Folk Country Rock
tagStarted 1968Peak 1968-1974Last big hit 1974
Located in 1 route
Where folk-rock's chiming 12-string Rickenbackers and high tenor harmonies meet country's pedal steel and honky-tonk shuffle. Acoustic-led, melody-rich and lyrical, it favors traditional balladry, modal folk changes and bluegrass picking over electric muscle. Reverent, pastoral, often wistful, with vocal blends front and center.
History
Emerged in 1968 as folk-rockers, chiefly the Byrds with Sweetheart of the Rodeo, fused Greenwich Village folk craft with Nashville and Bakersfield idioms. Gene Clark, Michael Nesmith and the Dillards deepened the strain, while Canadian folk duo Ian & Sylvia's Great Speckled Bird carried it north. It seeded the broader country-rock boom that followed.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- You Ain't Goin' Nowhere — The ByrdsSpotifyYouTube
- Hickory Wind — The ByrdsSpotifyYouTube
- Train Leaves Here This Morning — Gene ClarkSpotifyYouTube
- Joanne — Michael NesmithSpotifyYouTube
- Some of Shelly's Blues — The Nitty Gritty Dirt BandSpotifyYouTube
- Mr. Bojangles — The Nitty Gritty Dirt BandSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hickory_Wind
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_South_(album)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fantastic_Expedition_of_Dillard_%26_Clark
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Charlie_%26_His_Dog_Teddy