10 Famous Folk Singers of All Time
Folk singers, with their evocative storytelling and soulful melodies, have preserved traditional music but also infused it with contemporary relevance. The songs by some of the famous folk singers often reflect the struggles, joys, and everyday lives of ordinary people, resonating across generations.
This comprehensive guide delves into the lives and careers of some of the most famous folk singers, exploring how their unique backgrounds, personal experiences, and unwavering dedication to their craft have shaped the genre.
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List of Famous Folk Singers
1: Leonard Cohen
Date of Birth: September 21, 1934, Quebec, Canada
Date of Death: November 7, 2016, California, US
Best Songs:
- Hallelujah
- Suzanne
- Bird on a Wire
- Famous Blue Raincoat
- Everybody Knows
Accolades:
- Genie Award (1986)
- Grammy Award (2018)
- Prince of Asturias Award (2011)
Leonard Cohen, a Canadian artist, celebrated for his popular folk songs, made a lasting impact on the music industry. Renowned for timeless classics such as “Suzanne,” “Hallelujah,” and “Anthem,” Cohen’s debut with “Hallelujah” set him apart in the music industry and influenced countless musicians and writers.
Albums like The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967), Songs from a Room (1969), and Songs of Love and Hate (1971) showcased his exceptional ability to craft intricate narratives and melancholic ballads, solidifying his place as a masterful storyteller and a profound musical talent.
2: Bob Dylan
Date of Birth: May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, US
Best Songs:
- Like a Rolling Stone
- A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
- Tangled Up in Blue
- Just Like a Woman
- All Along the Watchtower
Accolades:
- GMA Dove Awards (1980)
- Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards (2000)
- Academy Award, USA (2001)
- Golden Globes, USA (2001)
- Prince of Asturias Awards (2007)
- Grammy Award (2007)
- Nobel Prize for Literature (2016)
Bob Dylan, born in a small, close-knit Jewish community, developed a passion for music, influenced by blues, country, and rock and roll. He formed several bands during his school time and shifted focus from rock and roll to American folk music while attending the University of Minnesota.
Being known as the “Shakespeare of his generation,” he influenced notable artists, including “The Beatles”. His debut was in the album “Bob Dylan” released in 1962.
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Over the course of his career, Dyaln wrote over 500 songs, recorded by more than 2,000 artists. He also performed globally and set a high standard for lyric writing. Recognized as a leading voice in folk and rock music scenes, he hosted the weekly satellite radio show “Theme Time Radio Hour” starting in 2006. His album Modern Times (2006) won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
3: Joni Mitchell
Date of Birth: November 7, 1943, Alberta, Canada
Best Songs:
- Both Sides Now
- River
- A Case Of You
- Woodstock
- Big Yellow Taxi
Accolades:
- ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards (2004)
- Grammy Award (2024, 2022, 2016, 2008)
- The Kennedy Center Honors (2021)
- Juno Awards (2008)
- Canada’s Walk of Fame (2000)
Joni Mitchell, a Canadian-American singer and songwriter, had a humble beginning. Despite studying commercial art at Alberta College of Art in Calgary, she found the academic environment stifling her creativity. She started her musical journey by performing in small nightclubs in Saskatoon and throughout western Canada. Her move to Toronto in 1964 marked a significant step in her career, where she performed at local folk clubs and coffeehouses. Her debut album, “Song to a Seagull,” released after she signed with Reprise Records, was a testament to her perseverance and passion for music.
Rolling Stone recognized her as “one of the greatest songwriters ever” and AllMusic described her as “the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century.”
Mitchell released “Joni Mitchell at Newport,” a live album of the Newport Folk Festival performance, which won a Grammy for Best Folk Album in 2024. She continues to resonate with audiences, strengthening her legacy as one of the most famous folk singers.
4: Elizabeth Cotten
Date of Birth: January 5, 1893, North Carolina, U.S.
Date of Death: June 29, 1987, New York, U.S.
Best Songs:
- Freight Train
- Wilsong Rag
- Spanish Flang Dang” and “A Jig
- Going Down The Road Feeling Bad
- Vestapol
Accolades:
- Grammy Awards (1985)
- National Heritage Fellowship (1984)
- Inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2022)
Elizabeth Cotten, an American folk and blues musician, was a self-taught guitarist from a young age. She developed a distinctive technique known as “Cotton picking,” where she played bass lines with her fingers and melody with her thumb. She made her debut in “Negro Folk Songs and Tunes” (1957), which was reissued as “Freight Train and Other North Carolina Folk Songs” in 1989.
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Cotten’s notable albums include Shake Sugaree (1967), When I’m Gone (1979), and Elizabeth Cotten Live (1985). She performed at major folk festivals, including the Newport Folk Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and the Smithsonian Festival.
5: Lal Waterson
Date of Birth: February 15, 1943, East Riding of Yorkshire, England
Date of Death: September 4, 1998, Robin Hood’s Bay
Best Songs:
- Fine Horseman
- Child Among The Weeds
- Red Wine And Promises
- The Welcome Sailor
- Meeting Is A Pleasure
Lal Waterson started singing with her siblings and cousin John Harrison in the 1950s. She opened their own folk club in a pub in Hull. Her most influential albums include “Bright Phoebus” (1972) with brother Mike Waterson, featuring backing by Martin Carthy, Ashley Hutchings, and Richard Thompson. Her songs have been performed by artists like June Tabor, Billy Bragg, The Fatima Mansions, Lady Maisery, and The Unthanks.
While recording “Bed of Roses” with her son Oliver Knight, she passed away due to cancer on September 4, 1998; the album was released posthumously. Waterson’s music has been praised for its evocative lyrics and unexpected melodic twists. Despite her relatively short life, she left a significant body of work that continues to inspire generations and makes her among the famous folk singers.
6: Laura Marling
Date of Birth: February 1, 1990, Hampshire, England, UK
Best Songs:
- What He Wrote
- Ghosts
- Devil’s Spoke
- Held Down
- A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall
Accolades:
- National Film Challenge, USA (2013)
- Grammy Award (2021 Nominee)
- Brit Awards (2016 Nominee)
Laura Marling was born to a music teacher mother and a baronet father who owned a recording studio. So, she learned guitar at an early age and left school before completing her AS levels to pursue music. Marling’s first musical debut was “Alas, I CanNot Swim” in 2008, for which she was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. She won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist in 2011.
Marling’s unique voice and introspective songwriting made her rise in the British folk scene. Her songwriting often explores sex, relationships, modern womanhood, and trauma. Known for her poetic and enigmatic lyrics, Marling often leaves emotional interpretations to the listener.
7: Luke Kelly
Date of Birth: November 17, 1940, Dublin, Ireland
Date of Death: January 30, 1984, Dublin, Ireland
Best Songs:
- Raglan Road
- The Town I Loved So Well
- Song For Ireland
- Scorn Not His Simplicity
- The Night Visiting Song
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Luke Kelly, an Irish folk singer, was born in Dublin in 1940. He left school at thirteen, a decision influenced by his family’s financial struggles and his early passion for music. After a few years of odd jobbing, he immigrated to England in 1958. He first discovered a folk club at the Bridge Hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne in early 1960. In the 1960s, he co-founded The Dubliners in 1962, a band that became synonymous with Irish folk music. He is known for his classics like “The Wild Rover,” “The Monto,” “Whiskey in the Jar,” and “Seven Drunken Nights“.
Kelly was considered one of Ireland’s greatest folk singers. He played a crucial role in preserving traditional Scottish and Canadian folk songs. His untimely death in 1984, due to a brain tumor, was a significant loss to the folk music industry.
8: Ian Campbell
Date of Birth: June 10, 1933
Date of Death: November 24, 2012
Best Songs:
- You Will Be Mine
- Motherhood Looks Good on You
- Nothing Wrong
- To Keep You Warm
- Easy to Fall For
Accolades:
- AGI Medal in Memory (2008)
Scottish folk singer Ian Campbell was initially influenced by Birmingham Marxist writer George Thomson. He then joined the choir of the Workers’ Music Association. In the mid-1950s, he formed the Clarion Skiffle Group with his younger sister Lorna and renamed it Ian Campbell Folk Group. His first live folk recording was “Ceilidh At The Crown, ” which was recorded in 1962 at their regular venue, the Crown Inn, Birmingham.
Campbell performed at well-known venues, including the Royal Albert Hall in London. After his demise in 2012, he was remembered as a major figure in the British folk revival of the 20th century, influencing generations of folk singers.
9: Siân James
Date of Birth: December 24, 1961
Best Songs:
- Evening player
- Y Llyn
- Cymun
- Y Was God
- Ben Broga
Accolades:
- Honorary Fellow of the University of Bangor
Sian James is a Welsh traditional folk singer who participated in local eisteddfodau from an early age, playing piano, violin, and harp. She attended Llanfair Caereinion High School and began composing and arranging traditional Welsh music as a student. She has recorded for Sain and BBC Records and, in the 2000s, recorded for her label, Bos, at her home studio in Llanerfyl.
James is recognized as one of Wales’s finest and most adventurous multi-instrumentalists. Despite her passion for folk songs, she wrote several novels and was awarded “Honorary Fellow of the University of Bangor” for her work in Welsh culture.
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10: Joan Baez
Date of Birth: January 9, 1941, New York City, U.S.
Best Songs:
- There But For Fortune
- In The Quiet Morning
- Amazing Grace
- Oh Freedom
- Birmingham Sunday
Accolades:
- Grammy Awards (2007)
- CinemaEye Honors Award, US (2024)
- The Kennedy Center Honors (2020)
Joan Baez, one of the famous folk singers, grew up singing in local choirs. After graduating from high school in Los Angeles, she moved back east with her family and attended Boston University. Joan began her recording career in 1960 with immediate success. Her first three albums, “Joan Baez,” “Joan Baez, Vol. 2,” and “Joan Baez in Concert,” achieved gold record status.
Initially recognized as a folk singer, her music diversified into folk rock, pop, country, and gospel. Some of her popular songs include “Diamonds & Rust,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” and “We Shall Overcome.”
Joan Baez is known for her contributions to the folk revival and her influence on subsequent generations of musicians. She continued to perform and release music, with notable appearances such as the 50th Newport Folk Festival in 2009.
FAQs
Who was the first folk singer?
There are several folk singers who introduced folk music to the world; those names include Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Jimmie Rogers, and Burl Ives.
Who is the greatest folk singer?
The greatest folk singer was Woody Guthrie.
Who is considered the king of folk music?
Bob Dylan is considered the king of folk music.
Who is the queen of folk music?
Odetta Holmes is the queen of folk music.
Who is the oldest singer to win a Grammy?
In 2011, 97-year-old Pinetop Perkins became the oldest person to win a Grammy.