Soul-Folk

Folk music of the 1960s and 1970s was a genre that was always shifting and expanding, yet somehow never found room for so many. In the sounds of soul-folk, Black artists like Terry Callier and Linda Lewis began to reclaim their space in the genre, and use it to bring their own traditions to light- the jazz, the blues, the field hollers, the spirituals- and creating something wholly new, wholly theirs, wholly ours.

This book traces the growing imprints of soul-folk and how it made its way from folk tradition to subgenre. Along the way, it explores the musicians, albums, and histories that made the genre what it is.

Part I "The Unknown Black Bards"
Introduction
1. The Roots of Black Folk
2. Early Black Folk Artists
3. Coon Songs, Race Music, and Genre Wars
4. The Folk Whitening
5. "Freedom's Comin' and It Won't Be Long" Folk and Politics
Part II The Family Tree
6. Melding Sounds: The Origins of Soul-Folk
Part III Music's Long Memory
7. Where Do We Go from Here?
Epilogue and Beyond
Ten Essential Tracks
Selected Bibliography
Endnotes