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Description of Political Folk & Protest Songs

 
Folk music quite often takes on the establishment or espouses a certain political agenda. In the 1960s, artists such as Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs recorded blistering indictments of cultural and political forces; Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" and Ochs' "I Ain't Marching Anymore" are two of the most representative songs, both in terms of popularity and critical acclaim. Today, artists like the comic folk-poet Billy Bragg and the do-it-yourself icon Ani Difranco continue to address society's ills through clever lyrics and an acoustic guitar.
 

Political Folk & Protest Songs Key Tracks

 
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1. This Land Is Your Land Pete Seeger
2. Mama's Trippin' Ben Harper
3. New Milk Cow Blues Josh White
4. Hobo's Lullaby Pete Seeger
5. You Are The Song Arlo Guthrie
 

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Political Folk & Protest Songs Key Artists

 
Arlo Guthrie

Arlo (son of Woody) gave
folk music a playful, hippie
twist with epic narratives
("Alice's Restaurant") and
social awareness.

Billy Bragg

First inspired, then
disgusted by punk's
quasi-Leftist posturing,
Bragg sang from where
Woodie Guthrie and Phil O...

Blind Alfred Reed

Discovered by Ralph Peer,
Reed was an anachronistic
protest singer and fiddle
player who scorned the
rich folks of the 1920s.

Odetta

Odetta Gordon, the first
black political folk singer,
influenced many others to
pick up an instrument in
melodious protest. After f...

Pete Seeger

Known for his songwriting,
politics and five-string banjo
playing, Seeger has been a
key figure in folk music
since the '30s. Pete Seege...

Phil Ochs

Ochs' songs play like the
soundtrack to the late '60s,
as many reflect America's
disillusionment with the
Vietnam War. Topical pro...

Phranc

This modern folksinger
found her way into the
singer-songwriter scene via
the L.A. hardcore scene of
the 1980s.

The Weavers

Too old for letterman
sweaters, the Weavers
were a clean-cut folk troop
with looks and songs as
square as the Kingston Tri...

Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie is folk music
personified, plain and
simple. Even more than
Dylan, he's the genre's
icon. Guthrie wrote one o...

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