MARRIAGE OF MESSAGE, MUSIC

PERFECT STYLE FOR FOLK IDOL JOAN BAEZ

Folk legend Joan Baez performs in 1973

By ALAN K. STOUT
TIMES LEADER STAFF WRITER
FEBRUARY 15, 2002

From the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll: “Joan Baez was the perfect symbol of the early-sixties folk revival: young, sincere, technically gifted and equally committed to traditional songs and social action.''

 Indeed.

 Simply mention the name Joan Baez, and two things quickly come to mind: music and politics. And when Baez is asked if she's comfortable with that image, she doesn't hesitate to answer.

 “Oh yeah, absolutely,'' says the legendary folk artist, who will play the F.M. Kirby Center on Wednesday. “I was just talking to somebody, and he wanted to know how I felt when people recognize me on the street or stop me, and the ones that are the most moving are usually the ones where it's not just music, but when I've also made it into their lives in another way as well - and that would be politically and sometimes spiritually.

 “They'll talk about the spirit, or they'll talk about courage or things that came as a result of either a concert or something that I did, and it affected them in a certain way.”

 Baez, 62, also has made a splash on the pop charts with songs such as “Diamonds and Rust” and her cover of The Band's “The Night They Drove Ole Dixie Down.” Her professional and one-time personal relationships with Bob Dylan have served as muses for some of her work, and even during the height of her commercial success she was highly involved in the civil-rights movement and was outspoken in her opposition to the war in Vietnam. In the '80s, she toured on behalf of Amnesty International and appeared at 1985's “Live Aid”' concert.

 Again, there is a recurring theme: music and social action.

 “I think they're what make me tick. I would have been very socially active whether I sang or not. I don't know how I would have expressed myself, but that feeling did come first, when I was about 10. The voice was a gift. I have nothing to do with the voice, other than maintenance and delivery.”

Baez in 1971

Despite rock music's steady progression and electrification throughout the '60s, Baez always remained true to folk. Her classic soprano voice usually was framed by simple guitars and an earnest message.

 “I don't do the other stuff very well,” she says with a laugh. “I felt comfortable with folk, and I think that's what my voice was made for. When you hear rock from women, they're singing in the low register, and they're belting, which I don't do very well. I might have if I had trained in that direction, but I didn't train - period - until my mid-30s. Clearly, for me, this was the most comfortable place I could land in the world of music.”

 Although Baez has earned seven gold albums, has been Grammy-nominated and is often referred to as the “Queen of Folk,” she names none of those accomplishments as her proudest musical endeavor. Instead, she holds the most affection for the work from very early in her career.

 “I didn't listen to my own music until about four years ago, and I was awed. I thought it was extraordinary, what this 20-year-old was doing. During those years, when the music was so beautiful, I was so challenged, as I had such terrible stage fright. I was the opposite of what everyone thought they saw on stage.

 “That really took courage.”

Ad for Joan Baez show at Kirby in 2002

Even then, Baez was connecting with her audience - and doing it with her songs in a low-key and unpretentious manner. When asked if folk music, by its nature, makes it easier for artists to connect with their fans, she offers a somewhat humorous analysis.

 “I'm wondering what the connection is with Barbra Streisand coming down those steps in her gown. People love her, and they love that scene - and I hate it. I like her voice ... but that scene with the glitter, the diva thing and all that crap with the stand-up comedy jokes that are all rigged ahead of time, it's the antithesis of what I do.

 “I don't know ... those people that go there, I've never talked to one of them - but they must be moved.”

 Baez will have her own way of moving the audience at The Kirby on Wednesday. Opening acts Richard Shindell and the duo of Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer were hand-picked by Baez to join the tour and likely will share the stage together at some point during the show.

  “In both cases, it was the songs,'' Baez says when asked why she's touring with the two acts. “Richard's songs are extraordinary. It's as though he has written them for me. And when I heard Dave's songs, I had a similar reaction. There's something about an inexplicable spiritual plane. It hasn't been true with everybody I've gone out with, but this time, that is the case.”

  As for her own set, Baez says the song list should please her and her fans.

  “It's a happy medium and something that's still slightly challenging for me. If there's something that I'm tired of, I don't sing it - even if somebody keeps calling for it. But I can tell you that people will be satisfied and that I do get off on singing something that I know they love.”

 (Since this story was published, Joan Baez has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys, and was recognized by Kennedy Center Honors.)

You can listen to the audio version of this interview here:

https://youtu.be/8VPxvMzEfqk