Joan Baez-60's Project

Hello, I’m Joan Baez. I was born on January 9, 1941, and I am currently 72 years old. I originate as a notable folk songrwriter/artist from the “Counter Culture” Era of the 1960’s. Initially, “folk music” drew form some of the black musical traditons of the South, from the white country music of Appalachia. The folk-music tradition expanded to include the song styles - particularly the blues - of Southern blacks, and to the extents of Native American pow-pow, Mexican-American tejano, and Cajun zydeco musics. Folk music has been traditionally sung in churches, on front porches, in the fields and other workplaces, while rocking children to sleep, and at parties. The purpose of folk music has always been to express ethnic cultures, and to communicate the hopes, sorrows and convictions of ordinary people's daily lives. Although, I have helped turn the meaning of folk music into a more intimate, acoustic style, reflecting the changing times in America and the world during the 1960’s.
When I was real young, a friend of my father’s gave me a ukulele, which lead me to learn four chords and I ended up learning how to play the rhythm and blues. Although my parents held the preconceived notion that music would lead me to drug addiction, I proved them otherwise. When I was 8, at my aunt's request, I attended a concert by “Popular Front” folk musician Pete Seeger, and found myself strongly moved by his music to the point that I began performing his songs publicly. My first public performance was in Saratoga, California, for a youth group from Temple Beth Jacob, a Redwood City, California, congregation. In 1957, I bought my first Gibson acoustic guitar.
In 1958, my father accepted a faculty position at MIT, and moved my family to Massachusetts. At that time, it was within the center of the up-and-coming folk-music scene, and I began performing near home in Boston and nearby Cambridge. I also performed in clubs, and attended Boston University for about six weeks, where