Joan Baez is an American singer, songwriter and politician. The performer works exclusively within the folk and country genres.
When Joan started 60 years ago in Boston coffee shops, her performances were attended by no more than 40 people. Now she is sitting on a chair in her kitchen, with a guitar in her hands. Her live concerts are watched by millions of viewers around the world.
Childhood and youth Joan Baez
Joan Baez was born on January 9, 1941 in New York City. The girl was born in the family of the famous physicist Albert Baez. Obviously, the active anti-war position of the head of the family had a strong influence on Joan's worldview.
In the late 1950s, the family moved to the Boston area. Then Boston was the center of musical folk culture. Actually, then Joan fell in love with music, even began to perform on stage, participating in various city events.
Presentation of the debut album Joan Baez
Joan's professional singing career began in 1959 at the Newport Folk Festival. A year later, the singer's discography was replenished with the first studio album Joan Baez. The record was prepared at the recording studio Vanguard Record.
In 1961, Joan went on her first tour. The singer visited major cities in the United States of America as part of the tour. Around the same time, a portrait of Baez appeared on the cover of Time magazine. This contributed to an increase in the number of fans.
Time wrote: “Joan Baez's voice is as clear as the air in autumn, bright, strong, untrained and exhilarating soprano. The performer completely ignores the application of makeup, and her long dark hair hangs like a drape, parted around her almond-shaped face ... ".
Citizenship Joan Baez
Joan was an active citizen. And since she became popular, she decided to help people. In 1962, during the struggle of black US citizens for civil rights, the performer made a tour of the American South, where racial segregation still continued.
At the concert, Joan said that she would not sing for the audience until whites and blacks were seated together. In 1963, the American singer refused to pay taxes. The singer explained it simply - she did not want to support the arms race. But at the same time, she created a special charitable foundation, where she transferred her proceeds every month. In 1964, Joan founded the Institute for the Study of Nonviolence.
The performer was also noted during the Vietnam War. Then she actively took part in the anti-war movement. Actually, for this Joan received her first term.
The American singer attended higher educational institutions. Joan's social activity took on a significant scale. Baez inherited such indifference for what is happening in the country from his father.
Joan increasingly performed protest tracks. The audience followed the singer. During this period of time, her repertoire included songs by Bob Dylan. One of them - Farewell, Angelina served as the title for the seventh studio album.
Musical experiments by Joan Baez
Since the late 1960s, Joan's musical compositions have taken on a new flavor. The American performer gradually moved away from acoustic sound. In the compositions of Baez, the notes of a symphony orchestra are perfectly audible. She has collaborated with experienced arrangers such as Paul Simon, Lennon, McCartney and Jacques Brel.
1968 began with bad news. It turned out that the sale of the singer's collections was banned in the army stores of the United States of America. It's all because of Baez's anti-war stance.
Joan has turned into an enraged advocate of non-violent action. They were led in the US by Pastor Martin Luther King, a civil rights leader and friend of Baez.
In the following years, the singer's three albums reached the so-called "gold status". At the same time, the singer married anti-war activist David Harris.
Joan continued to tour around the world. At her concerts, the singer delighted fans not only with excellent vocal abilities. Almost every Baez concert is a pure call to peace. She urged fans not to serve in the army, not to buy weapons and not to fight with "enemies".
Joan Baez presented the song "Natalia"
In 1973, the American singer presented the wonderful musical composition "Natalya". The song was about a human rights activist, poetess Natalya Gorbanevskaya, who ended up in a psychiatric hospital as a result of her activity. In addition, Joan performed in Russian Bulat Okudzhava's track "Union of Friends".
Five years later, the singer's concert was to take place in Leningrad. Interestingly, on the eve of the speech, local officials canceled Baez's performance without explanation. But still, the singer decided to visit Moscow. She soon met with Russian dissidents, including Andrei Sakharov and Elena Bonner.
In an interview with Melody Maker, the American singer admitted:
“I think I'm more of a politician than a singer. I love to read when they write about me as a pacifist. I've never had anything against people talking about me as a folk singer, but it's still stupid to deny that music comes first for me. Performing on stage does not cut off what I do for peaceful people. I understand that many, to put it mildly, are annoyed that I stick my nose into politics, but it’s dishonest of me to pretend that I’m just a performer ... Folk is a secondary hobby. I rarely listen to music because a lot of it is bad…”.
Baez became the founder of the International Committee for Human Rights. An American celebrity was recently awarded the French Legion of Honor for political activity. She has also received honorary doctorates from several universities.
Joan Baez is unimaginable without politics and culture. These two "grains" fill it with the meaning of life. Baez is considered one of the most significant folk-rock singers and its most politicized representative.
Joan Baez today
The American singer was not going to retire. She also delighted fans with her beautiful vocals in 2020.
During COVID-19, quarantine and self-isolation, Joan sings to people on Facebook. Small healing concerts, short world broadcasts with words of encouragement and support - this is what society needs so much in this difficult period of time.
