An engaging introduction to this popular area, Folk Music: The Basics draws upon the most recent and relevant scholarship available, and provides a concise history of folk music in the US, Canada, and England. Focusing on comparing and contrasting the historical nature of the three aspects of understanding folk music - traditional, local performers and professional collectors - this easy-to-follow text also explores the advent of professional performers in the twentieth century during the so-called 'folk revival'.

Highlighting important performers such as Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and Bob Dylan, the text also includes sidebars that provide further studies of key folk performers, record labels, and related issues - therefore placing the general discussion in context. Examining both the popular and commercial sides of the folk tradition, Folk Music: The Basics is as an excellent introduction to the players, the music, and the styles that make folk music an enduring and well-loved musical style.

About the Author

Ronald Cohen is Emeritus Professor of History at Professor of History at Indiana University Northwest. He is the author of several books on traditional music, including Rainbow Quest: The Folk Music Revival and American Society, 1940-1970 (Univ. of Massachusetts Press, 2002), and the editor of Alan Lomax: Selected Writings, 1934-1997 (Routledge, 2003).