Folk Rock: 10 Iconic Music Tracks From the Early 1970s

Folk rock began to catch on in the early 1960s with such hits as Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds and California Dreamin' by the Mamas & the Papas.

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Folk rock became such a big hit in the 1960s that one could easily fill a blog post or ten with the great music of the era. Peace, brotherly love, and getting stoned were the themes of much of the music as the Vietnam War grew more unpopular, young people began to rebel against their white vanilla Christian roots, and, well, they just wanted to have fun. Of course, Reefer Madness (links to the trailer; the full film is also available in the public domain), the propaganda film from the 1930s, didn't help.

By the time the 1970s rolled around, some of the best folk rock artists of the time had solidified their fan bases and performed some of their best music. Bob Dylan recorded Blowin in the Wind in 1963 and Simon & Garfunkel released Sounds of Silence in 1964. But the folk rock era was just getting started. By the time we got to Woodstock, there were nearly a million songs. That's only a slight exaggeration, but Arlo Guthrie, son of the famed folk singer Woody Guthrie, recorded his folk rock anthem Alice's Restaurant in 1967 (see below), just two years before the biggest party of the decade spontaneously erupted in a small town in New York.

And now, without further ado, let's get to the music you came here for ....

10 Iconic 1970s Folk Rock Songs

The 1960s officially came to an end the year Simon & Garfunkel released their final album. Bridge Over Troubled Water is a fitting song to end the decade with because the duo decided to go their separate ways. Garfunkel took up acting and Simon went on to record some of his most commercially successful music. To this day, they can't stand to be in the same room together. So much for peace and brotherly love.

Still, you can't argue that the title track of this fifth studio album isn't a watershed moment in folk rock music history. It was released in January 1970.

Other great folk rock tunes were released in 1970, including "Wild World" by Cat Stevens. It became one of his biggest hits, but he'd later make a religious conversion and change his name to Yusuf Islam.

Van Morrison doesn't get enough credit as a songwriter, in my opinion. He'd already been successful as the lead singer of the rock band Them, but "Moondance" would usher in his solo career and he'd later record other iconic songs of the 1970s.

No list of 1970s music would be complete without at least one Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song on it. In this case, "Teach Your Children" has a message so simple and elegant it should be the title of sermon. It probably is, somewhere. But if it isn't, the song has a message of theological import, whether intended or not.

In 1971, a rock band by the name of America raced onto the scene with "A Horse With No Name." The three young stars were sons of US servicemen stationed in London, England. They'd later record another iconic folk rock song by the name of "Sister Golden Hair."

One year later, Jim Croce released his third studio album and the one that put him on the charts with three big hits. One of those was "Time in a Bottle." He died a year later in a tragic plane crash.

That same year, Neil Young came back with one of his greatest studio albums, titled Harvest. The album included two awesome No. 1-charting folk rock tunes that are still worth listening to today, "Old Man" and "Heart of Gold."

Bob Dylan needs no introduction. One of the pioneers of folk rock, he continued to record power ballads throughout his career. In 1973, he put out "Knocking on Heaven's Door," which has been covered so many times you likely have your favorite version of it. This is Dylan's:

If you were wondering if there might be any female artists on this list, yes. One folk rock artist who has continued to record and perform is Joni Mitchell. She achieved some fame in the 1970s, but not enough in my opinion. Her voice is soft and angelic, the kind of voice you can listen to over and over again. Her only Top 10 hit was "Help Me," released in 1974.

Harry Chapin was more than a singer and songwriter. He was a raconteur who enjoyed fame for telling great stories through music. One of those stories is "Cat's in the Cradle," released in 1974 on his album titled Verities and Balderdash.

I'm sure you can think of your own great folk rock tunes from the 1970s. There were others. By 1975, however, progressive rock, hard rock, southern rock, and Disco were taking center stage. Folk rock began to fade into the background.

If you're wondering if I remember this era of great music, some of it. I definitely have a handle on the 1970s. I was born in '66, so I'm not that old.

This post originally appeared at Narrative.

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