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- Judee Sill – Judee Sill (1971) From the outset, Judee Sill’s 1971 self-titled album exists at this wonderfully specific intersection of psychedelia and childlike whimsy.
- Vashti Bunyan – Just Another Diamond Day (1971) Just Another Diamond Day, Vashti Bunyan’s 1971 debut, is a gift. It rings with fuzzy flute and guitar accompanying her whispery lilt.
- Carole King – Tapestry (1971) Perhaps the most commercially successful album on this list, Tapestry is singer-songwriter Carole King’s beloved sophomore album.
- Karen Dalton – It’s So Hard To Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best (1969) Karen Dalton got her start in the now-legendary 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene alongside artists like Fred Neil and Bob Dylan (the latter of whom used to collaborate with her and once called her his favorite singer), and in 1969 she finally immortalized her unmistakable voice on her 10-song debut album It’s So Hard To Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best.
Women of Folk · Playlist · 150 songs · 284.5K likes
- Aretha Franklin
- Janis Joplin
- Tina Turner
- Diana Ross
- Patsy Cline
- Nina Simone
- Cass Elliot
- Etta James
- Nancy Sinatra
- Dusty Springfield
One of the biggest stars of the 60s, Aretha Franklin, was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and started singing gospel music when she was a child. She moved to New York at the age of 18 and released her first album, Aretha, in 1961 with the Ray Bryant Combo. Her self-titled album was a mix of doo-wop, jazz, and R&B. Her hit song Respect was released in 1...
Singer and songwriter Janis Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas. She began singing in high school and continued throughout college. In 1963, she traveled to San Francisco and in 1966, joined the band Big Brother and the Holding Company. She sang with the band for two years before starting her career as a solo artist. Her mix of rock, soul, and bl...
Hailing from Brownsville, Tennessee, Tina Turnerhas been called the Queen of Rock and Roll. She began her career singing alongside Ike Turner before embarking on a solo career. The duo released the song “A Fool in Love” in 1960 as well as “River Deep Mountain High” in 1966. Their 1961 hit “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” was nominated for a Grammy Award ...
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Diana Rossspent her youth in both Alabama and Detroit. When Ross was 15, she joined a singing group called the Primettes. In 1961, this group was renamed as the Supremes and signed on with Motown Records. Ross was the lead vocalist for the group, which achieved great success in the 1960s with a dozen number-one songs. In ...
Born in Winchester, Virginia, Patsy Clinebegan singing as a child at church. At 13, she developed rheumatic fever and was hospitalized with a throat infection. She has said that this changed her vocal capabilities. In 1957, she performed the song Walkin’ After Midnight, which brought her initial success. She released her first album the same year. ...
Born in Tryon, North Carolina, Nina Simone was a legendary female jazz singerwho was big in the 1960s. She released her debut album, Little Girl Blue, in 1959. She continued with a number of hits throughout the rest of the 60s, including the protest anthem “Mississippi Goddam,” which came out in 1964. It was inspired by the murders of Emmett Till, ...
Singer Cass Elliotwas born in Baltimore, Maryland, and began her music career with The Big Three in the early 1960s. She was also a member of the band The Mugwumps. Elliot is also famous for her role in the folk-rock group The Mamas & The Papas, which singer and guitarist John Phillips led. They released their debut album, If You Can Believe Your E...
R&B and soul singer Etta Jameswas born in Los Angeles, California, and began training as a singer at the age of five. James released her debut album “At Last” in 1960, which included the hit song I Just Want to Make Love to You. The following year her famous song, At Last, came out. She was nominated for four Grammy Awards in the 1960s, including t...
The daughter of great jazz singerFrank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. She studied music at UCLA before beginning her recording career. She had several hits in the 1960s, including “Sugar Town,” “Somethin’ Stupid,” “Summer Wine,” “Some Velvet Morning,” and “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).” Sinatra was most well known f...
Singer Dusty Springfieldwas born in London, England. Her music career started as a singer in the group The Lana Sisters in 1958. She also performed as a member of The Springfields before starting her solo career in 1963. She released her debut solo album, “A Girl Called Dusty,” in 1964, followed by four additional albums over the next five years. H...
- Joan Baez. Photo via Instagram/@joancbaez.
- Odetta. Odetta dedicated much of her profound music to the Civil Rights movement, earning her the title “Queen of American Folk Music,” according to Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Judy Collins. This folk icon put out her first solo album at the age of 22 in 1961. Her capable voice and prodigious piano playing quickly won her acclaim on the folk scene, although at first, she primarily recorded covers of other artists’ songs (most notably, her highly regarded cover of Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns”).
- Joni Mitchell. Photo via Instagram/@jonimitchell.
- Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves. Allison de Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves have each pushed folk boundaries in their own separate projects. De Groot has made a name for herself as one of the best clawhammer banjoists in Canada, and Hargreaves is a skilled fiddler who’s toured with the likes of Gillian Welch and Laurie Lewis.
- Emily Fairlight. Emily Fairlight writes both poems and lyrics, and you can tell. The New Zealand singer/songwriter makes music that feels purposefully introspective and intimate, the kind of thing you might listen to alone in the kitchen or with a few friends on the couch, but not too many friends—you’ll want to keep these sounds and words to yourself.
- Jennah Bell. Los Angeles’ Jennah Bell is not just a folk singer. She’s a master picker, yes, but her songs are heartier and brighter than your run-of-the-mill singer/songwriter ditty.
- Kaia Kater. For rising folk star Kaia Kater, embracing her heritage is one of the most important parts of storytelling. On her 2018 album Grenades, the banjo-toting singer/songwriter explores her identities as both a Canadian and Grenadian.
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Died: October 4, 2009. Latin Grammy -winning Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa, also known as La Negra, remains an iconic figure of Argentine folk music and of the left-wing social movement nueva canción. Starting her music career with radio at age 15, she later soared to fame with the track Gracias a la vida. 45.
Sep 7, 2019 · Lucinda Williams. Lucinda Williams is one of the most lauded and respected women in the alt-country and roots music worlds these days. From her deep, dark songs of heartbreak and longing to her more recent material, which is decidedly more upbeat, Williams pulls influences from traditional and contemporary folk styles.
