Joan Chandos Baez, a renowned American folk singer, songwriter, and activist, was born on January 9, 1941. With a distinctive vocal style characterized by a strong vibrato, her music has been marked by topical songs and material addressing social issues.
Baez's career began in Boston and Cambridge coffeehouses, where she rose to fame as an unbilled performer at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival. She launched her recording career in 1960, achieving immediate success with her first three albums, Joan Baez, Joan Baez, Vol. 2, and Joan Baez in Concert, all of which achieved gold record status and remained on the charts for two years.
Some of Baez's most popular songs include "Diamonds & Rust", "There but for Fortune", and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", as well as "Farewell, Angelina", "Love Is Just a Four-Letter Word", "Joe Hill", "Sweet Sir Galahad", and "We Shall Overcome". She performed at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, helping to bring Bob Dylan's songs to national prominence, and has consistently demonstrated a lifelong commitment to political and social activism in the areas of nonviolence, civil rights, human rights, and environmental protection.
Throughout her career, spanning over 52 years, Baez has released over 30 albums, showcasing her fluency in Spanish and English, as well as her ability to record songs in at least six other languages. While regarded as a folk singer, her music has diversified over the years to encompass folk rock, pop, country, and gospel genres.
As an interpreter of other people's work, Baez has recorded songs by The Allman Brothers Band, The Beatles, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, The Rolling Stones, Pete Seeger, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, and many others. In recent years, she has found success interpreting songs by modern songwriters such as Ryan Adams, Steve Earle, and Natalie Merchant.
