Joan Baez

Biography

Joan Chandos Baez was born on January 9, 1941, in Staten Island, New York, to Albert Baez, a physicist, and Joan Baez Sr. The family moved frequently due to her father's work, including time in Baghdad, Iraq, before settling in California and later Massachusetts. Baez developed an early interest in music, learning the ukulele and singing in choirs, and was drawn to folk music through visits to Cambridge coffeehouses after her family relocated to Belmont in 1958. She briefly attended Boston University but dropped out to pursue performing, starting regular gigs at Club 47 in 1959 and gaining breakthrough exposure at the Newport Folk Festival that year, invited onstage by Bob Gibson.[1][2][4][5]

Fun Facts

• Baez boycotted ABC-TV's Hootenanny in 1963 in protest of their blacklisting of Pete Seeger due to his political activism.[2]
• She sang 'We Shall Overcome' before 250,000 people at the 1963 March on Washington, just before Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech.[2][5]
• Her family lived in Baghdad, Iraq, when she was 10, as her father worked there.[6]
• Baez's 1960 debut album and first three releases achieved gold status, with 13 of her Vanguard albums reaching Billboard's top 100 pop chart.[4]

Associated Acts

• The Conspirators

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Pete Seeger - early social justice advocate influence (inspired protest songs and activism) [1950s-1960s]
• Odetta - early musical influence met at Gate of Horn (folk vocal style) [1959]
• Harry Belafonte - early social justice and musical influence (folk interpretations) [1950s-1960s]
• Bob Gibson - invited her to debut at Newport Folk Festival (Newport performance 1959) [1959]

Key Collaborators

• Bob Dylan - joint tours and shared bills, popularized his early work (1965 U.S. tour, Any Day Now album (1967), Newport 1963) [1963-1965]
• Bill Wood - early performing partner (Folksingers 'Round Harvard Square album) [1959]
• Ted Alevizos - early recording collaborator (Folksingers 'Round Harvard Square album) [1959]

Artists Influenced

• The Animals - adopted her traditional song arrangements (House of the Rising Sun) [1960s]
• The Byrds - covered her traditional songs (John Riley) [1960s]
• Led Zeppelin - adapted her folk arrangements (Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You) [1960s]
• Grateful Dead - performed her traditional songs (Jackaroe) [1960s]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia
• MusicBrainz

Tags: #2008-universal-fire-victim, #acoustic, #american