The artists in the Fast Folk scene included John Gorka, Shawn Colvin, Nanci Griffith, and many more. Some of these artists would spend the 80s mostly under the radar, before emerging in the late 80s–early 90s, around the time that the Seattle grunge scene took over mainstream radio.
Nonetheless, a NYC-based songwriter named Suzanne Vega, who was a regular at the Fast Folk, managed to penetrate the synth-pop of the 80s when she released a social-conscience single about domestic violence called "Luka." The song was part of Vega's second album, and its arrangement was considerably sparse in comparison to the other songs that were popular at the same time, but the song became a huge hit for the artist and, for a brief moment in the 80s, there was speculation about the return of contemporary folk music to the realm of "cool."
Around this time, Paul Simon won a wave of Grammy awards with his 1985 release Graceland, which incorporated the pop-rock of the day, his folk roots, and the African rhythms of then obscure Ladysmith Black Mambazo. James Taylor continued to enjoy considerable popularity, as well, while the end of the decade saw artists like Tracy Chapman cutting through the fluff on pop radio to sing about important social issues.
Meanwhile, for the most part, folk singer/songwriters were largely under the radar during this decade, though a few folk-pop acts enjoyed limited success.
