History of Folk Rock and Popular Music Artists

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the key figures, albums, and events in the history of folk rock, surf rock, and reggae as discussed in the lecture notes.

Woody Guthrie

A folk singer with socialist views who grew up in the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression and wrote "This Land is Your Land" in 1940.

This Land is Your Land

A song written by Woody Guthrie in 1940 as an answer song to "God Bless America" by Irving Berlin.

Bob Dylan

Born Robert Zimmerman, a folk rock artist known as a "poet first, musician second" who electrified folk music at the Newport Folk Festival and won the Nobel Prize for literature.

John Hammond

The talent scout from Columbia Records who signed both Bob Dylan and the duo Simon and Garfunkel.

Pete Seeger

A contemporary of Woody Guthrie who told Bob Dylan he was the voice of his generation but was critical when Dylan transitioned to electric music.

Newport Folk Festival

The venue where Bob Dylan performed in 1964 and 1965; his 1965 performance with an electric guitar sparked significant controversy.

Bringing It Back Home

A Bob Dylan album where one half is electric and the other half is traditional folk.

Highway 61 Revisited

Bob Dylan's album following Bringing It Back Home that was entirely rock.

Medgar Evers

The subject of Dylan's 1963 song "Only a Pawn in Their Game," which showed sympathy for the man who shot him.

DA Pennebaker

The director of the documentary "Don't Look Back" which followed Bob Dylan.

Tom Wilson

The producer who electrified Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence" in 1964 without their knowledge, making it a commercial success.

The Beach Boys

A surf rock band with a clean-cut image that signed with Capitol Records in 1962 and produced the influential album Pet Sounds.

Pet Sounds

A 1966 Beach Boys album created by Brian Wilson as an answer to the Beatles' Rubber Soul.

Billy Joel

A Bronx-born musician who played in bands such as The Hassles and Attila before finding success as a singer-songwriter with hits like "Piano Man."

Cold Spring Harbor

Billy Joel's 1971 debut solo album produced by Artie Ripp, which featured a mastering error that made it sound too fast and high.

The Wailers

A Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae band formed in 1963 with founding members Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.

Zimbabwe

A song performed by Bob Marley and The Wailers at Zimbabwe's 1980 independence ceremony.