Best Folk Music Artists of All Time

One of Woody Guthrie's most dedicated proteges, Ramblin' Jack earned his reputation as a tall tale teller and folksinger. He traveled with Guthrie for a half-decade, and has since recorded 50 albums. The film The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack was made about his life.

Richard Shindell started working in music with the Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band (with fellow incredible songwriter John Gorka). Even though he'd been playing music his whole life, Shindell didn't start making waves in the folk world until Joan Baez picked up three of his songs for her 1997 album. Since then, he's become a highly influential songwriter.

Although both Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon have had careers since the duo split up, and although Paul Simon has become a rather influential, prolific songwriter, it's hard to deny the level of artistry they were able to achieve as a pair.

Speaking of proteges, Steve Earle was somewhat of a Townes Van Zandt protege, and has been known to call Townes a better songwriter than Bob Dylan. Earle's brand of country-folk protest music sets him apart from his peers.

In terms of topical and protest songwriting, Tom Paxton is one of the best there is. In the last 40 yars, he's releasd more than 50 records, and has become a rather respected songwriter in the realm of protest song. His classic, "What Did You Learn in School Today?" is one of the best topical tunes about the American educational system.

Singer/songwriter Tom Waits is probably one of the contemporary folk artists most well-respected outside of contemporary folk music. His gritty voice and dark, dirty songs have almost a punk-rock sensibility. He's also become a star of the big screen, lending his talents to more than 50 films.

Townes Van Zandt could be considered one of the best songwriters of all time. Indeed, there aren't a lot of songwriters working these days who don't feel some reverence towards his work. His songs are very deeply personal narratives about life in general, and they've been performed by so many other artists, it's hard to count.

Utah Phillips has made it his life's work to sing the songs and tell the stories of the working class. He frequently pulls from the Wobbly (Industrial Workers of the World) songbook and his live shows are peppered with as much silliness as serious protest songs. He's received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Folk Alliance, and continues to tour nationwide.

The Weavers spun off from the earlier group the Almanac Singers, in which Pete Seeger and Lee Hays were core members. Although this quartet only enjoyed a few years of success, those few years managed to help inspire a generation to turn their eyes and ears toward traditional American folk music. Many have credited the Weavers with helping to fuel the folk revival that followed their success and subsequent blacklisting during the McCarthy era.

It's kind of funny that the Weavers and Woody Guthrie come up last in this alphabetical listing, as they're probably two of the most important artists in the history of the contemporary folk movement in this country. Guthrie wrote thousands of songs in his lifetime, many of which are still being found. Among them were love songs, songs of praise, silly children's songs, songs about nature, and topical protest songs. If any songwriter could be called "prolific" or "influential," those term would certainly apply to Woody Guthrie.