Billy Joel decided he wanted to try writing a modern folk song. "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" came out of that effort.

Bob Dylan's influences in 1964 led to a thematic shift for his album 'Another Side of Bob Dylan.' Here's a look at the ...

Based on a poem sent to Joan Baez by Nina Duschek, “Saigon Bride” is emblematic of ’60s folk music and tells the story of a ...

Brian Fennell first made waves in Seattle pop rock group Barcelona. Now, he's creating minimalist bedroom folk/pop as SYML.

Michael Hurley, the beloved eccentric folk singer whose music became a ... At 22, he recorded his debut album First Songs, which was released in 1964 by Smithsonian Folkways.

For musicians like Rhiannon Giddens and Rissi Palmer, trying to break down doors in the folk and country music scenes has ...

The important pieces [are] about what music is and what it does for a community, what it does for people and what it does for ...

The Godfather of freak folk, Michael Hurley ... was later covered by Cat Power, an American singer. The song was featured on Michael Hurley's Long Journey album, released in 1976.

a 22-year-old Hurley finally recorded his debut album, the aptly titled First Songs, in 1963 for Folkways, the famed label home to Woody Guthrie and Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk ...

He released his debut album, 1964’s “First Songs,” on Folkways, the acclaimed home of Woody Guthrie and curator Harry Smith’s “Anthology of American Folk Music.” Hurley’s talents ...

Folk music pioneer Michael Hurley, known as the "Godfather of freak folk," has died. He was 83. The singer's family shared news of his death on Thursday in a statement posted by Hurley's record ...