move toward electric instruments at Newport in 1965 became a flashpoint over folk authenticity.
Protest song : A song that challenges political power, social conditions, or public policy. Revival performers renewed protest song as a form of public commentary and collective expression.
Pete Seeger : An American folk singer and activist who popularized traditional songs and helped organize folk music institutions. His performances and organizing connected sing-along folk music with labor and civil-rights causes.
American folk music : Music created and transmitted within American communities, including songs shaped by oral tradition and popular performance. The revival recast this broad inheritance as both a living tradition and a modern cultural resource.
Greenwich Village : A neighborhood in Manhattan associated with artists, performers, and political movements. Its clubs and coffeehouses provided a concentrated scene for emerging folk singers.
Folk rock : A popular music genre combining folk songwriting and instrumentation with rock rhythms and electric instruments. It grew from the revival while challenging expectations about acoustic performance.
Civil rights movement : A mass movement that sought to end racial segregation and secure equal rights in the United States. Folk singers and songs became part of rallies, fundraising, and cultural support for civil-rights activism.
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