Folk

Although the original meaning of the term “folk music” was synonymous with “traditional music”, the term is now used to describe a particular kind of popular music that is based on traditional music, often performed by professional musicians.

During the twentieth century, a crucial change in the history of folk music began. Folk material came to be adopted by artists who marketed themselves more widely alongside other popular artists. They performed traditional music and songs in amplified concerts and disseminated their work by recordings and broadcasting. In other words, a new genre of popular music had arisen. This genre was linked by nostalgia and imitation to the original traditions of folk music as it was sung by ordinary people. However, as a popular genre it quickly evolved to be quite different from its original roots.

In American culture, folk music refers to the American folk music revival, music exemplified by such musicians as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, and Joan Baez, who popularized and encouraged the lyrical style in the 1950s and 1960s.

This description is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses materials from the Wikipedia article "Folk music".