Throughout the years, Baez remained committed to social and political causes, lending her voice to many concerts for a variety of causes. The title track of her 1973 album Where Are You Now, My Son? chronicles the experience it is a 23-minute spoken-word piece punctuated with sound clips that Baez recorded during the bombing. Baez was in Hanoi, Vietnam, in December 1972, delivering Christmas presents and mail to American prisoners of war, when the United States targeted the North Vietnamese capital with the most intense bombing campaign of the war. The following year she married David Harris, a leader in the national movement to oppose the draft (they divorced in 1973). In 1964 she refused to pay federal taxes that went toward war expenses, and she was jailed twice in 1967. Two of the songs with which she was most identified were her 1971 cover of the Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and her own “Diamonds and Rust,” which she recorded on her acclaimed album of the same name, issued in 1975.Īn active participant in the 1960s protest movement, Baez made free concert appearances for UNESCO, civil rights organizations, and anti- Vietnam War rallies. She was instrumental in the early career of Bob Dylan. Her recordings were best sellers from 1960 through 1964 and remained popular. Her first solo album, Joan Baez, was released in 1960.īaez popularized traditional songs through her performances in coffeehouses, at music festivals, and on television. Baez briefly attended the drama school at Boston University before appearing at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival to great acclaim. Her first instrument was the ukulele, but she soon learned to accompany her clear soprano voice on the guitar. She acquired little formal musical training. Joan Chandos Baez was born on January 9, 1941, in Staten Island, New York. By touring with younger performers throughout the world and staying politically engaged, she reached a new audience both in the United States and abroad.

Despite the fading of the folk music revival, she continued to be a popular performer into the 21st century. American folk singer and political activist Joan Baez interested young audiences in folk music during the 1960s.

Joan baez and a voice to sing with