VA - Troubadours: Folk and the Roots of American Music, Part 3 (2014)

In another fine box set series from reissue specialists Bear Family Records, the history of the American folk ballad tradition is chronicled with Troubadours: Folk and the Roots of American Music. From the dawn of the recording era and the rural Appalachian singers of the 1920s through the pop crossover singer/songwriters of the 1970s, the traditions of storytelling, political statement, and personal introspection have remained common threads throughout folk music's history. This third volume covers a critical era when the folk revival of the early '60s introduced important artists like Pete Seeger and Joan Baez, who paid equal tribute to both ancient traditions and contemporary politics in a decade that would serve as a lightning rod for social change. This three-disc set carries over into the early '70s, featuring artists like Jim Croce and Harry Chapin, who brought their folk narratives to the pop charts with more progressive styles and modern instrumentation.