Singing Out

"The authors have spent quite a bit of time addressing the critical, interesting, and important question: 'What is folk music?' Defining folk music is not only difficult and complex, it's slipperier than a greased eel! Through the use of extensive quotes and interviews Beer and Dunaway revisit the folk revival head-on, causing me to rethink the role individuals as diverse as Tristam Coffin, Pete Seeger, Mississippi John Hurt played during this important period in American music history." --Kip Lornell, The George Washington University, author of The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to American Folk Music, Introducing American Folk Music, and The Life and Legend of Leadbelly (with Charles K. Wolfe) "Dunaway and Beer's Singing Out is a marvelous stew of original quotations mixed with the editors' astute discussions of the historical contexts. Drawing upon a broad array of musicians, academics, collectors, and writers, they have covered the twentieth century into the twenty-first, with some focus on the importance of protest/political songs. This is now the starting place for any understanding of the role of folk music in American society, and should spawn future studies, particularly dealing with the post-1970s period." --Ronald D. Cohen, author of Rainbow Quest: The Folk Music Revival and American Society, 1940-1970 "This intriguing history of American folk music in the 20th century by its performers and participants will appeal to academics, folk music aficionados, and musicians."--Library Journal "[A] marvelous resource for anyone interested in American folk music."--Booklist "Fascinating."--Albuquerque Journal "An important and excellent new book...Uncover[s] the true life of folk music in North America as it progressed through the world-altering twentieth century." --The Journal of Music "All fans and scholars of folk music and American History will value this study. Highly recommended." --Choice "I've thoroughly enjoyed this book...It captures vividly the spirit of the musical movement that became so powerful in the 1960s." --Allan M. Winkler, Times Higher Education "Weaves together historical narrative and excerpts of these interviews to fashion an insightful overview of the American folk music movement." --Sound Historian