timeline of folk music

 FOLK MUSIC TIMELINE

Pre-20th Century-

• Folk music develops as an oral tradition, with ballads, work songs, and storytelling.

• British, Irish, and European folk influences shape early American folk music.

Early 20th Century-

• The Carter Family and Lead Belly popularize folk recordings.

• Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger use folk music for activism.

1950s-1960s-

• The Weavers, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan bring folk to the mainstream.

• 1965: Simon and Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence is remixed with electric elements and becomes a hit, blending folk with pop and rock.

• Simon & Garfunkel's Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966) and Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970) are released.

1970s-1990s-

• Folk-rock thrives with Joni Mitchell, CSNY, and Fairport Convention.

• Paul Simon’s Graceland (1986) globalises folk.

• Simon & Garfunkel reunite for tours in the ’80s and ’90s.

2000s-Present-

• Indie-folk emerges (Iron & Wine, Fleet Foxes, Sufjan Stevens).

• Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers bring folk-pop into the mainstream.