Troubadours of Folk
Encyclopedia
Troubadours of Folk is a five volume series of compact discs released by Rhino Records in 1992. The series documents several decades worth of "contemporary" folk music
. The first three volumes focus on the American "folk revival" of the 1960s while the final two volumes focus on singer-songwriter
music of the 1970s and 1980s. The series tends to focus on American folk music
although not exclusively. Rhino later released a series of volumes titled Troubadours of British Folk. []
movement.
as 1960s folk. As the liner notes by Barry Alfonso explain:
To avoid arguments over the definition of "folk" the collections attempts to cover "as many segments of '80s folkdom as possible, including those that contested each other's legitimacy."
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. The first three volumes focus on the American "folk revival" of the 1960s while the final two volumes focus on singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
music of the 1970s and 1980s. The series tends to focus on American folk music
American folk music
American folk music is a musical term that encompasses numerous genres, many of which are known as traditional music or roots music. Roots music is a broad category of music including bluegrass, country music, gospel, old time music, jug bands, Appalachian folk, blues, Cajun and Native American...
although not exclusively. Rhino later released a series of volumes titled Troubadours of British Folk. []
Track listing
- "This Land Is Your LandThis Land Is Your Land"This Land Is Your Land" is one of the United States' most famous folk songs. Its lyrics were written by Woody Guthrie in 1940 based on an existing melody, in response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America", which Guthrie considered unrealistic and complacent. Tired of hearing Kate Smith sing it on...
" – Woody GuthrieWoody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
– 2:32 - "Silver DaggerSilver Dagger (song)"Silver Dagger", or "Katy Dear", is an American folk ballad. It likely traces its roots to the British Isles of late 19th century, though possibly much earlier; the first published version appeared in 1907....
" – Joan BaezJoan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
– 2:32 - "Tomorrow is a Long TimeTomorrow Is a Long Time"Tomorrow Is a Long Time" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan. Dylan's version first appeared on the Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume II compilation, released in 1971...
" – Ian & Sylvia – 3:20 - "Violets of Dawn" – Eric AndersenEric AndersenEric Andersen is an American singer-songwriter.-Biography:In the early 1960s, Eric Andersen was part of the Greenwich Village folk scene in New York...
– 3:50 - "John HenryJohn Henry (folklore)John Henry is an American folk hero and tall tale. Henry worked as a "steel-driver"—a man tasked with hammering and chiseling rock in the construction of tunnels for railroad tracks. In the legend, John Henry's prowess as a steel-driver was measured in a race against a steam powered hammer,...
" – OdettaOdettaOdetta Holmes, known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and a human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals...
– 3:11 - "Reno, Nevada" – RichardRichard FariñaRichard George Fariña was an American writer and folksinger.-Early years and education:Richard Fariña was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Cuban and Irish descent. He grew up in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn Technical High School...
& Mimi FariñaMimi FariñaMimi Baez Fariña was a singer-songwriter and activist, the youngest of three daughters to a Scottish mother and Mexican-American physicist Albert Baez .- Early years:Fariña's father, a physicist affiliated with Stanford University and MIT, moved his family...
– 3:10 - "Four in the Morning" – Jesse Colin YoungJesse Colin YoungJesse Colin Young is an American singer / songwriter / folksinger and a founding member of the group The Youngbloods.-Early life:...
– 3:26 - "Wasn't That a Mighty StormWasn't That a Mighty Storm"Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" is an American folk song concerning a hurricane that destroyed Galveston, Texas. It was revived and popularized by Eric Von Schmidt and Tom Rush in the 1960s.-History:...
" – Eric Von SchmidtEric Von SchmidtEric "Rick" Von Schmidt was an American singer-songwriter and Grammy Award recipient. He was associated with the folk/blues revival of the 1960s and a key part of the East Coast folk music scene that included Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.-Background and associations with Dylan:Von Schmidt's father,...
– 4:42 - "The Universal Soldier" – Buffy Sainte-MarieBuffy Sainte-MarieBuffy Sainte-Marie, OC is a Canadian Cree singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire includes...
– 2:18 - "Cocaine BluesCocaine Blues"Cocaine Blues" is a Western Swing song written by T. J. "Red" Arnall, a reworking of the traditional song "Little Sadie". This song was originally recorded by W. A. Nichol's Western Aces on the S & G label, probably in 1947, and by Roy Hogsed and the Rainbow Riders May 25, 1947, at Universal...
" – Dave Van RonkDave Van RonkDave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
– 4:20 - "Morning DewMorning Dew"Morning Dew", also known as " Morning Dew", is a post-apocalyptic folk-rock song written by Canadian singer Bonnie Dobson in 1962.According to Dobson in a 1993 interview, "Morning Dew" was inspired by the film On the Beach....
" – Bonnie DobsonBonnie DobsonBonnie Dobson is a Canadian folk music songwriter, singer, and guitarist, most known in the 1960s for composing the songs "I'm Your Woman" and "Morning Dew"...
– 4:30 - "San Francisco Bay BluesSan Francisco Bay Blues"San Francisco Bay Blues" is an American folk song and is generally considered to be the most famous composition by Jesse Fuller. Fuller first recorded the song in 1954 for a small label called World Song. The song was brought into wider popularity in the early 1960s by club performances by...
" – Ramblin' Jack ElliottRamblin' Jack ElliottRamblin' Jack Elliott is an American folk singer and performer.-Life and career:Elliot Charles Adnopoz was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents in 1931. Elliott grew up inspired by the rodeos at Madison Square Garden, and wanted to be a cowboy...
– 1:59 - "I'll Fly AwayI'll Fly Away"I'll Fly Away", is a hymn written in 1929 by Albert E. Brumley and published in 1932 by the Hartford Music company in a collection titled Wonderful Message...
" – Carolyn HesterCarolyn HesterCarolyn Hester is an American folk singer and songwriter. She was a figure in the early 1960s folk music revival.-Biography:...
– 2:52 - "Well, Well, Well" – Bob GibsonBob Gibson (musician)Samuel Robert Gibson was a folk singer who led a folk music revival in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was known for playing both the banjo and the 12-string guitar. He introduced a then largely unknown Joan Baez at the Newport Folk Festival of 1959. He produced a number of LPs in the decade...
, Bob CampBob CampBob Camp is a cartoonist, comic book artist, director, and producer. Camp has been nominated for two Emmys, a CableACE Award, and an Annie Award for his work on The Ren & Stimpy Show.-Career:...
and Dick RosminiDick RosminiDick Rosmini was an American guitarist, at one time considered the best 12-string guitarist in the world. He was best known for his role in the American "folk revival" of the 1960s...
– 3:38 - "Mean Old Frisco" – John HammondJohn P. HammondJohn Paul Hammond is an American blues singer and guitarist. The son of record producer John H. Hammond, he is sometimes referred to as "John Hammond, Jr.".-Background:...
– 3:20 - "The First Time Ever I Saw Your FaceThe First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is a 1957 folk song written by British political singer/songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, who was later to become his wife. At the time the couple were lovers, although MacColl was married to someone else. MacColl and Seeger included the song in their...
" – Ewan MacCollEwan MacCollEwan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
and Peggy SeegerPeggy SeegerMargaret "Peggy" Seeger is an American folksinger. She is also well known in Britain, where she lived for more than 30 years with her husband, singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl.- The first American period :...
– 2:38 - "Mr. Spaceman" – Holy Modal RoundersHoly Modal RoundersThe Holy Modal Rounders were an American folk music duo from the Lower East Side of New York City which started in the early 1960s, consisting of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber. Their unique blend of folk music revival and psychedelia gave them a cult-like following from the late 1960s into the 1970s...
– 1:55 - "Catch the WindCatch the Wind (song)"Catch the Wind" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom on March 12, 1965 through Pye Records and a few months later in the United States through Hickory Records...
" – DonovanDonovanDonovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
– 2:54
Track listing
- "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" – Pete SeegerPete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
– 3:10 - "Get TogetherGet Together (Youngbloods song)"Get Together", also known as "Let's Get Together", is a song written in the early 1960s by American singer-songwriter Chet Powers ....
" – Hamilton CampHamilton CampHamilton Camp was an English-American singer, songwriter, actor and voice actor.-Early life:Camp was born in London, England, and was evacuated during World War II to the United States as a child with his mother and sister. He became a child actor in films and onstage...
– 3:59 - "The Circle GameThe Circle GameThe Circle Game is the 1968 album from folk rock musician Tom Rush. He covers three songs from fellow singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, as well as songs by Jackson Browne and James Taylor...
" – Tom RushTom RushTom Rush is an American folk and blues singer, songwriter, musician and recording artist.- Life and career :Rush was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His father was a teacher at St. Paul's School, in Concord, New Hampshire. Tom began performing in 1961 while studying at Harvard University after...
– 5:12 - "Both Sides NowBoth Sides Now (song)"Both Sides, Now" is a single by Joni Mitchell. Her recording first appeared on the album Clouds, released in 1969. She re-recorded the song in a jazz style for the album of the same name, released in 2000....
" – Joni MitchellJoni MitchellJoni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
4:30 - "Other Side of This Life" – Fred NeilFred NeilFred Neil was an American folk singer-songwriter in the 1960s and early 1970s. He did not achieve commercial success as a performer, and is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material – particularly "Everybody's Talkin'", which became a hit for Harry Nilsson after being...
– 2:54 - "High Flying Bird" – Judy HenskeJudy HenskeJudy Henske is an American singer and songwriter, once known as "the Queen of the Beatniks".-Life and recording career:...
– 2:55 - "Tear Down the Walls" – MartinVince Martin (singer)Vince Martin is an American folk singer and songwriter.He first recorded with the Tarriers in 1957, on the hit single Cindy, Oh Cindy. He became more widely known with his duo recordings with Fred Neil in the early 1960s...
& NeilFred NeilFred Neil was an American folk singer-songwriter in the 1960s and early 1970s. He did not achieve commercial success as a performer, and is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material – particularly "Everybody's Talkin'", which became a hit for Harry Nilsson after being...
– 2:34 - "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" – Judy CollinsJudy CollinsJudith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
– 4:20 - "Ramblin' Boy" – Tom PaxtonTom PaxtonThomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...
– 3:59 - "Winken, Blinken and Nod" – Simon SistersSimon SistersThe Simon Sisters was a band of two sisters, Carly Simon and Lucy Simon. They were signed up by Kapp Records in 1964. That same year Kapp released their only albums with the record label: Meet The Simon Sisters and later Cuddlebug...
– 2:06 - "Reason to Believe" – Tim HardinTim HardinJames Timothy "Tim" Hardin was an American folk musician and composer. He wrote the Top 40 hits "If I Were a Carpenter", covered by, among others, Joan Baez, Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, and Robert Plant, and "Reason to Believe", covered by many, including Rod Stewart, as well...
– 1:59 - "There But for FortuneThere but for Fortune (song)"There but for Fortune" is a song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. singer-songwriter from the 1960s. Ochs wrote the song in 1963. He recorded it twice, for New Folks Volume 2 and Phil Ochs in Concert...
" – Phil OchsPhil OchsPhilip David Ochs was an American protest singer and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice...
– 2:35 - "Changes" – Jim and JeanJim and JeanJim and Jean, composed of Jim Glover and Jean Ray were an American folk music duo, who performed and recorded music from the early to the late 1960s....
– 3:46 - "Follow" – Richie HavensRichie HavensRichard P. "Richie" Havens is an African American folk singer and guitarist. He is best known for his intense, rhythmic guitar style , soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.-Career:Born in Brooklyn, Havens was the eldest of nine children...
– 6:20 - "Take a Giant Step" – Taj MahalTaj Mahal (musician)Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
– 4:15 - "500 Miles500 Miles"500 Miles" is a folk song made popular in the United States and Europe during the 1960s folk revival. The simple repetitive lyrics offer a lament by a traveler who is far from home, out of money and too ashamed to return...
" – Hedy WestHedy WestHedy West was an American folksinger and songwriter.West was of the same generation as Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and others of the American folk music revival. Her most famous song "500 Miles" is one of America's best loved and best known folk songs...
– 2:53 - "Don't You Leave Me Here" – Jim KweskinJim KweskinJim Kweskin is the founder of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, with Fritz Richmond, Mel Lyman, and Geoff and Maria Muldaur...
& The Jug Band – 2:34 - "Once I Was" – Tim BuckleyTim BuckleyTimothy Charles Buckley III was an American vocalist, and musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years; his first album was mostly folk oriented, but over time his music incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, avant-garde and an evolving "voice as instrument," sound...
– 3:22
Track listing
- "Goodnight Irene" – The WeaversThe WeaversThe Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City. They sang traditional folk songs from around the world, as well as blues, gospel music, children's songs, labor songs, and American ballads, and selling millions of records at the height of their...
– 3:48 - "Tom DooleyTom Dooley (song)"Tom Dooley" is an old North Carolina folk song based on the 1866 murder of a woman named Laura Foster in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It is best known today because of a hit version recorded in 1958 by The Kingston Trio. This version was a multi-format hit, reaching #1 in Billboard, the...
" – Kingston Trio – 3:05 - "Hard, Ain't It Hard" – Limeliters – 2:47
- "The Bells" – Modern Folk QuartetModern Folk QuartetThe Modern Folk Quartet recorded two albums of folk revival music in the early 1960s, with an emphasis on group harmonies, and have subsequently re-formed more than once and made further recordings....
– 3:54 - "Walk Right InWalk Right InWalk Right In is the title of a country blues song written by musician Gus Cannon and originally recorded by Cannon's Jug Stompers in 1929, released on Victor Records, catalogue 38611. It was reissued on album in 1959 as a track on The Country Blues....
" – The Rooftop SingersThe Rooftop SingersThe Rooftop Singers were an American progressive folk-singing trio in the early 1960s, best known for the hit "Walk Right In". The group was composed of Erik Darling and Bill Svanoe with former jazz singer Lynne Taylor ....
– 2:36 - "Gotta Travel On" – Au Go Go Singers – 2:31
- "Stewball" – Greenbriar Boys – 2:34
- "Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms" – New Lost City RamblersNew Lost City RamblersThe New Lost City Ramblers is a contemporary old-time string band that formed in New York City in 1958 during the Folk Revival. The founding members of the Ramblers, or NLCR, are Mike Seeger, John Cohen, and Tom Paley...
– 2:58 - "Michael" – The HighwaymenThe Highwaymen (folk band)The Highwaymen were a circa 1960 "collegiate folk" group, which originated at Wesleyan University and had a Billboard number-one hit in 1961 with "Michael" and another Top 20 hit in 1962 with "Cottonfields"...
2:46 - "Take Your Fingers Off It" – Even Dozen Jug BandEven Dozen Jug BandThe Even Dozen Jug Band was founded in 1963 by Stefan Grossman and Peter Siegel in New York City, New York...
– 2:26 - "Greenfields" – The Brothers FourThe Brothers FourThe Brothers Four are an American folk singing group, founded in 1957 in Seattle, Washington, known for their 1960 hit song "Greenfields".-History:...
– 3:05 - "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" – The SpringfieldsThe SpringfieldsThe Springfields were a British pop-folk vocal trio who had success in the early 1960s in the UK, US and Ireland and included singer Dusty Springfield and her brother, record producer Tom Springfield, along with Tim Feild, later a noted Sufi writer, who was latterly replaced by Mike Hurst, who...
– 2:15 - "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" – Tarriers – 3:01
- "Green, Green" – The New Christy Minstrels – 2:11
- "River Come Down" – JourneymanJourneymanA journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....
– 2:48 - "Linin' Track" – "Spider" John Koerner and Dave Snaker Ray – 2:20
- "Rider" – Big Three – 2:35
- "Mobile Line" – Jim KweskinJim KweskinJim Kweskin is the founder of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, with Fritz Richmond, Mel Lyman, and Geoff and Maria Muldaur...
& The Jug Band – 3:27
Troubadours Of Folk Vol. 4: Singer-Songwriters Of The '70s
The fourth volume covers what is described as the "heyday" of the singer-songwriterSinger-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
movement.
Track listing
In most cases the performer is also the songwriter.- "Country Road" – James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
– 3:24 - "City of New OrleansCity of New Orleans (song)"City of New Orleans" is a folk song written by Steve Goodman , describing a train ride from Chicago to New Orleans via the Illinois Central Railroad in bittersweet and nostalgic terms. Goodman got the idea while traveling on the eponymous train for a visit to his wife's family...
" – Steve GoodmanSteve GoodmanSteve Goodman was an American folk music singer-songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. The writer of "City of New Orleans", made popular by Arlo Guthrie, Goodman won two Grammy Awards.-Personal life:...
– 3:53 - "Diamonds & Rust" – Joan BaezJoan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
– 4:44 - "Yankee Lady" – Jesse WinchesterJesse WinchesterJesse Winchester is a musician and songwriter who was born and raised in the southern United States. To avoid the Vietnam War draft he moved to Canada in 1967, which is where and when he began his career as a solo artist. His highest charting recordings were of his own tunes, "Yankee Lady" in 1970...
– 4:03 - "Heart Like a Wheel" – KateKate McGarrigleKate McGarrigle, CM was a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter, who wrote and performed as a duo with her sister Anna McGarrigle....
and Anna McGarrigleAnna McGarrigleAnna McGarrigle, CM is a Canadian folk music singer/songwriter who wrote and performed as a duo with her sister, Kate McGarrigle, until Kate's death in 2010.-Musical career:...
(written by Kate McGarrigle) – 3:12 - "Mr. BojanglesMr. Bojangles (song)Mr. Bojangles is the title of a song originally written and recorded by American country music artist Jerry Jeff Walker for his 1968 album of the same title...
" – Nitty Gritty Dirt BandNitty Gritty Dirt BandThe Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country-folk-rock band that has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California in 1966. The group's membership has had at least a dozen changes over the years, including a period from 1976 to 1981 when the band performed and recorded...
(written by Jerry Jeff WalkerJerry Jeff WalkerJerry Jeff Walker is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is probably most famous for writing the song "Mr. Bojangles.-Biography:...
) – 3:38 - "Old Friend" – Loudon Wainwright IIILoudon Wainwright IIILoudon Snowden Wainwright III is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor. He is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, brother of Sloan Wainwright, and the former husband of the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle.To...
– 2:59 - "Lady-O" – Judee SillJudee SillJudee Sill was an American singer and songwriter. The first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum label, she released two albums, then worked briefly as a cartoonist before dying of drug abuse in 1979.Her eponymous debut album was released in late 1971 and was followed around eighteen months...
– 3:15 - "Vincent" – Don McLeanDon McLeanDonald "Don" McLean is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for the 1971 album American Pie, containing the renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent".-Musical roots:...
– 4:06 - "From Me to You" – Janis IanJanis IanJanis Ian is an American songwriter, singer, musician, columnist, and science fiction author. Ian first entered the folk music scene while still a teenager in the mid-sixties; most active musically in that decade and the 1970s, she has continued recording into the 21st century...
– 3:22 - "Taxi" – Harry ChapinHarry ChapinHarry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter best known in particular for his folk rock songs including "Taxi", "W*O*L*D", and the number-one hit "Cat's in the Cradle". Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key player in the creation of the...
– 6:45 - "Angel from Montgomery" – John PrineJohn PrineJohn Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...
– 3:47 - "Rock, Salt and Nails" – Rosalie SorrelsRosalie SorrelsRosalie Sorrels is an American folk singer-songwriter who resides in the mountains near Boise, Idaho. She began her public career as a singer and collector of traditional folksongs in the late 1950s. During the early 1960s she left her husband and began traveling and performing at music festivals...
– 4:19 - "Hobo's LullabyHobo's Lullaby"Hobo's Lullaby" is a song written by Goebel Reeves, and famously performed by various people including folk singer Woody Guthrie, his son Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Emmylou Harris, the Kingston Trio, Ramblin' Jack Elliott. and Anaïs Mitchell. Its music is nearly identical to popular Civil War era...
" – Arlo GuthrieArlo GuthrieArlo Davy Guthrie is an American folk singer. Like his father, Woody Guthrie, Arlo often sings songs of protest against social injustice...
– 3:59 - "Poetry ManPoetry Man"Poetry Man" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow. The song was written by Snow, produced by Dino Airali, and first appeared on her 1974 self-titled debut album. On American Top 40 in September 1980, Casey Kasem claimed that Phoebe Snow said that the song is about Jackson Browne...
" – Phoebe Snow – 4:38 - "She's a Lady" – John SebastianJohn SebastianJohn Benson Sebastian Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and autoharpist. He is best known as a founder of The Lovin' Spoonful, a band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000...
– 1:47 - "The Lilac and the Apple" – Kate WolfKate WolfKate Wolf was an American folk singer and songwriter. Though her career was relatively short, she had a significant impact on the folk music scene, and many musicians continue to cover her songs...
– 2:42 - "Pancho and LeftyPancho and Lefty"Pancho and Lefty" is a song written by country singer and songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Van Zandt first recorded it for his 1972 album, The Late Great Townes Van Zandt...
" – Townes Van ZandtTownes Van ZandtJohn Townes Van Zandt , best known as Townes Van Zandt, was an American Texas Country-folk music singer-songwriter, performer, and poet...
– 3:42
Troubadours Of Folk Vol. 5: Singer-Songwriters Of The '80s
The final volume of the collection documents another revival-of-sorts that took place in the 1980s by singer-songwriters influenced as much by 1970s punk rockPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
as 1960s folk. As the liner notes by Barry Alfonso explain:
Of course, folk as a genre had never gone away, just slipped out of the limelight. The rediscovery of the acoustic tradition by punks and other upstarts was newsworthy to rock critics and other arbiters of hipness. But trendy or not, the folk music community had never ceased to exist, and some of its members were dubious about the recent converts asking for admission. These questions about commitment to traditions were part of the same folk sectarian debate that put Bob Dylan in the doghouse after he went electric back in '65.
To avoid arguments over the definition of "folk" the collections attempts to cover "as many segments of '80s folkdom as possible, including those that contested each other's legitimacy."
Track listing
Songs written by the performer unless otherwise indicated.- "What Kinda Guy?" – Steve ForbertSteve ForbertSteve Forbert is an American pop music singer-songwriter. He is best known for his song "Romeo's Tune", which reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980....
- "Mary Hooley" – PhrancPhrancPhranc is an American singer-songwriter whose career has spanned several decades.-Biography:She began her performing career in the late 1970s and early 1980s punk scene in Los Angeles...
- "Daylight" (written by Tom Goodkind) – The Washington Squares
- "Marlene on The Wall" – Suzanne VegaSuzanne VegaSuzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"...
- "Walk in the Woods" – Peter CasePeter CasePeter Case is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, who has had a wide-ranging career ranging from new wave music to folk rock to solo acoustic performance.-Early career:...
- "On the Road to Fairfax County" (written by David MassengillDavid MassengillDavid Massengill is an American folk singer/songwriter, guitar and appalachian dulcimer player. His best-known songs include "On The Road to Fairfax County," recorded by The Roches and by Joan Baez, "The Great American Dream," and "My Name Joe," about an illegal immigrant restaurant worker...
) – The RochesThe RochesThe Roches are a female vocal group of three songwriting Irish-American sisters from Park Ridge, New Jersey, known for their "unusual" and "rich" harmonies, quirky lyrics, and casually comedic stage performances.The Roches have been active as performers and recording artists since the mid-1970s,... - "Behind the Cathedral" – Willie NileWillie NileWillie Nile is an American singer-songwriter. In 1980 Nile released his self-titled debut album which according to one critic remains “one of the most thrilling post-Byrds folk-rock albums of all time”...
- "Help Save the Youth of America" – Billy BraggBilly BraggStephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
- "The Healing Hymn" – The ShakersThe ShakersThe Shakers are the Shakers religious organization.The Shakers also may refer to:* The Shakers, a.k.a. Bury F.C. football club* The Shakers, Uruguayan band a.k.a. Los Shakers...
- "Pearly Blues" – Roger ManningRoger ManningRoger Manning is a New York City based singer-songwriter who plays an aggressive acoustic style of music.He was also host of the short-lived syndicated radio program "Soho Natural Sessions" ....
- "Boogieman" – Victoria WilliamsVictoria WilliamsVictoria Williams is an American singer-songwriter and musician, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, although she has resided in Southern California throughout her musical career. She is noted for her descriptive songwriting talent, which she has used to immerse the listener of her songs into a...
- "Down in the Milltown" – John GorkaJohn GorkaJohn Gorka is a contemporary American folk musician. In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine called him "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what has been dubbed the New Folk Movement."-Biography:...
- "Stranded" – Shawn ColvinShawn ColvinShawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
- "Bastard Son" – John Wesley HardingJohn Wesley Harding (singer)Wesley Stace is a folk/pop singer-songwriter and author who goes by the stage name John Wesley Harding. He has called his style of music folk noir and gangsta folk...
- "Love at the Five and Dime" – Nanci GriffithNanci GriffithNanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
- "Shipwrecked at the Stable Door" – Bruce CockburnBruce CockburnBruce Douglas Cockburn OC is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His most recent album was released in March 2011. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.-Biography:...
- "Rags of Flowers" (written by John LombardoJohn LombardoJohn Lombardo was one of the founding members of the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs and one of the band's most influential members, writing much of its early material.- Biography :...
/Mary RamseyMary RamseyMary Ramsey , currently a resident of Buffalo, NY is a member of folk duo John & Mary and lead singer for alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs.- Biography :...
) – John & MaryJohn & MaryJohn & Mary is a U.S. based folk music duo featuring John Lombardo and Mary Ramsey who have had a long-time close association with alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs.-1989-1993:... - "Passionate KissesPassionate Kisses"Passionate Kisses" is a Grammy winning song penned by the American Alt Country performer Lucinda Williams and made famous by the 1993 single version by Mary Chapin Carpenter.-Original Release:...
" – Lucinda WilliamsLucinda WilliamsLucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...