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Articles on Folk music

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Guthrie questioned whether politicians really cared about the public interest – such as the welfare of these veterans demonstrating in front of Congress in 1932. Senate Historical Office

‘Mistaken, misread, misquoted, mislabeled, and mis-spoken’ – what Woody Guthrie wrote about the national debt debate in Congress during the Depression

Folk singer and activist Woody Guthrie actually had thoughts about the national debt – and politicians in general. They’re remarkably apt today.
Some of Guthrie’s greatest champions have had difficulties with the song. Al Aumuller/Library of Congress

The misguided attacks on ‘This Land Is Your Land’

Woody Guthrie’s anthem has become a rallying cry for immigrants. But did he really have a ‘blind spot’ for Native Americans, as some have claimed?
Robert Plant, the lead singer of Led Zeppelin, performs in Hamburg, Germany in 1973. Heinrich Klaffs

Plagiarists or innovators? The Led Zeppelin paradox endures

How can a band so slavishly derivative – and sometimes downright plagiaristic – be also considered radically innovative and influential?
Festival-goers relaxing at the ‘Woodfordia’ sign at the Woodford Folk Festival in 2013. Marty Ollman/AAP

How folk music went from daggy to cool

Folk’s emphasis on authenticity and community has renewed appeal in today’s beard-friendly, organic-appreciating culture.
Through his music, Lead Belly rejected the stereotype that country music was the domain of white artists, while blues music was reserved for blacks. Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives

Lead Belly’s music defied racial categorization

Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection depicts the fully-formed artist – a blues musician, yes, but also a performer of string-band, country and pop songs.
The real value of Lomax’s work is only now becoming clear. Wikimedia Commons

Sounding the Global Jukebox: we owe Alan Lomax a debt of thanks

If Alan Lomax were still alive, he would turn 100 Saturday. His name might not be as familiar as some other giants of folk music in the 20th century (such as Pete Seeger). But if you listen to folk or…

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