Where have all the folk singers gone?
Yesterday’s passing of Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary fame saddened me. I know she had been sick for some time now so I am glad her suffering at least is at an end now. Having witnessed several family members waste away from cancer, my heart-felt sympathies go out to her family and friends.
She was an accomplished singer and songwriter and I enjoyed many of her songs, some of the better ones never getting any airplay even when they were new. There are plenty of tribute blog posts and obituaries out there so I won’t contribute to that; besides I doubt I could do that and keep a dry eye.
Her death was a pointed reminder to me of something that has been bothering me for several years now: Where have all the folk singers gone? Where are the new Bob Dylans, the latest Peter, Paul and Mary? Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a rant against modern music (although I still firmly believe that “Rap Music” was a typo and someone omitted an initial “C” from the first record label). To quote Bob Seger, “Today’s music ain’t got the same soul.”
Nowhere in today’s music landscape do you see a Woody Guthrie, or a Pete Seeger standing tall. These people did more than just make music, they raised our social consciousness and drew attention to issues of the day. They became a rallying point for social change, and more importantly helped bring that change about. In the ’60′s and early ’70′s you could see them leading marches and protests and having (for the most part) a positive effect on the country, and indeed, the world.
I don’t know if the era of the folk singer ended and I just missed the memo, or if it still exists but receives so little media coverage it might as well have ended. Today’s “message” songs seem to more about personal problems and revenge rather than asking how many roads must a man walk down.
I think that probably is the crux of the problem today. We’re so self-absorbed and disaffected by modern society that producing a “folk singer” has become impossible. The conditions and morals necessary to instill the sense of community and caring no longer exist for the bulk of the population. And those that do possess those qualities either get them beaten down early on or learn to keep it to themselves in order to fit in. I suspect, that even if you could find a “modern” folk singer you wouldn’t find a record label today willing to back a project like Sounds of Silence or In the Wind.
And that really is too bad, because I think without the folk singers we’ve lost some part of our society that made it a better place to live.
Where have all the folk singers gone?
Long time passing.
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