Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. She is widely considered one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her personal lyrics and unconventional compositions which grew to incorporate pop and jazz elements. She has received many accolades, including eleven Grammy Awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Rolling Stone called her "one of the greatest songwriters ever", and AllMusic has stated, "Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century."
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. was a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. He has been referred to as Canada's greatest songwriter and his songs have been recorded by some of the world's most renowned musical artists. Lightfoot's biographer Nicholas Jennings said, "His name is synonymous with timeless songs about trains and shipwrecks, rivers and highways, lovers and loneliness."
Yorkville is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is roughly bounded by Bloor Street to the south, Davenport Road to the north, Yonge Street to the east and Avenue Road to the west, and it is part of The Annex neighbourhood. Established as a separate community in 1830, it was annexed into Toronto in 1883. Yorkville comprises residential areas, office space, and retail shopping.
On the Beach is the fifth studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released by Reprise Records in July 1974. The album is the second of the so-called "Ditch Trilogy" of albums that Young recorded following the major success of 1972's Harvest, whereupon the scope of his success and acclaim became apparent; On the Beach was inspired by his feelings of retreat, alienation, and melancholy in response to this success.
"Tears Are Not Enough" is a 1985 charity single recorded by a supergroup of Canadian artists, under the name Northern Lights, to raise funds for relief of the 1983–85 famine in Ethiopia. It was one of a number of such supergroup singles recorded between December 1984 and April 1985, along with Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in the United Kingdom, USA for Africa's "We Are the World" in the United States, "Cantaré, cantarás" by a supergroup of Latin American and Spanish singers, Chanteurs sans Frontières's "Éthiopie" in France, and Fondation Québec-Afrique's "Les Yeux de la faim" in Quebec.
"Coyote" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell from her eighth album Hejira (1976). It was released as the album's lead single.
Eric Andersen is an American folk music singer-songwriter, who has written songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, the Grateful Dead and many others. Early in his career, in the 1960s, he was part of the Greenwich Village folk scene. After two decades and sixteen albums of solo performance he became a member of the group Danko/Fjeld/Andersen.
The Juno Awards of 1981, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 5 February 1981 in Toronto at a ceremony hosted by multiple co-presenters at the O'Keefe Centre. The first co-hosts were Andrea Martin and John Candy of SCTV fame, then Frank Mills and Ginette Reno, and finally Ronnie Hawkins and Carroll Baker.
The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Richard Dyer-Bennet, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, John Jacob Niles, Susan Reed, Paul Robeson, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Cisco Houston had enjoyed a limited general popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. The revival brought forward styles of American folk music that had in earlier times contributed to the development of country and western, blues, jazz, and rock and roll music.
Contemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid 20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century, a new form of popular folk music evolved from traditional folk music. This process and period is called the (second) folk revival and reached a zenith in the 1960s. The most common name for this new form of music is also "folk music", but is often called "contemporary folk music" or "folk revival music" to make the distinction. The transition was somewhat centered in the United States and is also called the American folk music revival. Fusion genres such as folk rock and others also evolved within this phenomenon. While contemporary folk music is a genre generally distinct from traditional folk music, it often shares the same English name, performers and venues as traditional folk music; even individual songs may be a blend of the two.
Mary Jane and Winston Young were a Toronto-based folk music singing duo. They were active as early as 1960 in the early days of the North American urban Folk Revival. They were part of the movement that tied folk music to a socially progressive view of the world.
Dala is a Canadian acoustic-folk two-piece musical group, made up by Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther, both of Scarborough, Ontario.
Oscar Brand was a Canadian-born American folk singer-songwriter, radio host, and author. In his career, spanning 70 years, he composed at least 300 songs and released nearly 100 albums, among them Canadian and American patriotic songs. Brand's music ran the gamut from novelty songs to serious social commentary and spanned a number of genres.
Harvey Glatt is a Canadian music promoter, manager, broadcaster, record and instrument retailer, and record label owner.
David Rea was an American folk guitarist, singer, composer and songwriter. He played with many of the famous names of modern folk music and folk rock, such as Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Richie Havens, Judy Collins, Ian and Sylvia, Fairport Convention, The New Riders of the Purple Sage and Michal Hasek. He said he learned his finger picking style from Reverend Gary Davis who spent the last years of his life in Montreal. He was friends with Felix Pappalardi who produced Rea's best known album, Maverick Child. His song writing includes co-writing the hit song "Mississippi Queen". He wrote a radio opera Emperor for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He won the Gabriel Award for Excellence in Broadcasting for a three-part series David Rea's Robert Johnson, about the blues singer Robert Johnson.
A Letter Home is the 33rd studio album by Canadian / American musician Neil Young. It was released on April 19, 2014, on Record Store Day by Third Man Records. The album was produced by Young in collaboration with Jack White of The White Stripes.
Canadian folk music has a long history, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, mostly derived from the music of early settlers and much earlier from the music of indigenous people. Folk music thus differentiates between traditional and contemporary. Many of Canada's most influential folk artists emerged in the contemporary folk music era, notably Bruce Cockburn, American-born Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ferron, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Leonard Cohen, Murray McLauchlan, Stan Rogers, Valdy, Penny Lang, The Rankin Family and Wade Hemsworth. Canadian artists in folk rock include The Band, Neil Young, Spirit of the West, The Tragically Hip, Great Big Sea, Les Cowboys Fringants, Serena Ryder, and Dan Mangan.
Duke Redbird is an Indigenous Canadian poet, journalist, activist, businessman, actor and administrator, best known as a key figure in the development of First Nations literature in Canada.
The Purple Onion Coffee House was a music venue at 35 Avenue Road in the Yorkville neighbourhood of Toronto, Canada. It operated from 1960 to 1965. It was a popular venue for folk musicians.
Elyse J. Weinberg was a Canadian-American singer-songwriter. In later life she used the name Cori Bishop.
