Black History Month: The Origins and Rebirth of African-American Folk Music

Most casual music listeners see folk music as the domain of early European music stemming from traveling bards and the predominantly white singer songwriter movement of the 60s and 70s. It is true that these are major signposts in folk music, but it neglects the rich tradition of African-American folk music and modern folk artists re-energising the genre. For a more in depth look at African-American folk music, check out this article by Adam Bradley. Here are some foundational and modern African-American folk artists to check out.

Elizabeth Cotton: I Don’t Love Nobody

This foundational folk artist pioneered a new form of guitar picking, laid the foundation of folk music in America and in 1984 she won a Grammy at 90 years old. On I Don’t Love Nobody you can hear her unique guitar picking style and how she blends aspects of both folk and blues in her music.

Dom Flemons: Too Long (I’ve Been Gone)

Don is a modern folk / blues musician who is breathing new life into traditional folk tracks. He brings his acoustic guitar and banjo to life on both blues influenced tracks and heartfelt emotional storytelling, like in this track. Dom harkens back to an early folk tradition of personal storytelling about the land and about his connection to his community.

Odetta: Hit or Miss

Possibly the most well known artist on this list, Odetta brought her folk / gospel vibe to the thriving singer songwriter / folk scene of the late 60s – early 70s. A lot of her music is iconic and as an artist she is grossly underrated. She takes on themes of feminism, racial injustice, societal racism and class. She is an excellent artist who does not get enough credit.

Richie Havens: Freedom

A folk icon in the late 60s and 70s, Richie Havens tackled themes of racial injustice, civil rights and government corruption. His raw vocal and willingness to stretch the genre into new psychedelic areas made him a pioneer. This live version of Freedom showcases everything that made Richie Havens electric and compelling.

Gil Scott Heron: Gun

Gil Scott Heron is an artist who defies definition. Part performance artist, part beat poet, part funk singer and part folk pioneer Gil Scott Heron told the stories of marginalised people in his city. Much like Dylan, he spoke about how government structures marginalised people without a voice and worked to keep them down. Like in Gun he sings about how African-Americans were fighting to survive in cities, while the rest of the world looked the other way. Just an amazing artist.

Kara Jackson: Pawnshop

Jackson released her acclaimed record Why Does the Earth Give us People to Love last year, which was part modern folk and part poetry. She is out of the Joni Mitchell singer songwriter school of writing about the everyday and personal stories of love to touch on wider feminist and societal themes. Pawnshop is a good example of that in how she sings about how hard it is for her to love within a world of objectification.