Folk Music 101

By Kim Ruehl, About.com Guide to Folk Music

Learn more about the history of American folk music. Get all the info you need about the artists and styles that have influenced the evolution of folk music, and find out what songs and albums are essential to your collection.

1. American Folk Music History
2. Folk Songs 101
3. Essential Songs, Albums, and Artists

4. Classic Protest Music
5. New Protest Music
6. The Environment, Labor and Civil Rights

American Folk Music History

American folk music has been around since the country was founded. Learn more about the history of folk music from the time it was first recorded, until now.

• Folk Music History
• African-American Folk Music History
• Basic Intro to Folk Music
• American Folk Music Timeline
• All About the 1960s Folk Revival

Folk Songs 101

Learn more about some of the most notable, historic, and memorable American folk songs. Find out what inspired their creation, and how their meaning has changed over time.

• "Blowin' in the Wind"
• "Goodnight Irene"
• "I've Been Working on the Railroad"
• "Oh! Susanna"
• "Scarborough Fair"

• "Star Spangled Banner"
• "This Land is Your Land"
• "We Shall Overcome"
• "Yankee Doodle"

Essential Songs, Albums, and Artists

Find out what songs, albums, and artists you want to have in your personal folk music collection.

• Best Folk Songs of 2008
• Best Songs of the 1960s Folk Revival
• Best Folk CDs of 2006
• Best Folk CDs of 2007
• Best Folk CDs of 2008

• Essential Folk Music CDs
• Best Unknown Folk Artists
• Best Political Folksingers
• Best Folk Artists of All Time
• Best Bluegrass Artists

Classic Protest Music

Here are some of the most notable protest and political singers in American folk music.

• All About Protest Music
• Classic Anti-War Protest Songs
• Best Protest and Political Singers
• Why Protest Music Works
• Odetta
• Pete Seeger

• Peter, Paul and Mary
• Joan Baez
• Phil Ochs
• Utah Phillips
• Holly Near
• Woody Guthrie

New Protest Music

Protest music didn't die at the end of the 1960s. Here are some of the new protest singers on the scene.

• Songs Protesting the Iraq War
• Best New Protest Songs
• Ani DiFranco
• Ben Harper
• Dan Bern

• Michael Franti
• Bruce Springsteen - 'We Shall Overcome'
• Neil Young - 'Living With War'
• Sheryl Crow - 'Detours'
• Spook Handy - 'Whatcha Gonna Do?'

The Environment, Labor and Civil Rights

Not all political and protest music speaks out against a war. Here are some recommended songs, artists and albums dealing with the environment, labor issues and civil rights.

• Civil Rights Songs
• Environmentalist Folk Songs
• Folksingers and the Civil Rights Movement

• Immigrants' Movement and Folk Music
• Labor Songs
• "We Shall Overome"