Folk music, defined loosely, is music which the people of a nation or group identify themselves. It is music that comes from small towns or villages. It is often used in contrast to the so-called elitist classical or art music culture.
In America, folk music refers to the style of music that comes from the heartlands or the rural areas. In the 60s folk music was used as a powerful tool for change in the American social revolution.
Folk music has simple melody and structure, usually with guitar accompaniments and simple key structure and choral sequence. The most important element of folk music are the words of the songs.
The subgenre of folk music are folk songs, traditional folk, political folk & protest songs, the folk revival, folk rock, folk pop, UK folk, Irish folk, alternative folk, contemporary folk, neo-traditional folk.
Bob Dylan sings "Blowin' in the Wind" from the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The following are folk music recordings that should belong to the library of every collector: