An online music history course with Pete Elman
“Folk music–a bellwether for us in these days of reckoning.”
The folk music that emerged in the 1950’s has lasted 70 years and will last a lot longer. Why? Because of the confluence of people, politics, philosophy and social awareness that came out of the post-war era which ushered in a new age of enlightenment. This course will examine the soundtrack of that period and how folk music became associated with, aligned with and drove social protest movements while being integrated into the larger world of popular music.
Starring: Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Odetta, Harry Belafonte, Kingston Trio, Barbara Dane, Bob Dylan, Paul Robeson, Fred Neil, Tim Hardin, Tim Buckley, Leon Bibb, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, Tom Rush, Josh White, Phil Ochs, Richie Havens, Dave Van Ronk, Elizabeth Cotten, Ian and Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Buffy Ste. Marie, John Stewart, Rhiannon Giddens and others.
This course could not be more relevant or timely. Our country is at a crossroads. The devastation of the pandemic and the accompanying economic meltdown have only served to highlight a much deeper problem; namely, the issue of race and inequality in our society. Somehow, we have yet to come to terms with our 400-year-old twin original sins: the displacement of native peoples and the enslavement and disenfranchisement of African Americans.
Folk music has been there all along to play a role in the consciousness of Americans. As great as it is to be entertained and enriched by music, sometimes it must serve as more. Folk music has always been and will continue to be that bellwether for us in these days of reckoning.
Week one
The early days: sowing the seeds of political protest in a tuneful way: John Lomax, Leadbelly, Carter Family, Paul Robeson, Woody Guthrie, Almanac singers, Pete Seeger, Josh White, Weavers, Harry Belafonte, Leon Bibb
Week two
First ladies of folk: Odetta, Barbara Dane, Carolyn Hester, Mimi Farina, Judy Collins, Sandy Denny, Joan Baez, Elizabeth Cotten.
Week three
The Bard arrives from the North Country: Bob Dylan 1961-65
Week four
NYC in the early 1960’s: Greenwich Village, the folk magazines Broadside and Sing Out, Folkways records, Vanguard records, Jac Holzman and Elektra records, Dave Van Ronk, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, Eric Andersen, Tom Rush, Richard and Mimi Farina, Cisco Houston, Doc Watson.
Week five
Folk groups who made the music accessible: Highwaymen, Limeliters, Brothers Four, Kingston Trio, Peter Paul and Mary, New Lost City Ramblers, Rooftop Singers, Serendipity singers, New Christy Minstrels and others.
Week six
Gone but not forgotten; Late singers from the ‘60’s who pushed the boundaries of folk music: Richie Havens, Fred Neil, Tim Buckley, Tim Hardin, John Stewart, Jesse Winchester, Steve Goodman.
Week seven
The Canadian connection: Buffy St. Marie, Ian and Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen.
Week eight
The second wave; Americana: Kris Kristofferson, Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff Walker, Guy Clark, Lucinda Williams, Nancy Griffith, Gillian Welch, John Prine, Rhiannon Giddens.