Introduction

There is little doubt that folk music, in its many musical expressions, has an international standing as expressed in the number of artists who label themselves as ‘folk’ singers, songwriters, musicians etc. Then there are the various ‘folk magazines’, ‘folk artist agencies’, ‘folk festivals’, ‘folk radio shows’ and so on. Google the word ‘folk’ and you get a staggering one hundred and sixty-four million options!

Australia is no different from most parts of the so-called ‘civilised world’ in as much as we were highly influenced by the folk revival in America and, to a lesser extent, Britain. Of course ‘folk music’ originally had a direct relationship with traditional or ethnic music however in these modern times the connotation is usually more related to the influences of the above-mentioned revival of interest in folkways, and especially music.

If one looks at any study of the America folk revival, and there are numerous books on the subject, there are several obvious signposts, starting in the 1950s through to today. Of course, people were aware of folk music prior to 1950, particularly those familiar with the collecting work of John Lomax, but I am referring to the widespread awareness and interpretation of folk songs. The American folk revival signposts include the alignment of folk singers and folksong with the 1950s political left, the emerging civil rights movement, the commercialisation of folk music in the late 50s and early 1960s including the quandary of ‘folk superstars’, the emergence of the accompanying folk ‘industry’, the late 1960s decline in commercial interest and the subsequent move to regain and consolidate what had become the ‘folk movement’.  Then there are the signposts of the latter part of the revival – new small record labels, publishers, international marketing, the arrival and marketing of blues, world music and other folk-related genres. Hand-in-hand with the bumpy performing ride there has also been a developing academic interest with university folklore courses and government-designed folklore programs, museums and libraries.

The British revival, being far less influenced by commerciality and political controversy, had a far steadier (and less effective) course. Also, being a relatively smaller land mass and population, and, possibly, because of its inherited ‘Britishness’, it was easier for a national organization like the English Folk Dance & Song Society to exist as an effective monitoring and, in some ways, controlling factor.

In Australia’s folk revival we had to contend with two major influences: the rush of commercialisation from America, especially in the release of popular music, and the influence of British migrants.

Today’s Australian folk performer would be well advised to learn about our particular revival. Why and how it happened. What impressions did it leave on our music and, most importantly, on our culture?

I am indebted to Malcolm J Turnbull for the vast amount of material he has researched and written on the Australian folk revival and also to his generosity in accepting my offer to make it permanently available, in one history, on this site. I became aware of Malcolm’s research in one of the early Trad and Now Magazines and thought, “Well, that’s that” but then his articles kept appearing and not only were they extremely well researched but they were also highly readable. To be honest, I had forgotten so much of this history I was relieved that he had produced these articles. The other unusual aspect of his work is that he covers Sydney, Hobart, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and, to a lesser extend, Brisbane. The Territories are mentioned but not in depth. Then there is Malcolm’s knack of coming up with illustrative material. There are so many wonderful programs, posters, leaflets, photographs and record album covers that the articles are pure nostalgia for some of us older codgers. The marvellous thing is that the site brings all Malcolm’s histories under one roof and as an open forum. I also persuaded him to provide some biographical material and photographs of himself!

This site is very much a work in progress and, in itself, an archive. I would welcome any contributions to the history of folk music in Australia. The site is also archived as a site by the Pandora Project connected to the National Library. Pandora captures the history of a limited number of websites and is itself a work in progress.

Warren Fahey

December 2006

(For those interested in the history of the American revival I thoroughly recommend Ronald Cohen’s ‘Rainbow Quest’ – it is available on the usual web book sites. It is the best of the best)