Professional Folk Music

Transcription

1 Professional Folk Music Recording, marketing, 1950s-1960s US group the Kingston Trio s Tom Dooley (1958) start of folk as a major commercial force Folkways Records Canadian branch CBC Same time as the urban folk movement in the U.S. Centred in a few Canadian areas like Yorkville Village (Toronto)

2 Ian & Sylvia One of the earliest popular Canadian folk acts NYC, 1962 At the forefront of the urban-folk revival in the late-1950s Ex: Ian & Sylvia Four Strong Winds (1962)

3 Ian & Sylvia (cont.) Support for other Canadian artists like Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell They covered their songs

4 Mariposa Folk Festival Founded 1961 Orillia, ON, later Toronto Named after Stephen Leacock s fictional town from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912) Early attempts at Canadianization of the festival

5 Buffy Sainte-Marie (1941- ) Cree ancestry Social commentary and pop First album: It s My Way (1964) Ex: Buffy Sainte-Marie Universal Soldier (1964)

6 Buffy Sainte-Marie (cont.)

7 Gordon Lightfoot (1938- ) First hit in 1964, Early Morning Rain Songwriting success Cross-Canada tour, 67 Referred to himself as a contemporary folk artist 21+ albums, 16 Juno awards CBC and BBC shows Ex: Gordon Lightfoot Canadian Railroad Trilogy (1967)

8 Gordon Lightfoot (cont.) Ex: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (1976) About the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior, 1975 Ex: Gordon Lightfoot Black Day in July (1968) About 1967 Detroit riots

9 Yorkville Village North of Bloor St., along Bay St., Toronto Centre of Canadian folk scene in 1960s Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, etc.

10 Yorkville Village, c. June 1968

11 Leonard Cohen ( ) As much a literary figure as a musical one Mid-1950s: Poetry, novels By 1966, musical performer Ex: Leonard Cohen Suzanne (1967) First published as a poem, 1966

12 Joni Mitchell (1943- ) Toronto, mid-60s Move to USA, 1967 Songwriting Painter Ex: Joni Mitchell Big Yellow Taxi (1970)

13 Nationalism and Folk Music In general, Canadian folk music culture wasn't as radical in its associations as in the US Protest songs, Vietnam War, Civil Rights movement, etc. In both cases folklore was adopted to a degree as "official" culture, but this happened more seamlessly in Canada than in the U.S. Folk music as representing Canadian culture, creating a sense of Canadianness

14 Nationalism and the National Film Board (NFB) Founded in 1939 Canada Vignettes, 1970s and 1980s Video Ex: The McGarrigle Sisters The Log Driver s Waltz (1979) Written by Wade Hemsworth, c

15 Stompin Tom Connors ( ) 500+ songs 50 albums All in Canada Hitchhiker hobo years Timmons, ON Maple Leaf Hotel, songs! Video Ex: Stompin Tom Sudbury Saturday Night (orig. 1969)

16 Stompin Tom (cont.) Endless tours, small towns He believed that Canadian songs should reflect that identity Ex: Stompin Tom Bud The Spud (1969) Ex: Stompin Tom Mufferaw Joe (1971) Story of the Ottawa Valley folk legend Children s Songs: Ex: Stompin Tom Name the Capitals (1971)

17 Juno Awards Established 1970: (named after Pierre Juneau, first CRTC president) Basically took over from the RPM Gold Leaf Awards which were founded in 1964 Until 1975, winners were selected by RPM readers In 1975, CARAS was formed, takes over Junos In 1975: CBC TV coverage of Junos Shift from developing talent to an advertising tool for multinational record companies

18 Junos (cont.) 1975: Increase in the expatriate factor For example, Paul Anka was the host in Predictability (absurdity?) of nominations Anglophone bias and the Félix Awards (1979) 1978: Stompin' Tom Connors letter and protest

19 Stompin Tom and the Junos Criticisms of CA music industry: Radio stations, Junos Americanization of the Canadian music industry Juno Awards: Juno protest No Juno nominations afterwards

20 Bruce Cockburn ( ) B. Ottawa, Nepean HS Berklee School of Music Classical, jazz, rock Becoming well-known as folk musician by late 1960s Ex: Bruce Cockburn "All The Diamonds" (1974)

21 Stan Rogers ( ) B. Hamilton Professional at 20 CBC, Folk festival circuit Ex: Stan Rogers Barrett s Privateers (1976) Unofficial anthem of Atlantic Canada Notorious drinking song

22 Canadianness in Canadian Music? Douglas Ivison of Lakehead University: Questions essentially Canadian elements in Canadian music Limitations Instead he looks at how musicians mark themselves as Canadian Displays and constructions of Canadianness Tragically Hip and Stompin Tom use specific Canadian references

23 Nationalism and Identity Self-image: not American Strange mix of Superiority and Inferiority Complexes Are there really generalized "Canadianisms" that can be found in a wide range of Canadian culture products? Will Straw describes two general positions in debates about national cultural identity Essentialist Compensatory position

24 Children s Music Sharon, Lois and Bram Fred Penner Raffi

25 Sharon, Lois and Bram Toronto, st album: One Elephant, Deux Élephants (1978) CA and US tours CBC show Dozens of albums, videos, etc. Ex: Sharon, Lois and Bram Skinnamarink

26 Fred Penner ( ) B. Winnipeg 1 st album 1979 CBC shows, books Folk festivals Ex: Fred Penner The Cat Came Back (live, 2012)

27 Raffi ( ) Attempts at adult audiences 20+ albums Films, books CBC shows, Ex: Raffi Baby Beluga (live, 1988)

28 The Québec/Franco-Canadian Music Scene La Bolduc ( ) (Mary Travers) Sang folk and songs about everyday life Queen of CA folksingers Considered QC s 1 st folk star huge! Video Ex: Heritage Minutes, La Bolduc Video Ex: Madame Bolduc "Ça va venir, decouragez-vous pas" (1930) Turlutages

29 Les Chansonniers The word translates roughly as "song maker" In the 1960s, more political significance for some Distinctively French-Canadian Boîtes à chansons Mid-1950s, essentially the same as coffeehouses in Anglo communities Tiny, informally run, usually coffee rather than alcohol, lots of students. Maybe the best-known was Chez Bozo, opened in 1959 on Crescent St. in Montreal This is a clear Félix Leclerc reference, as was one group of chansonniers who called themselves Les Bozos

30 Gilles Vigneault Literary background Chansons engagés had evolved by about 1964 Video Ex: Gilles Vigneault "Mon Pays" (1965) Implicit politically, but a clear meaning for listeners