This document provides an overview of American folk traditions from the early 20th century to present day. It discusses the origins and evolution of various regional styles such as Appalachian folk music, cowboy songs, marching bands, blues, and bluegrass. It also outlines the folk revivals of the 1930s-40s led by figures like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and the emergence of popular national styles like country and honky tonk. The document concludes by noting the significant influence of American folk on the British folk music scene and genre in the 1960s.

1. Week 23/2 American Folk
Traditions
n Final essay end of term.
n Test.
n Final Workshop – Folk.

2. North American Folk Music
n Long tradition of folk music of the European
populations of North America. Field Holler.
n Seen as often purer in form due to isolation
than European traditions. Thus Cecil Sharpe
went to the Appalachians (1916-18) to hear
traditional English ballads as they might have
been performed in pre-industrial Britain.
n Published his English Folk Songs from the
Southern Appalachians (1919). E.g Streets
of Laredo and The unfortunate Rake

3. Early 20th century American
Revival
n In response to what was happening in
Britain under Cecil Sharp.
n National organisations for preserving
song and dance traditions –
overwhelming white to begin with and
about saving songs.
n By 1920s lots of competing
organisations.
n Library of Congress archive.

4. Music of Appalachian Mountains
n Dance tunes of early settlers.
n Family harmony singing
n A musical fossil.
n Dialect, speech and song all relate to
pre-19th century Britain.
n Instruments - fiddle, dulcimer, guitar and
mandolin. E.g Jenny Lind Polka - from
Virginia 1851/Jonny Get Your Hair Cut
n Artists - Doc Watson, Jean Ritchie

5. Jenny Lind Polka

6. Vaudeville and Music Hall
Entertainmentn Minstrel Shows the most common factor.
n Spirituals.
n Development of banjo and later guitar styles.
n All developed in imitation of black genres.
n Eg 1843 De Boatmen’s
n Dance

7. Cowboy Songs
n Both aurally transmitted and manufactured by
songwriters.
n Songs of the trials and troubles of the
frontiers folk of the 19th century.
n Developed into parlour music traditions
n Archive collection of Folk Song at the Library
of Congress - gave rise to famous anthology
Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads by
John Lomax 1910.

8. Marching Bands
n A great 19th century tradition across
white America.
n Belonging to societies and clubs that
would field a marching band.
n On gala days the bands would march
though town in costume.
n Philip Souza’s Marches a world wide
phenomena.

9. Black Traditions
n Culminated in the Blues. Across black
America in many forms.
n Best known through early recordings of
Delta Blues artists.
n Robert Johnson and Mississippi John
Hurt.
n Alternative tradition of Leadbelly.

10. White Folk Traditions
n With the development of radio and recording the
regional styles cohered around the Country Style and
country music centred on Nashville, Tennesse.
n Huge national following after its live broadcasts from
the Grand ole’ Opre every Saturday night.
n Arguable the distinctive style of American popular
music – and the correlate of Blues and Jazz.
n Characterised by ballads of great sadness and
personal misery and dance music.
n While the blues style is at the root of Global popular
music today – country music does not export so
easily.

11. 1930s and 40s
n Experience of the depression produced
a generation of folk singers with a
political edge and strong social
message.
n Pete Seger, Woody Guthrie,

12. Woody Guthrie

13. Iconic Figure for America Folk

14. Clancy Brothers – Irish American
influence.

15. New Lost City Ramblers – Early
professional popular folk group –
many recordings.

16. With Pete Seeger

17. Bob Dylan

18. Skifle – Lonnie Donnegan

19. Revivalist Traditions
n Urban songs with politically and socially
relevant messages in the 1930s and 40s.
n Pete Seeger in 1940 formed the Almanac
Singers -
n Woodie Guthrie - commited communist and
activitist.
n The Weavers a 1950s phenomena - hit by
McCarthyism and investigated.
n Lead to 60s singer songwriters - Joan Baez,
Bob Dylan and Arlo Guthrie.

20. Bluegrass
n A style of banjo playing developed in the 30s
and 40s involving very fast finger picking and
exploting the re-entrant tuning of the 5-string
banjo.
n Associated with Earl Scruggs. Become
associated with a style of playing that
involved influence of blues in bent notes but
also fast fingerplucking on guitar and banjo.

21. Earl Scruggs

22. Honky Tonk
n A more aggressive style of urban
‘country’music.
n With amlification and use of electric
guitars and hawayan guitars.
n Up tempo and influenced by early
rhythm and blues.

23. summary
n Many regional styles – e.g. Cajun in
Louisianna;Tex Mex along Southern border;
Eastern European dance forms in prairie
states; etc
n National popular styles dominated by
influence of Blues (including Gospel) and
Country – which came together to cross
ethnic/cultural divides in the 50s and 60s and
provide bases for Global pop style that
developed out Rhythm and Blues and then
Rock.

24. Impact on British Folk Music
n Huge – the influx of American traditions
in the years up to and after 1960 is
great.
n Guitar song writing tradition –
epitomised by Dylan still going to today.
n 1960s folk club movement across
Britain.
n Big cross over with rock - genre of folk
rock.

25. Sources
n New Grove under Americas and
Amerindian
n Charles Hamm, Music in the New World
(Norton, 1983)
n Sarah Lifton, The Listener’s Guide to
Folk Music (1983)