Yesterday I chose a song by the Byrds and this got me listening to some folk music. I have always loved folk music and that has always been a main staple of my guitar playing (although I cannot say I play that much anymore). There are and have been many great folk singers and folk music was a major influence on singer/songwriters like Bruce Springsteen and Paul Simon.
I think my favorite folk group has always been Peter, Paul and Mary. They formed in 1961 as an attempt to create a folk “supergroup” and they were a major success. Except for a few years in the early 1970s, they have been performing together ever since.
They only had one #1 hit with John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane“, but my favorite song of theres and perhaps their greatest song is Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind.” Here is a famous clip of them singing at the 1971 war protest rally in Washington DC. They sang “Blowin’ in the Wind and (joined by John Denver) the chorus of John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance.”
Enjoy
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8U6Oh9uSY8&hl=en]