Or Smash It Like Belushi

It took a history professor at Temple to show me that there was more to the genre.

Prior to that I had been dismissive of folk music. Gentle, acoustic.

He showed the class that it was the sound of protest. Radical politics. An important element of the counter-culture.

The course had little to do with folk music. But he did everything in his power to incorporate it into the lectures. Relevant or not.

He introduced us to a number of early artists. These were the musicians that I initially sought out. For a while, I would only listen to folk in its earliest incarnation. Over time I became receptive to later eras. Folk revivals. Folk as pop.

Folk is not without its merits.

Peter, Paul and Mary - The Best of Peter, Paul and Mary: 10 (Ten) Years Together. Borrowed from my mother.