Born: January 9, 1941
Place of Birth: Staten Island, New York
Major Notes:
Joan Baez is a foremost folk song singer, songwriter, and political activist.
Her mother was of Scottish heritage, her father a Mexican, which gave her a multiethnic background.
Her parents were Quakers who promoted nonviolence which influenced her own beliefs and political activism.
In school, Joan Baez felt isolated and discriminated because of her darker Hispanic skin.
This led her to discover music through singing and playing the ukulele then guitar.
At age 18, after appearing in local coffee houses, she was given recognition at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival.
A year later, Joan Baez recorded her first album for a company called Vanguard Records.
By 1962, she was a huge singer-songwriting success and had recorded three albums, all of which became gold records.
Over the next several years, Baez began to move from a simple guitar to full orchestra accompaniment.
She also was influenced by the music of Bob Dylan whose music questioned social standards of the time.
In 1968, Joan Baez married David Harris, another musician, who made her more aware of the country music genre.
Harris was also an anti-war activist and was to serve time in prison for draft evasion.
Baez continued to increase in popularity with many more albums and by personal appearances at folk festivals, live concerts, and social protest meetings.
Joan Baez continues to write songs and support causes with personal appearances.
She has gained the title by her fans around the world as the "Queen of the Folksingers."
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