List of folk rock artists

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

All of the performers listed here had or have both significant folk elements and significant rock elements in their music.

Contents

[edit] Singer-songwriters

A number of singer-songwriters are associated strongly with folk rock. Among those who started out strongly identified with folk music but later incorporated rock influences in their music, or vice versa, are:


In addition, others (usually of at least a slightly younger generation) seem to have mixed both elements from the outset of their careers:

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon, as one half of Simon & Garfunkel, was a transitional figure between a Dylanesque singer-songwriter and the folk rock vocal sound.

Canadian singer-songwriter Nathan Bishop performs both folk and rock instrumentation and leans on both the lyrical and narrative traditions in his songs.

[edit] 1960s North American folk rock vocal groups

These bands were associated with original North American "folk rock" sound, drawing to some extent on traditional folk music, but to a greater extent on the work of folk-influenced contemporary songwriters, such as Bob Dylan or the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan.

[edit] Other U.S. bands of this era

There were also significant folk influences in the music of several other North American bands of this period who were not generally identified with the folk rock label.

[edit] British and Irish folk rock

The British and Irish folk rock (or "electric folk") sound started out as an offshoot of the North American. Fairport Convention and Pentangle, were almost certainly the seminal bands of this movement. Fairport first releases had a sound very close to that of North American folk rock, but began deliberately incorporating elements from the folk music of the British Isles in short order. Pentangle was more electic, and remained acoustic longer. Several bands in Brittany were also closely associated with this musical movement following the work of Alan Stivell.

Unrelated to this movement are a few British acts of the mid-1960s whose music was based on or paralleled US folk rock of the time, such as Chad and Jeremy, Peter and Gordon, The Searchers or Marianne Faithfull.

Van Morrison, although from rock and roll, released some folk-rock style tracks, always in an idiosyncratic mode. His recent music (since the late 1990s) is more akin to folk-rock, especially in his collaborations with The Chieftains.

The Incredible String Band began doing straight folk before heading off into experimental folk, then folk rock and finally in other musical directions. Band member Robin Williamson has often returned to this style of music.

All of the above were active in the late 1960s or early 1970s. A clearly related sound can be found in Irish music of a slightly later period.

A similar impulse (but a very different sound) can be found in bands who mix traditional Irish music with punk rock. The prototype of this approach might be Thin Lizzy's heavy-metal-inspired 1973 version of "Whiskey in the Jar"

A recent book, "Electric Folk" by Britta Sweers (2005) concentrates on Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. Another recent book "Irish Folk, Trad and Blues: A Secret History" by Colin Harper (2005) covers Horslips, The Pogues, Planxty and others.

Present folk rock includes bands such as Aaron Sprinkle, The Tossers, The River Bends, One Star Hotel, Tegan & Sara, Bill Mallonee, The Lost Dogs, Wilco, Son Volt, Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers, The Jayhawks, David Wolfenberger, Over the Rhine, The Greencards, Denison Witmer and many more.

[edit] Canadian folk rock

Canadian folk rock is particularly, although not exclusively, associated with Celtic folk traditions. Bands such as Figgy Duff, Wonderful Grand Band and Spirit of the West were early pioneers in the Canadian tradition of Celtic-influenced rock, and were later followed by acts such as Crash Test Dummies, Great Big Sea, The Mahones, The Dukhs, Jimmy George, Rawlins Cross, Captain Tractor, Mudmen and Celtae.

Other notable Canadian folk rock acts include The Band, The Grapes of Wrath, Lava Hay, The Waltons, Kashtin and Beau Dommage, as well as singer-songwriters such as Gordon Lightfoot.

[edit] Other

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../l/i/s/List_of_folk_rock_artists.html"