From Baez and Seeger to Williams and White Jr.

Folk music, past and present

(CNN) -- If the words "folk music" conjure up images of incense and Birkenstocks, acoustic guitars and leftist politics, think again. While there are plenty of folk artists who came of age espousing liberal principles and wearing fancy sandals, there are plenty more who come from different backgrounds.

These days, folk music draws all sorts from the old-time practitioners such as Odetta and Pete Seeger, to such latter-day musicians as Eliza Carty and Josh White Jr. What unites these musicians, whose ages span the century and whose styles span the medium, as folk artists? Their goals of getting a message across through their music.

VIDEO CNN's Worldbeat catches up with legendary folk singer Pete Seeger with his old and new friends. Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     BIOGRAPHY Odetta: Big voice, bigger musical influence     ALSO Newport Folk Festival features Willie Nelson, Natalie Merchant     AUDIO Joan Baez says her musical influences are varied 557K WAV sound Activism is more than just music to Baez 585K WAV sound Baez's stand against the Confederate flag 557K WAV sound

"In my 81 years, I've sung for so many different causes, it's funny," Seeger reminisced. "I've sung for different churches - Protestant, Catholic, Jewish -- and I've set foot in temples in Japan and in India. I've sung for different political movements -- some lefty, some righty, some vegetarian. I've sung for peace at times; I've sung for war at times."

Seeger continues making an impact on the folk scene, too. A contemporary of Woody Guthrie (the deceased father of Arlo Guthrie and a songwriter whose works continue to be recorded), Seeger wrote such classics as "Turn, Turn, Turn," "If I Had a Hammer" and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"

"As a writer, he was a huge influence because he was brave," Janis Ian told WorldBeat. "He had no hesitation in making his spirit felt. There are very few people that I would bow down to, but Pete Seeger is one of them."

Joan Baez agreed. "When I was 16-and-a-half-years old, I remember putting my head into the loudspeaker and listening to the 'Bells of Rhymney' over and over and over, because he touched something in me. Pete lived É his songs."

Now, even the youngest, newest artists also look to Seeger for guidance. Dar Williams is one. She recalls some advice Seeger gave her: "Any idiot can write a complicated song," he said, "but it takes a genius to be simple."

"That's what I aspire to," Williams said. "Pete Seeger is the one who writes the songs that unite people."

Folk also attracts different types of performers, said Ian. "There are two types of artist: the artist who sets out to be famous -- and there's nothing wrong with that -- and then there's the artist who sets out to change the world, and change peoples' hearts," she said.

Producer's Notebook: Pete Seeger as American hero
August 26, 1999
David Crosby book details musicians' good deeds
April 5, 2000
Folk musicians take home top Grammys
February 26, 1998

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