'I Am History’ is correct. Ask any young person if they have heard of her. A bit of Ego, eh, Joan?
I grew up in India listening to her music and was thrilled to see her perform live in Northampton's Calvin Theater in the early 2000s. Still love hearing her signature voice. She's had a wonderful life and career, and I hope she enjoys whatever she chooses to do in this next phase!
11
I saw Ms. Baez twice. First in 1963 at an impromptu outdoor concert at North Carolina College (now NCCU) at the height of the Durham sit-in protests. Then 15 years later at a rally in support of Vietnamese boat people on the Ellipse, when many on the Left were denouncing them as tools of the Americans. What always struck me about this marvelous woman beyond her much praised voice was her moral consistency and the degree of her humility. In sum just a beautiful human being in so many ways.
14
Wonderful Ryan Shorosky photos!
9
Lovely, timeless voice. But an utter political hypocrite. Lives in Woodside, CA, where the median house value is now $3,874,800, and the median household income $212,917. I can only imagine what her place is worth. She comfortably rants and raves about rich oligarchs and such, while living the worry-free life of a crowned head of a small European duchy.
On the other hand, she bought it 50 years ago before this real estate insanity started. Why should she move just because other people are greedy?
7
Pay attention: she has lived there for 50 years so she hasn't sold out to make a killing. It's her long time home.
12
@Jlemen
I disagree with your assertion that she is a political hypocrite based on the extremely high *current* median house price in her town.
The article says that she has owned, and lived in, the same house for 50 years. Back then, that area had normal housing prices, that is, affordable to working families.
I not only do not think she is a hypocrite for continuing to live in the same house, with the same neighbors, I think the world would be a better place if people stayed rooted even after they got a big break.
40
Oh, how I love thee Joan, let me count the ways. Indeed you are history.
And as the years have gone by, quicker with each passing year, isn't it nice to know, having lived this long, you have been on the right side of it? Visions of Joan will remain with me till the bitter end.
DD
Manhattan
16
Putting in a plug for The 33rd of August ... That song gets me every time. That, and Dona, Dona.
5
Still as arrogant as she's always been. Wonderful voice. Thinks she's a goddess. TG Stevie Nicks came along to kick that away.
5
Joan gave my soul its wings and I will never believe your time has passed. Joan Baez is timeless. She too deserves all the awards that exist for an incredible interpreter of life's vagaries. May God always bless and keep you safe. Nothing but pure love for you and your voice which still relaxes me to this day. You have been in my life since 1964 when I was 14 years old. Thanks again.
13
compassion ,commitment, generosity, action to match her great talent. hearing joan baez sing is a spirtitual experience.
14
I'm just happy it is her final recording. I never really thought was very talented; just a political prop.
2
I have seen pictures of her but I was aware of who was she or if she was alive. Just 6 months ago I realized she is alive. She is a legend and ispiration to milenials.
2
The sad part of this i who picks up the slack after Joan Baez. I don't see the likes of Joan Baez, singing and fighting for what they believe in today. In it for the long haul and not for Billbord. Joan is an American Ican.
11
16 amazing concerts over 46 years, and each is a glowing memory. Joan, not Martin, was my real introduction to nonviolence. She embodies grace in all its forms. From the early years, onstage in Portland, wearing a black velvet suit, lacy white collar at her throat, long, long black hair and huge guitar, serious and strong, through a casual, confident, deliciously funny concert on a pier in Seattle. Her humor is rarely mentioned, gifted to those of us who were lucky enough to see her. At (the Egyptian, I think) I sat behind six Vietnam vets wearing military jackets, decades after the end of the war. The two I was closest to had tears running down their cheeks, and at the end, stood, grinning and applauding.......and saluting her. Sitting here, remembering, I can hear her glorious voice in my mind. Thank you Joan for living fully what so many of us wish we could: conviction, kindness, commitment, and ever and always, nonviolence.
24
I heard Joan Baez when I was in college. More than any of the select few of folk greats, she is the pantheon of folk music; pure, true, inspiring. I will be in the audience once again.
14
Easy listening for me in college days. Preferred her folk music treasure to hard rockers like Janis Joplin, Grace Slick or later LInda Ronstadt. A treasure. However, I wouldn't praise Bob Dylan. He didn't look loving to Joan, basically giving her the cold shoulder after all Joan did for him in the Scorcese documentary of London back in the 1960s. Some masters like Picasso, and Bob Dylan were abusive at relationships. Honesty should be important too. Bob also messed up fiancé Edie Sedgwick at the factory according to Andy Warhol because he was secretly still married.
5
I love Joan Baez. She has given her remarkable voice in support of so many who didn’t have one, and has spent a long recording and touring career inspiring millions of fans all over the world. Joan has made history and remains as relevant today as ever. I recommend the book ‘Positively 4th Street’ by David Hajdu which gives context to her early career, influences and relationships.
11
One album too many for the legend in her own mind
1
Rock on Joan! Great story.
11
Since my first LP of Joan Baez about 45 years ago I have been a fan of her voice, her integrity + her political stances.
21
I adore Joan Baez. I've never been a music groupie and have only attended 5 folk concerts in my lifetime, but awhile back I found myself in Charlotte NC waiting at the stage door for Baez to exit after a performance. Felt like a teenager. And she almost touched my sleeve as she passed by! Oh Joanie! Be still my heart.
9
Although I have seen and heard Ms. Baez in a number of settings, I will forever remember her singing Amazing Grace on the steps of San Francisco City Hall, in 1978. The occasion was a spontaneous memorial for Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone, who had just been assassinated. Her voice, both heavenly and spiritually healing, helped many a San Franciscan endure one of its darkest days.
22
A beautiful singer and a very fine guitarist. I love “Silver Dagger” whether she sings it solo or in a duet with Bob Dylan.
7
I suspect Joan is retiring at just about the right time. She is not quite at her peak anymore but she has not faltered either. Go out on a high - so to speak.
10
As she said, “And I’ll sit and shut up for a while. Which is really important, and it’s the hardest thing to do.”
Long overdue.
It's 1973, my new husband and I are about to move abroad, and Joan Baez is scheduled to perform at the Hollywood Bowl. In my request for tickets, I mentioned that I had never been able to afford seating in the pricey box seats up front. All tickets for that performance were $25 so I asked if we could get a box seat - and we did!! We will always remember that exciting evening.
Wishing you a happy and healthy retirement, Joan.
18
For me, JB is the greatest singer of our time !
11
OH Joan, I so wish you had included Australia on your final tour. There are many here who would be honoured to attend. I am a Californian who has settled in Australia and as I am 66 you were part of my introduction to the wonderful world of music and the causes that defined that era.
All the best from down under....
10
It's 1965 and I've just boarded a plane coming back to New York from the last day of the Selma–Montgomery march. Searching for my seat, I look up and, coming toward me in the aisle, now just a few feet away, is Joan Baez. Our eyes meet, she flashes a smile (dazzling in memory still) and my knees grow weak. Later, the plane now high above the clouds, the pilot speaks, saying he has an important announcement and suddenly it's Joan on the PA, singing "We Shall Overcome" as we, the passengers, join in
70
What a wonderful memory and story.
9
Amazing story!! A beautiful way to start a Sunday! Thank you and Ms.Baez
7
Thank you for this beautiful story. It brought tears to my eyes.
3
"I don't make history, I am history."
And she's humble, too.
7
and she is right - she IS history to anyone who watches her perform.
13
You totally misunderstand her point...she is referring, in a self deprecating way, to her age and her awareness that time has moved past her. How could you not see that?
20
Did you read the article? The quote on it's on sounds cocky but not in the context of the conversation she had. She was talking about other people's impression of her on stage
8
"I don't make history. I am history."
Glad she's so humble.
Her statement is correct. For those of us who lived through a certain period in this country Joan Baez, her voice, her songs, and her participation in political demonstrations are part of the fabric of our shared history.
13
But she is correct. Just as one Cassius Clay pronounced, "I am the greatest." He was correct, even if not humble.
4
I climbed out of a sick bed with a high fever to go to a performance of Joan’s at the Beacon Theater in New York in September of 1976. It was the day that Orlando Letelier had his citizenship revoked by the Chilean junta. She spoke at length about this act of violence against a person...the act of rendering someone stateless. The audience was enthralled, the air in the room was still.
I got up from my seat and delivered her a bouquet I bought...I was mortified to walk down that aisle, I was so ill as well...but I gave those flowers to her and she thanked me for them and then she held them for the next few songs. I was 17 years old and I will never forget that night. 11 days later Orlando Letelier and his American assistant Randy Moffett were murdered by Pinochet’s henchmen with a car bomb in Washington D.C. Joan Baez raised people’s consciousness by challenging them to not just fight for justice blindly but to think about what justice is inherently. She used the gift that is her voice to raise people up and she used the gift that is her core being to improve humanity on a large scale. She has been a guidepost in my life and I am forever grateful to my sister who handed me one of her records and ordered me to my room to listen.
I now live in California, quite far from the bustle of NYC...because if it’s good enough for Joan?....So...Thanks Joan, for everything you’ve done, and written and for showing us what it means to live from a core place of truth and wonder.
30
“The world we are living in is being made horrible”
Coming from Joan Baez, this seems even more discouraging. We shall be released? But how?
10
Diamonds & Rust
If she had done nothing else, she would still be amazing.
Thanks
24
Thanks, Joan, for your beautiful music and your integrity. I am glad you are taking a well deserved break from work, and am especially glad to hear you will still stay in touch with your many fans in new ways.
9
Interesting that three of my favorite musicians Jerry Garcia for his music outside the box and life style and his guitar playing, Miles Davis for being Jazz for so long, and Ms Baez for her purity of social conscience, all turned to painting when music was eroding in their lives as to being their life force.
15
I would like to thank Joan Baez for her support for the United Farm Workers in the 60's and 70's. I witnessed her personal support to Cesar Chavez when he was ill and under violent threat from Agribusiness interests. Her wonderful voice could have a soothing effect even in the most chaotic of situations.
Gracias ha Joan Baez, la persona mas simpatica !
52
Her words like her music are crystal clear.
15
My father was a graduate student of her father. He remembers going to seminars that Dr. Baez held at his home and Joannie sitting on the stairs and singing. He also remembers Mimi. He loved going there!
29
Her final album?? Yeah, RIGHT. Like Jimi Hendrix did a final album.
Have you heard the recent Hendrix release this week, by the way?
3
And your point? Hendrix died before he could have made anything that would have been an intentional "final" album so you've drawn a really poor analogy. As for subsequent albums, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Baez, like Hendrix, has a career full of unreleased tracks and concert performances that could be pulled together for future release, but that's a different thing. She says that she intends this to be her final studio album. There's a lot of wiggle room there and I for one hope that the Baez archives contains many treasures from her many years of performing that will one day be released.
22
Joan has accompanied me throughout life since I first heard her crystalline voice singing old folk ballads at the age of seven. I wonder sometimes if all these artists that we come to cherish have any idea how meaningful they are to our lives. Joan’s commitment to social justice has been a huge influence in my life. Her beauty and voice, both aging with grace, still thrill me now at the age of sixty-four. Got my ticket to her tour!!!
36
I went to high school with Joanie Baez (as she was known then).
Am I history too?
5
I had the pleasure of seeing Ms. Baez on two occasions in a cafe
I worked in back in the early '90s.
We saw plenty of the rich and famous, given the location, but no one was as
warm, gracious and unpretentious. She was (and still is) so beautiful
it would stop you in your tracks.
I still love to listen to her live album, "From Every Stage", and her comments on various songs, especially the conclusion to "Love Song to a Stranger, Part 2" and lyrics to "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around".
We have blessed to have her as our "Natalya" over the years.
20
Joannie, you've done more than your part and we're grateful, but now is not the time to quit! I'll take Winds of the Old Days, Danny Boy and Diamonds and Rust with me when I go.
13
Great article. Wonderful, inspiring woman. So what's with these photographs? Is this the best the NYT can do? Uninteresting compositions, poor choice of angles, uncomplimentary lighting. I would go so far as to call the photos disrespectful. Is this really the best the NYT can do?
21
Actually, those honest photos are the part of this story that brought tears to my eyes. As a woman of 70 years, and a fan of Ms. Baez since my hootenanny days as a teen, it is an amazing gift for her to appear to us as we all have become, older bodies. If she can show herself proudly as she is, so can I. Thank you again and again for being a shepherd to our better selves and for refusing to try to appear otherwise.
7
Oh no! Don’t shut up. We need your voice.
10
Joan who?
John Who?
14
John, nobody!
10
Plato who?
9
Re-release There But For Fortune! Blowin' In the Wind! Silver Dagger!
5
A true inspiration. Thank you Joan Baez
9
Thank you Joan Baez for so many things. You have done enough but you will keep doing more because that's your nature.
5
Joan has been an American treasure. We see daily examples of hypocrisy from our leaders in Washington yet her commitment to the cause for 60 years is something of which she should be very proud.
And that voice...
22
It is spelled 'LINDA RONSTADT', not rondstadt, and it is horrific she can't sing anymore since she has Parkinson's disease. She and Ms. Baez (NOT pronounced BUY EZ, as many think, but BAYS, I think she said before) are similar in that they had a Mexican father.
10
Ronstadt - German
Another wonderful singer with her own life trajectory.
1
Sorry. Joan Baez made herself famous by doing other's work. She's like the cabaret singer of folk music. Pretty face, nice non-threatening voice, as white as can be. I don't put her in a class with Dylan, Guthrie, Seeger, Leadbelly. She's more like Anne Murray, or Celine Dion.
Oh, honey, you have no idea how wrong you are. For young women entering the movement and making music she was a beacon. Thank you, Joanie, for all the gifts.
29
Really, she fought against the Viet Nam war, went to jail and fought for human rights and dignity. What have you accomplished?
23
She was never, ever as commercial as Murray or Dion. She sang not only the compositions of her contemporaries, but man traditonall songs as well.
As for being white, her father was Mexican born, either that or you did not actually read this article. Dylan, Seeger and Guthrie (Arlo), on the other hand, are actually white, but I guess that is OK with you. Those gentlemen did not seem to mind her company.
14
be sure to watch the PBS American Masters series of her...it's nearly 10 years old now, but really, it's great..it's on youtube...
18
There is no one like Joan Baez. Never was. Never will be.
23
I once heard Joan give an evening anti-war (Vietnam) speech at Stanford University's Memorial Church. She peppered her talk with a few songs, sung a cappella. Her "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around" and "Amazing Grace" were revelations to me: a single human voice of inconceivable range, power and heavenly beauty, filling that huge cathedral and warming the stones as well as all of us.
34
A folk music icon no doubt, but most-fondly remembered by this then 16-year-old for her rendition of You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling in the 1966 The Big TNT Show concert film.
7
With Phil Spector on inaudible piano!
3
I will forever remember seeing her in concert in 1970. Beautiful voice, beautiful person. She is always inspirational. Thank you, Joan Baez, for sharing your gifts with the world!
16
Since Joan Baez came into my life, every one of her albums was like a loving letter from the older sister I never had. Thank you, Joan, for a lifetime of sharing your inspiration, wisdom and comfort.
15
Since '62, the sound track for my life. Saw her in person, the year I retired, '96. Perfect retirement gift. Gracias por la vida!
13
She’s from a rich family, had her first gold record at 19, has been popular for 60 years, has romanced Bob Dylan and Steve Jobs and sings songs about how unjust the world is.
1
Isn’t that to her credit, that unlike so many of the affluent she was never blinded by privilege?
10
So happy to see you enjoy the artist and her art.
3
You make it sound as though she was the Ivanka of American music. She has the gift of a great voice, she understands how to sing, and, as a human being, has a conscience.
17
I think it would be fitting to change Baez quote to, "I don't make history, I am an egomaniac."
5
I met her at the Standing Rock protest, and "egomaniac" would be an apt description. She disrespected the elders by filming ceremonies (after being requested not to) and carried much attitude. For her, it was about the photo op
Thoroughly disappointed in her behavior, especially since I held her in such high regard
3
James R Dupak, she used the phrase, "I am history" idiomatically, which means no longer relevant. As in, "My car was in an accident and can't be fixed. It's history."
27
I think it would be fitting to change Dupak's comment to "I'm just looking for any excuse to hate Baez"
11
Tho we never met, we grew up together.
Her music went with me as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1963, as a Red Cross worker, Viet Nam 66-67 and on and on.
Now at 76, I agree " “It’s not big, but I don’t think we can think in big terms now, or we’ll just get under the covers and never get out,” she said. “The little stuff almost becomes more important right now, because you have a chance at it. The world we are living in is being made horrible and is going to need every little victory — that your family and friends feel some kind of support, some kind of goodness.”
19
I would have loved to hear this antiwar activist's take on how kids today fall over themselves to join up for, or are railroaded into lionizing military service and killing for Presidential whim.
The draft for national participation in war clarified vision in 60s young people, it forced them to understand who was on which side. Without a draft you still have wrongheaded war and military waste, but it's a job option now not a national project and responsibility. Kids therefore invent lesser issues like identity to fulfill the youthful need to tug at the leash. In the process the real enemies of humankind are left free to win.
8
Heavy, as we used to say back in the 60's.
3
Wow, is she ever right: She doesn't MAKE history, she IS history. Why only inducted into the HALL OF FAME last year? Gender.
24
I saw her in '75 in Providence on Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue
I can clearly remember suggesting to my buddy after the show that she was better than Dylan that night !
11
Her version of Joe Hill is my favorite Baez song.
16
I had the good fortune to live in a small house near the home Joan rented in the Carmel Highlands when her career had just begun. The first time I heard her sing was with my son Dan on her lap. She gifted us a puppy from a litter. He always responded when we called the cat, so we called him Kitty. Later I had the good fortune to help her and Bob Zimmerman rent another house in the Highlands, where I occasionally had the good fortune to come upon them singing together. I once spotted them driving toward Big Sur in a convertible Jaguar. Zimmerman changed his name to Dylan and the rest is indeed history. Joan’s life has enriched us all, far beyond words.
33
Great recollection. Thanks for sharing!
3
Integrity is a combination of character and competence. Joan Baez always had integrity, and, no doubt, she always will.
14
I remember Baez, Dylan, Santana in Hamburg 1984. Dylan was horrible, Baez brilliant as usual and Santana had the luck of good weather (it started raining midway through his set). I didn’t think the three clicked particularly well together when singing “Blowin’ in the Wind” (there's a YouTube video of it) and later learned that due to differences between Baez and Dylan they didn’t finish the tour together as originally planned. I remember Joan Baez waving to and addressing the people on the roof of the high-rise air raid shelter neighbouring the infamous FC St. Pauli stadium (where the concert was held). They couldn’t afford the tickets but still wanted to watch and she said she played for them too.
17
She has been my idol ever since I was introduced to her music in the late 50's. I always regretted the day on the Santa Monica Beach when she walked by me and said hello that I did not speak to her to tell her how much I admired her as a person and loved her music more than any other music. I still possess and cherish every album of hers.
21
Dylan's tunes and Joan's voice - timeless. And she's still beautiful.
20
Saw her perform in Cleveland probably 55 years ago. She stood barefooted by her self in the middle of the stage with a guitar and sang a classic, maybe “the house of the rising sun.” Young, long-haired and captivating honest in her delivery. A great memory!
14
Joan Baez is still a force of nature. I’m glad she has chosen to let the world hear her voice in all its maturity. Her youthful “bel canto” always seemed incongruous to me, floating silvery through the war zone of life in the 60s, almost mocking her messages. Baez is more real and needed now than she ever was. Let her gather her blessings as she may. She’s earned every one.
25
So beautiful, Ms. Baez, thank you.
16
I remember not only her magnificent, utterly
pure voice,but her ethereal beauty. she was
the first woman on whom I had a nearly
suicidal crush.whenever I saw her in a photo
or documentary with Dylan,I wanted to...
well,better left unsaid...their performance of
"with God on our side " at the Newport folk
festival is one of the greatest performances
ever recorded. I wish her nothing but the best.
23
I remember her songs, her beauty and character and her passion for people and justice. I really can't think of an artist that mixed superb skill with vision and the capacity to touch people as Joan Baez did.
There are songs of hers that to this day bring tears to my eyes and I began listening to her in 1963. Thank you for a lifetime of enjoyment and inspiration. We will all pass on but your music will live forever.
28
Such a great lady. Wonderful article. She's sure been a part of my life since the 60's. Am sorry to see though that her last tour doesn't include Asia.
9
I remember seeing her at Oberlin College either my Sophomore or Junior year ('62 or'63). Such an elegant voice. That night still lives within me after all these years. A magnificent talent; fortunate still to be able to perform well after so many years.
16
Values. The right values. For all people.
Expressed by someone with a talent unsurpassed.
Three shirts.
The first LPs I bought.
Eggs from her own hens.
Why not a cultural hero for all of us? ALL of US!
Because we failed.
We were supposed to make it different.
But we got greedy.
A voice that penetrates the soul (do I have one?)
An article that makes me weep (proud snowflake).
Some of us still live and perform? Believers of inclusion?
Diamonds and Rust.
Tears tonight.
Smile in the morning?
43
My sentiments exactly. It's 6h40 in the morning here and I am smiling. As I often do when Joan's work crosses my path.
13
Amen.
5
I have been a lifelong fan of Joan Baez. Her music and her life have been an inspiration to me. She’s never been afraid to speak the truth in her mind and in her heart—most of us are, for fear of what people will think of us. As a singer/songwriter, I’ve always dreamed of sharing a stage with Joan one day, but I guess that will always remain a dream. “Diamonds and Rust” is the song that really spoke to me. The imagery and emotion drew me in, and I’ve been singing it ever since. Thank you Joan, for the trails you have blazed in music and humanity. I look forward to seeing you in New Haven in September.
24
A one-in-a-billion person with a once-in-a-billion voice. It's like winning the lottery twice.
I heard her sing 'Amazing Grace' a cappella in the Stanford Chapel without a mic in May of 1970. Although I was way in the back, she filled that church with her grace. I was transfixed.
It is remarkable when a few moments like that can help guide us for a lifetime, and it was done without any pretension.
Joan, may you live long and produce more great art and inspiration in the next medium of your choosing.
41
Cheers to Joan Baez and her indomitable 60s intellect and street spirit that helped ignite demonstration against the VietNam War and social injustice.
Long may she and her spirit live!
44
I memorized every song off of Diamonds and Rust and treasure the hours I spent in my childhood living room gazing at Joan Baez's beautiful face awash in golden light, her voice as strong and clear as a bell. She is the very symbol of justice and serenity and upright courage. I met her once when she performed on a television talk show for which I worked. As she walked past me I couldn't help but blurt out, my eyes welling a bit, "Joan, you're my hero." She opened her arms and hugged me tight. A gracious, lovely, open person and a true artist.
64
Earlier this week I wondered what song would come this way after listening to a humming-bird and an exquisite Ave Maria, and lo and behold, with Irish eyes smiling, it was Diamonds and Rust. 'Farewell, Ms. Baez' and enjoy some sounds of silence.
6
Earth to Joan, Rosa Parks is history you are a folk singer! In my youth ,during the sixties, I won the draft lottery No 7. However it wasn't any musician that inspired my anti-war position. The credit for that goes to the public library that I sat down in and studied the history of Vietnam at age 16. In fact many of my friends at the time couldn't stand Dylan or Baez feeling they were more about ego than concerned about our plight. Her statement in this article just proves that we were correct. In fact we young draftees that refused to go are the real history she exploited.
8
Wow, what an ego-centric trip you're on....Music, like other forms of art, help to change culture and shape events. In that respect, she, like Dylan, Guthrie, and many of the bands of the period, definitely helped to shape history.
51
There's a Disney movie out that has a scene with a dead dragon's carcass. The musicians and poets come along and write songs, the priests come and claim their god killed the dragon, the king comes to claim his credit for killing the dragon but the only character who knows the real story about the dragon's death just leaves all those people doing their thing. Such is life!
1
She did more than sing. Some of which is little known. She started an Institute to teach nonviolence which influenced me and maybe thousands of others to become activists or to resist the draft. She created an international human rights group in the 1980's which supported dissidents in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. And Vaclav Havel, the former Czech president who led the Velvet Revolution, credits her concert there in 1989 that she snuck him in to as a key moment in that revolution.
14
Baez has always been a class act, true to the principles of non-violent action. This story brought tears to my eyes when I first heard it:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2009/8/12/765667/-Joan-Baez-diffuses-ri...
If only more of us walked our talk on as straight a line as she does.
29
No matter what Joan Baez now says or does, nothing will take away from the fact that she was (and still is!) -- a beacon of light for what was once and still needs to be the peaceful conscience of this country.
Beautiful. Soulful. Innocent. True.
Joan Baez truly represented not only a movement -- but what is the very very best of America.
We need her voice as long as we can have it.
And at the same time, we need to say THANK YOU! -- for showing us the very best of who we are, and what this country can only continue to aspire to.
Thank you, Ms. Joan Baez.
La Luta continua.
The struggle continues.
42
Thank you, Joan Baez! Enjoy your last tour. You deserve a wonderful retirement!
27
The needle wore through the grooves as I listened to Joan's Child Ballad albums over and over in the mid to late sixties. I even picked up a guitar and tried to sing along, changing octaves frequently, of course. Amazing range. Amazing grace.
BTW, I'd buy that portrait of Richard Thompson if you could paint a 1952 Vincent Black Lightning and Red Molly in the background.
18
I've adored her since I was a kid. I was 15 when I read her first book, Daybreak, that she wrote at the age of 27. that book changed my life.
16
I felt the same!!
2
First, thank you, Alan Light, for the marvelous article about the beautiful lady, still shining and singing at 77 (I, ate 70, am a little younger). Second, for the History herself, the Great Joan Baez, who is still making history. And last, but not least, congratulations for everyone who made dozens of incredible comments.
PS - I was in Brazilian Naval Academy the first time I listened Joan Baez, Bob Dylan... I made up my mind and quit Navy, transforming myself in a lefty journalist. Thank's you all.
40
August 15, 1969. I saw Joan Baez from a crowded dark hillside natural amphitheatre in Sullivan County, NY. Traffic made two friends and I five hours late to the Woodstock Music Festival. At 1am, Joan Baez closed the first night of the three day festival. I could barely see her from our blanket, but she sounded like an angel. My older sisters had her albums which, at 17 years old, I had never played on my own. She remains a great activist and singer.
20
that's one of my fondest memories of Woodstock as well...my wife and I (I was 20) got there late Friday...after setting up our little tent just outside of the maine stage we got to go to sleep listening to Joan's angelic voice in the dark...sublime
9
Can't wait to see her in Tucson this fall.
5
I heard her sing in Tucson maybe 45 years ago when I was an undergrad at the U of A. Maybe I'll have the good fortune to hear her again on a future trip to the Old Pueblo. Enjoy.
1
"I don't make history, I am history". No conceit here, move on.
9
Ohhh—and rereading that section of the article—and she was saying that her actions and performances are NO LONGER making history, but they might be a reminder of when she, through her art and her political actions, was a major historical actor. I sure don’t hear conceit there. If anything, she is realizing that though she remains active, her time in the national and world spotlight has passed.
69
Lousy callout quote for a headline, isn't it? But what she said in the rest of that sentence makes it come out pretty differently.
9
I think she was making a joke about hold old she is! Lighten up....
10
Thank you Joan Baez.
18
Saw and heard her in the summer of 63 In an old Boston theater we were all mesmerized and remained drunk on her lovely voice. shoeless feet sweet faced gypsy-ness and the spirit of the times.
20
Stephen's wife taking over. Yes, I grew up listening to Baez. But it gets a little boring: everybody thinks they can paint. Everybody.
1
Having seen her exhibition in the gallery that sponsored it, I think she can paint.
Here's a link: http://seagergray.com/Exhibit_Detail.cfm?ShowsID=146
4
Thanks, MJ. She can definitely paint!
3
Where is the final concert?
A class act on and off stage.
14
Another life-long, passionate fan. Joan Baez has always been a touchstone for me. Her voice transports me, and all her music heals me. She can't know how many people to whom she is this important. Her music is a lifeline, and she is also such a fine person. I've never had the pleasure of hearing her live, but I hope to on this final tour. Have been listening literally all my life, since infancy, as my mother was a fan as well, particularly of "Early Joan."
21
I used to work at Esalen in Big Sur helping to teach and make pottery. I spent many hours out in the back areas of the place running kilns and handling the pieces mostly by myself. I sometimes had the extreme good fortune to have Ms. Baez sit on the edge of the cliffs and sing by where I was working/playing . Really it was just me and her mostly out there. I don't know how I was so lucky. She of course sounded wonderful always. It was obvious that she loved to sing so much. It was one of the many wonderful things I have to be grateful for.
Thank you so much Joan Baez.
45
how lucky
1
I’m glad to hear she is doing well. Always liked her style.
14
I feel blessed to have seen her in concert a couple years ago.
Her voice was clear as a bell and her energy radiated positivity.
I’ll always cherish that experience.
20
I was in high school when Joan Baez's first albums came out. I was transported by her singing and I just adored her. Then the political stuff started and I began to cool on her (not her singing). I thought she seemed not just against the war and other injustices but very angry and ad hominem towards those with whom she disagreed. What you noticed was the anger, not the message. She's didactic and "preachy" which i don't care for.
4
I remember that phase too, when she seemed hard-pressed to hide her cynicism. But then somehow - perhaps in response to her sister Mimi's death, I don't know - she abandoned all her posturing, and her stage presence became straightforward, unpretentious, and heartfelt. She was just real. Go hear her just once more if you have the chance.
10
"I don't make history, I am history" is not posturing? Please.
1
Oh yes, what a cynic! What a negative person! How dare Baez speak out on civil rights or against the war or work to bring hope to the oppressed people throughout the world? How dare Baez ask you to actually think and to care about the world you live in?
4
Where has time gone? I graduated high school in 1967. It seems like only yesterday, and now it's 50+ years later.
Thanks to Baez and all the songsters who saw us through those turbulent times.
37
The perfect thing to say. Thanks!
3
I have followed her over the years, along with Joni Mitchell, and Rita Coolidge, and Judy Collins. Saw her interview recently and it was like seeing an old friend. I've been listening to her album "Whistle Down the Wind." The song " The President Sang Amazing Grace " is beautiful and brings you back to that awful event in Charleston, SC and then to a day in our history when our President did the best thing he could do - He brought us together with love and grace.
30
It is a beautiful song, written, and first recorded by Zoe Mulford, btw.
7
Thank you, Joan Baez, for all the years and all the beautiful songs. You will always always be one of my favorite people, both for your beautiful voice, and also because you are a beautiful person, in every sense of the word. We could sure use more of you!
44
She, with Bob Dylan, Judy Collins and Pete Seeger, was among my first musical idols, and will last into the dark with me. What a joy, what a voice, what a spirit, what a conscience for us all! I can't wait to add "Whistle Down the Wind" to my musical experience.
She and Bob might be glued at the hip, but they are seared into my brain, a part of what I am as an aged child of the "explosion". And what a time it was, and what a gift was her contribution to it. Do "whistle down the wind" and be free, Joan.
56
Thank you Dave - and believe it or not - these people radiated all the way across the ocean to Switzerland, where I experienced exactly what you say here. Such joy, such insight and such lasting rewards.
27
Ms. Baez, is an icon. Whether she sings or not, she embodies the best of her generation and continues to serve as a role model for young people.
But the decluttering thing (?) I will never limit myself to three shirts.
15
After she turned The Band's heart-rending "Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" into bubble-gum pop I couldn't listen to her again.
8
I couldn't disagree more. Her soaring vocals and passion in the context of her personal activism turned that song into an anthem in my opinion.
15
We saw her a few years ago here in Vermont. No hoopla, no strobe lights; she sat on a chair and sang to us as though she had known us personally for years. Beautiful music and magnificently human stage presence.
38
Indeed, she truly IS history (and you can take that in several fashions, and what I mean is not the complimentary one).
She's only a bit older than me, and is about as important to me now as she was decades ago.
10
We saw her a few years ago here in Richmond, Va. and it really resonated to hear many of her songs in a city that grappled with the Civil War and the evolution of civil and equal rights. I sincerely hope the motivated young activists today who give me so much hope for change find their muse to lead them with a heartfelt song into the days ahead.
14
I feel very lucky that Joan's songs are part of my life's soundtrack. From "Blessed Are" to "In The Quiet Morning" and many others, she just lights up my heart <3
16
The world is a better place thanks to joan Baez. Her clarity of voice and moral leadership is uplifting and glorious.
32
I'm sorry, but the quote in the title made me roll my eyes hard. I understand important things were done in the 1960s but I'm so sick of the fetishizing of that decade.
11
You had to be in that decade to know what a watershed it was. Everything changed, and the music--Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, and so many more--was an integral part of it as it has not been since. I am grateful and proud that I was part of the generation that came of age in the sixties and was part of those exhilarating changes.
19
A point she stressed in the interview.
9
I think it's unfortunate that that quote was used as the title -- though understand why it was, since I'm sure it got more clicks than a more accurate title would have.
It was taken out of context. When I came upon it in the article I saw how Ms. Baez meant it to clarify her thoughts, and then it made sense.
16
When I was 9, I was kicked out of my bedroom so Ms. Baez could sleep there. She was passing through town on a nuclear disarmament campaign, and my UU minister dad was her host. I barely remember the moment, other than the stunning beauty of her singing in our living room. From that time on, her voice brings me back to something precious, a family memory, and being on the right side of history.
178
"Ms. Baez’s falsetto voice”
She is a soprano. Men have falsetto voices, not women. How did editors let that go by?
I have a Vanguard album of hers in which she sings “Old Blue” and one note was so high that the recording techniques of the day could not capture it truly, and sound comes out distorted on the vinyl.
Also, when she did Diamonds and Rust 30 plus years ago, she said her voice was deteriorating then and had to retrain it for that album.
21
IMHO, her best album!
I was put off by the use of "falsetto," too.
I poked around on the Net a bit, and in the online dictionary that popped up, the third definition given was "very high." The other two gave the more usual definition, especially related to tenors. I was surprised, though, that other reviewers of her albums and concerts referred to "falsetto," as well.
Regardless, "soprano" would have been much better.
9
Good lord, why are people so fixated on one little error in the article? My guess is the author probably confused the term falsetto with vibrato. It would still be a clumsy use of the term, but it's a mistake I suspect a lot of people could make.
I shook her had at the Bangladesh benefit concert in 1970. It was like meeting god.
8
When she spoke at Boston University in the late 1960s, I tried to get in to see her, but the hall was full to overflowing. I was hanging around the back of the building, when Joan appeared with a man who asked if I could tell Joan where the women's restroom was. I walked her down the hall to the bathroom, too shy to ask her to get me in to see her speak. She thanked me, and that was that. But I floated home afterward.
12
She deserves a Nobel Prize for putting up with Bob Dylan.
87
Make that:
... with the insufferable Bob Dylan.
7
What is the point of interjecting that kind of negativity after such a positive and lovely article? Joan and Bob both gained from their relationship and my guess is, like most very successful and talented people, they can both be a bit difficult to put up with from time to time.
12
Lol. Victor Maymudes, Dylan’s ‘sidekick’, had an interesting take on their relationship in his recent bio. Dylan wanted a conventional stay at home to be there for him type woman. And Joan Baez was not going to be that woman.
2
As always, the real deal.
27
I will never forget Ms. Baez showing up in Sarajevo in 1993 and her singing "Amazing Grace" when meeting Vedran Smailovic, "the cellist of Sarajevo" at the sight of the Breadline Massacre.
It's remarkable to find someone who has been involved in so many historical events--always on the right side of history. Truly a life well-lived.
64
Joan's father, who was a prominent physicist, was Mexican, he was not just "born in Mexico".
21
Folk music doesn't rock enough.
5
rock music doesn't folk enough...
6
If the Times allowed us to leave one word replies it would be "duh"
2
"conservatives learned how to talk, how to lie, how to switch things around in a way that liberals and progressives never did.”
Sounds just like a bad marriage. Seems there are people who actually enjoy doing this to others.
Maybe it comes down to the belief that everyone wants the same thing, basic good kind stuff, is wrong. Some people thrive on conflict and power plays.
So how to raise children to be able to deal with this? With enough hope to manage, the ability to respect people and to live knowing that kindness may not reside within many people.
Living as separate tribes hardly seems a good answer to this.
3
One of my favorites song is her doing Grasias a la Vida with Mecedes Sosa. It gives me goose bumps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMuTXcf3-6A
13
I can’t help but get nostalgic over this. Saw her at Forest Hills in ‘63. Which was the first time my parents let me go in a car to a concert with kids my age. She brought out her boyfriend Bobby for a few tunes. Talk about history. Thank you for your service Joan.
9
You are one of my greatest personal role models--for your art and your activism. You've held firmly to your principles, and for that you deserve so much praise.
I just ask, where is the next transformative protest singer/musician? Is that category no longer with us? I hope not!
10
Joan. If you decide to go to jail, let us know. We'll go with you and we'll all sing with our old voices until they can't stand it anymore and they open the doors. And then maybe we'll even sing some more after that!
12
Once upon a time in a land of milk and honey I happened upon a bookstore named "The Thunderbird" in the Carmel Valley Village in 1966. I was going to the local JC and my grandparents lived in the Village and I lived on a nearby ranch with one of my other grandparents. I chanced upon Ms. Baez, she was much older than me at 25, but I recognized a woman with a sense of purpose, even at my young age of 18. Sometimes one can instantly read a person and she full of a quiet confidence, not flashy, but also with a touch of timelessness. Her sister, Mimi, was also there and she had just lost her husband Richard Farina in late April in a motorcycle accident about a mile from where I sit now. I last saw Ms. Baez at her book signing in Carmel in 1987 and for almost a second I thought she remembered me, but I think what was going through our minds were our memories of those times....
11
I remember sitting at the Hippo restaurant in Menlo Park, CA, and Joan would be having an animated conversation with David Harris in the corner booth. Or you'd see her at the laundromat in Palo Alto. She was always of the people and never traveled with an entourage. An amazing person.
25
If you have a chance to go and see one of her last concerts, do it. I saw her a couple of years ago, and she still has that wonderful presence and great message, and by the way, she still sings pretty good, too!
Sorry to see you leave the stage, Joan, but isn't it wonderful that we can listen to you any time we want. Musicians leave a tremendous legacy, so your voice will live on. Thanks.
15
I think of Joan Baiz almost daily, especially when I read about the one-sided attempts to eliminate nuclear weapons from countries outside of the USA , without acknowledging that maybe we should be included in this regard as well. My Favorite on this theme is her ¨Last Night I had the Strangest Dream.¨ There are so many favorites for me, but given today´s climate, I vote for this one.
She is a great person and singer.
14
"Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream" was written by Ed McCurty, who was a big presence in Greenwich Village in the early 1980s. He sings that song on one of the "Fast Folk Musical Magazine" issues, which are all now part of the Smithsonian collection. "Fast Folk" was started in the early '80s by a folksinger, now deceased, named Jack Hardy. It's a great place to start to fill in the gaps of musical history.
14
Joan led with her voice and life - both ARE exquisite. Loved her when her first album came out, love her now. Let's not limit this singer to a 'singer,' she is so much more. Thanks, Joan. We received so much.
32
Thanks for the article on a beautiful humanitarian with a wonderful voice.
20
The new album is a great final testament, her voice strong. She does a beautiful version of the Tom Waits song "Last Leaf," a gem. Fine choice of other material too, wise and thoughtful.
There will never be anyone like her again.
Thanks for the music! God bless you.
17
When my ex- (and only...) wife and I split many years ago, there were two discussions about who got what. The first concerned the two (autographed) Joan Baez albums (the first two). We did rock,scissors, paper and we each got one.
The second, if interested, was about my 1950s Hawai'i "luau" shirts I had bought in Honolulu on my my way back to the world in 1968. We each got two & I won rock.scissors, paper for the fifth...
16
I've been wondering for a while why the Kennedy Center Honors haven't honored her. (She's certainly miles above some of their questionable selections of recent years.) No interest on her part? Still too controversial from her anti-Vietnam days? Her impact and body of work seem incontrovertibly worthy to me.
87
"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" for all its virtues as music is a pro-Confederacy song. That might give the Kennedy Center pause more than her Vietnam protest days.
10
Richie Havens saw fit to his own version of the song, and of course the composer, Robbie Robertson, is a Mohawk from Ontario. I think to call it pro-Confederacy misses the mark. Pro-South, maybe, as it is sympathetic to a fictional Southern family that lived through a war that was fought almost entirely in the South.
10
I've never thought of that as a pro-Confederacy song but as a musical lamentation of war. I guess we all hear what we choose to hear.
8
Thank you, Joan!
It's been a long haul, you were always an inspiration and a generous supporter of causes you inspired me to consider.
It may not quite be retirement, but you've earned time off of the road at the very least. If you drop in from time to time to sing or just to show support, it will always be welcome.
11
Never been a fan of Joan Baez, however, I have deep respect and a reverence for any artist who knows when to pull the plug due to their limitations taking center stage in their lives. She was quite the influential powerhouse back in her day and remained an incredible role model for many, many female artists. She has left a permanent imprint on the various social movements from the 60s. In some ways, she accomplished more with her music, her voice and her guitar than most politicians could hope for in their lifetime. Thank you Ms. Baez for helping to shake up things back then.
14
I love Joan Baez and have every single one of her recordings on both LP and CD. But she has always disappointed me when she mocks Bob Dylan, especially with scathing "impressions" of him in concert. True artists respect other artists. She has often implied that Bob Dylan never thanked her for her role in making him famous. But in the end, much of her own legacy and fame really depended on her association with Bob Dylan. In several of her autobiographical works, she leveled severe criticism, even sarcasm at him. But I do not believe Bob Dylan ever said anything negative about her in print or in interviews. She seemed to think it was a competition to be won. But Bob did not.
She once performed Amazing Grace in concert (I forget if it was a video or audio). A beautiful performance. At the very end, as the audience sat transfixed, before they could even applaud, she shouted into the microphone, "Eat your heart out, Jerry Falwell!". She demonstrated that she had no understanding of the song. She showed no grace at all. It destroyed the performance.
7
She's an imperfect vessel. With Falwell she sarcastically gestured that though born-again christians think they have the rights to the song, she disabused them of that notion with a quick, funny, snarky remark. Joan is about as holy as one needs to be in this lifetime. I don't mind her having some spunk. She has also described herself as a pessimist who keeps up the good work. I totally get it.
13
I first saw Joan Biaz in concert in 1959at the University of Chicagoand she has always represented to me the radical shift in cultural sensibility. Yes. She has flaws and apparently heartaches she has not gotten over, but she still stands for peace and justice. In this horrible time in the world-
12
An here I always thought her impressions of him were affectionate.
12
Oh Joan;
Love her or Meh? I'm quite sure she's a lovely person but I reside on the "Meh" side. Joan was always a singer, to me, who exemplified quality of voice over an ability to transmit raw emotion and poetry. I will always wish that she got into way more trouble with her voice and singing style. I've learned so much from you Joan, but don't quit! Make your best work now, if you can, now that the voice is leaving you....
6
Joan Baez should have done well to listen to her contemporary Grace Slick, who said famously [but did not act upon it herself] that musical artists in the public eye should have 10 years. No more.
4
Au contraire... Rock'n'roll is sui generis.
Which 10 years would your choose? Just 10 years of Joan Baez would be like 10 years of Renee Fleming.
12
That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. Many musical artists don't even hit their stride until after ten years. Ella Fitzgerald made her greatest and most popular recordings in the 1950's a good twenty years after her debut. That's just one example. There are thousands more.
6
A memory I have is a Joan Baez concert in the mid 60s. College venue. Joan stopped in the middle of a song and told security at the back of the audience to let the young mother with infant in. Said a lot about her. Also enjoyed her with Phil Ochs at the Bears Lair. Good memories.
19
It was horrifying to see Trump strolling around looking at prototypes for his hideous "border wall" in California 2 days ago. Our disgust never stops.
I immediately thought of Dylan's great Rolling Thunder Review 42 years ago. If you search youtube for "Deportee" you can watch Bob Dylan and Joanie sing this great Woody Guthrie song in Fort Collins, Colorado, on May 23, 1976. As fine a performance as each ever gave.
"We died in your hills and we died in your deserts
We died in your valleys, we died in your planes
We died neath your trees and we died neath your bushes
Both sides of the river, we died just the same."
-Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos), Woody Guthrie & Martin Hoffman, 1958
Thanks Bob. Thanks Joanie.
Respect.
114
Excellent article. Joan Baez is the only famous person I ever really knew. When she was a high school student in Palo Alto I knew her. She was a very quiet, pretty girl who was fairly well known for being “odd” because of her pacifist beliefs and she drove the high school administrators nuts when she refused to take part in the infamously stupid “air raid drills” we had in those strange Eisenhower days. She would often show up at parties with her guitar and sing, but rarely would she interact with others as she was somewhat shy. Absolutely no one then thought she would amount to much. Boy were we ever wrong. I’m just proud that in can say i knew her long ago. I wish her the best of luck!
97
I saw Joan Baez perform in Boston in the early 60s -- she was already famous and the concert was in a large hall. It was a big stage -- I will always remember how confidently she stood, in a black trouser suit with purple blouse. Magical!
11
I love her portraiture.
10
Mountains of Struggle.
An intellect with consciousness and ability, Joan put it out there like the Big Sur Lighthouse at midnight. Thanks for the compass.
18
I saw Joan Baez perform at an anti-war rally in San Francisco in 1969. I can't believe we're both still around. Sadly, Phil Ochs is not - he committed suicide after the songs stopped coming.
12
An American Beauty
12
Dear Joan, I drove my Freshman roommate crazy playing your wonderful album of Child Ballads over and over again. Then I got a guitar and learned some of them. In the summer of '64 I lived in Cambridge Mass and went to the Club '47 every chance I got. From then on, I got all your albums and listened to the songs, memorized and played some. Even now, when *Silver Dagger* comes on the radio it brings back those times and the revolutionary fervor we had. There is resonance. When Doug Jones was elected to the Alabama Senate, I believe it was because he prosecuted the KKK members responsible for the event memorialized in Richard Farina's *Birmingham Sunday*. Your voice singing that song still echoes. There still is hope. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for social justice. We all remember.
32
I was having my haircut at Vidal Sassoon in San Francisco some 20 years ago and at one point the stylist swung my chair around and there I was, facing Joan Bae. She was seated in a chair across the aisle, and she was glaring at me, almost to the point of snarling. I'd never met the woman, had only just seen her, but there she was, sending me hate vibes for no reason. Maybe she thought she deserved the salon all to herself?? Maybe she resented another woman getting her hair dark hair cut short? She says she doesn't make history, she is history. Well, she made herself a part of my history, in a very unpleasant and inexplicable way.
A small correction: Baez does not, has never had, a "falsetto", which is a male voice with much higher than normal range. She is a soprano.
33
That is incorrect. Women who are mezzo-sopranos or contraltos can sing in a falsetto voice (or in their “head” voice - the two are somewhat different). It is easier for women with such lower voice types to sing in the soprano tessitura using their falsetto register/head voice than to try to push their normal voice to sing high notes. One would have to ask Ms. Baez, but I have always thought that she is a mezzo-soprano who uses a falsetto/head voice when singing in the upper register - that is part of what makes her high notes so ethereal.
2
Two of the greatest folk music voices from the 1960s belong to Judy Collins and Joan Baez. And I'd have to give the #1 slot to Joan, who is instantly recognizable on any recording she's made.
There's no shame in admitting you can't perform anymore. It happens to all of us. The key is to make a graceful departure while you still have most of your chops. Paul Simon knows it's time, as did Greg Allman (although we lost him too early). It's probably time for Eric Clapton as well, based on his diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy, but he hsn't realized it yet.
Thanks for six decades of memorable music, Ms. Baez. Enjoy your painting and keep drinking from the Fountain of Youth...
13
It's probably difficult for singers/musicians to let go of the public adoration. It must be an absolute high to perform, even though you're no longer at the same level with your voice. I'm sure it's never easy admitting you're a legend, but a dinosaur nonetheless, and have to make room for younger artists. Once you've gotten to a certain level, things probably get more difficult as you age and your voice is no longer what it once was in your younger days. Joan Baez might be going through that right now.
Linda Rondstadt, for example, had to retire from her singing career. She has said she can no longer sing due to probably advanced Parkinson's Disease. I'm sure she'd love to keep doing records and concerts.
Well, the problem for all of these musicians is Tony Bennett. 90+ and still performing. They probably think, "If he can do it, I can."
Seriously - if your entire adult life is defined by the performing arts, how do you walk away from that? It's one thing to do the "40 years and a gold watch" career and then retire to what you love doing. But what if what you love is playing music and performing for audiences?
To Ms. Baez: I remember a barefoot singer, a stool, a guitar and Silver Dagger. I remember bicycling up the hill from Roberts and stopping at the gate to ask if I could fill my water bottle. 1970, I think it was. My kodachrome fades, your music does not and will not. Carry it on. We shall overcome.
22
A good woman. She did what she could. What more can be said of us?
14
Thanks Joan
One of the most magical voices ever heard
17
Sweet Sir Galahad came in through the window when the moon was in the yard. He took her hand in his hand, shook the long hair from his neck and he told her she'd been working much too hard. It was true that ever since the day her crazy man had passed away to the land of poets' pride, she laughed and talked a lot with new people on the block, but always at evening time she cried. And here's to the song of their days, of their days.
Thank you, Joan.
15
joan baez: music for your great grandparents. seriously: does anyone under the age of 65 care?
2
Does anyone care about the past? Yes! People do. The past is a road map to the future. If you don't care, you've missed the point of whatever education you may have received.
26
And when your older, and your parents have passed and your friends start going, you will have memories to cherish and nothing else will matter.
9
"seriously: does anyone under the age of 65 care?"
-------
If they don't, it's their loss. (written by someone under 65)
6
The reason she will most probably end up as a footnote in rock history, let alone hisotry itself, is directly related her mentiining that she IS history. Even Fidel Castro only said that history will absolve him.
1
I interpret her statement differently, and more humbly. I think she means something like "when people see me on the stage, they think of me as representing the past, not changing things in the present". That's why the next sentence is that maybe she's "reminding people of a time when we had the music, the cause, the direction, and each other".
38
It's amazing how determined some people are to find something to complain about. That wasn't here meaning at all. The truth is if that quote wasn't there you would have found some other excuse to dismiss her. I don't understand why some people are so determined to be so gratuitously negative.
5
A lovely article about a wonderful artist, BUT -- either the editor or the author should go look up the definition of "falsetto." It's not applicable to Joan Baez's voice, unless there's something about Joan Baez's gender identity that I don't know about. Assuming she identifies as female, though, you should have used the word "soprano."
20
Article was written by a man. Perhaps he doesn't understand the musical difference.
1
It has nothing to do with whether a man is singing or a man is writing. Neither of you seems to know much about singing. Women who are mezzo-sopranos or contraltos CAN sing in a falsetto voice (or in their “head” voice - the two are somewhat different). It is easier for women with such lower voice types to sing in the soprano tessitura using their falsetto register/head voice than to try to push their normal voice to sing high notes. One would have to ask Ms. Baez, but I have always thought that she is a mezzo-soprano who uses a falsetto/head voice when singing in the upper register - that is part of what makes her high notes so ethereal.
What a voice- such purity ,such clarity.
Thank you, Joan Baez.
14
If you love and appreciate her, watch her recent segment on CBS Sunday Morning. Lovely....
13
Thank you Joan, for all you have done. It was never a real protest unless you were there! You are exiting the (official) stage with grace. We could all wish to have the same smarts and dignity. Good to know you will still be a fighter for social justice - we need you more than ever now.
9
I've been a fan of Joan Baez's beautiful singing voice, as well as her humanitarian activist voice, since even before I saw her in concert at the Pittsfield (Massachusetts) Boys Club in the summer of 1963. She is one of my heroes. Thank you, Joan, for your wonderful music and your powerful activism. You have made a big difference in this sad world.
15
I saw her at Central Park's SummerStage in NYC about 20 years ago. It was easy to just walk in then and I was pressed up against the stage when she asked for a request and of course I screamed out "Diamonds and Rust."
A year or so later I saw her in the park walking with a friend where I was skating and I told her that I was the one who requested the song she sang at SummerStage when she was there last.
She looked me right in the eye, handed me a flower that she was holding, smiled her big beautiful smile and said, "far out."
We both laughed and then she continued her walk.
Thanks Joan.
13
You have to know when to hold them and know when to fold them. Joan gives us yet another reason to admire herald accept her as a model by her graciousness in stepping back.
7
My sister had a Joan Baez album early in her career when I was a pre-teen. I recall a live version of "Copper Kettle"; not well-known, but a showcase for her pure, dulcet voice. Although I was a blues and hard rock guy, her anthems of protest and long collaboration with Dylan in the '60's kept her front and center in the mental musical soundtrack of the times. I recall having the LP "Gulf Winds" in the '70s which was a bit too confessional in the fashion of all folk and soft rock artists of that decade, but even lame lyrics were sung beautifully. I admire both her talent and her commitment to social activism and am glad she has the grace to know when to bid farewell to the recording and touring aspect of her career, to which so many over-the-hill artists consumed either by vanity of the lust for one more big payday succumb. Well played in every way, Joan.
16
The title song from that entirely self written album "Gulf Winds" is, in my opinion, one of the best recordings Baez ever made. It's just Joan and her guitar in a ten minute recounting of some Baez family history. It is a remarkable recording for the song itself and the performance. Baez was an exceptional guitarist, something that often gets overlooked, and her skill is on full display here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyAHAkKq0vI
2
Thank you Joan for all the music you gave us. Been a listener since the beginning (I'm 73). Always faithful, just as you have been.
You and Dylan have been the rocks.
14
In 1963, my "beatnik" tenth grade English teacher frequently played Joan Baez albums for the class and taught me more than she would ever know. About beauty, about language and about individuality. Thank you Ms. Brown at Walled Lake Central High. And thank you Joan, for your everlasting pure voice and clear heart and mind.
34
She is certainly part of my history. When in the 80's I was diagnosed with cancer, my father, a military man, was very distraught, but couldn't express himself. What he did was buy me a Joan Baez "greatest hits" LP, which I listened to over and over again while recovering from cancer and chemo. To this day whenever I hear her voice, I think of his, and well up. Thank you Joan, for helping him reach out to me.
32
I grew up listening to my parents play Baez's album, "Gracias a la Vida" and now as an adult I still enjoy it. Her political advocacy was just as powerful as her artistry, especially for us Mexicans. She continues to exude the passion for social justice and as well as for her work, to this day. It was a bonus to find out she's recently become a minimalist. Viva la Baez!
19
It was in 1964, at a small, outside venue in the Maryland exurbs of D.C., at a time when I was at a low ebb, that I made it to a Joan Baez concert. She was my favorite folk singer, male or female, and I was in awe of her voice and in admiration of her moral courage. She sang beautifully, of course, and then, in the middle of the concert, appeared a surprise guest artist, Bob Dylan. He played an acoustic guitar and sang several duets with Joan. The chemistry between them was almost magical; It was a musical and life event I will always remember and cherish.
24
Bless Joan Baez, a troubadour and true humanitarian. I will always remember her giving impromptu concerts on the streets of San Francisco immediately after the tragic time in San Francisco when Mayor Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk were murdered. A true healer in soul and spirit with the voice of an angel.
43
Recently Joan's name came up in discussion with an 18 year old doing some work for me. The girl had never heard of her so we sat down with my computer and pulled up youtube. After playing my three favorite songs my friend wanted more and we both sat and listened to selections from most of her albums. My young friend was in tears. "Why don't we know about her?" she asked. Sharing her discovery was a great experience.
Joan's never had the commercial ambitions many of those who "make it" had--she wanted more to make the world better. And she has. With her voice, but also her sharing of her moral compass, and bringing focus and witness to issues that were important for all of us.
I have been fortunate in my life to have heard Joan at about 20 concerts over the years and even once had dinner with her and some friends. I heard her last 2 years ago and while her voice does not stretch as far in range as it once did it is still incredibly beautiful.
Thank you NY Times for this article but mostly thank you, Joan for sharing your incredible voice and your incredible mind with all of us. People will still be listening to you for at least the next hundred years. And we will always think of you with love, for being part of our history, yes, but just for being.
171
Same thing sorta happened to me. Was listening to a West Texas radio station playing folk music on the internet and I decided to call to make a request. The DJ was young and didn't know who Richie Havens was. Made me sad. At least you were able to educate the kid.
8
I am a life long fan. Thank you Joan Baez.
12
Never been a real fan of hers. But, I get it (sorta). She was an important cultural figure in her time among a certain slice of American life. I just wonder why she is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That seems really weird to me, particularly as folkies of the early Sixties abhored Rock and Roll.
1
No, we did not. I honestly cannot think of anyone who did. We loved Joan Baez and Robert Johnson AND the Beach Boys AND the Rolling Stones, etc.
21
How about all those hard core folkies who shouted down Dylan at Newport and Albert Hall when he went "electric"? I have nothing against Joan, she just never "spoke" to me the way she did to others like yourself. My real point is that she was no rock and roller. Joan Jett was a rock an roller. Not, Joan Baez! I wouldn't expect to see Joan Jett in the Folk Music Hall of Fame.
2
Don't forget Smokey Robinson.
I wonder how much we will ever know about how her music influenced us in a 1000 different small ways. I used to play her recordings on a ship bound for viet nam during the war. Did it affect my views, the crews? I do not think we will ever be able to quantify it. But it was there, boy, was it there.!!
93
I too am a Vietnam veteran. I listened over there to Dylan, Judy Collins and Joan Baez to help keep my sanity. When I returned I saw her live outdoors at Stanford in the summer of 1971. I had the deep suntan and close cropped military haircut from Nam. I stood up to take her picture when she invited anyone to do pictures at the start of her show. She saw me and just as I snapped the photo she stuck her tongue out at me. I loved that and have never forgotten her spirit and uniqueness. Her immortal voice will live forever.
5
I sing because of Joan Baez. She has inspired me as a musician and as a person for 50 years. I am so grateful to have lived in a world which has her in it. I hope she has some sense of what a difference she has made in so many lives. Thank you, Joan.
17
So glad to have a new album from Joan Baez. I have long admired her activism, and her music was a big part of my life during art school. I was familiar with her talent as a songwriter and singer, but I had no idea she was also an incredibly talented painter. A wonderful feature on CBS Sunday Morning this past week showed her paintings, and her portrait of Bob Dylan just blew me away. I remembered how I loved the song she wrote about him and Diamonds & Rust is now on my playlist. Thank you Joan for sharing your talents with us.
12
I've been a fan of Joan Baez since around 1962-63, when I became familiar with folk music while I attended high school in southern Illinois. I was then and still am now a supporter of civil rights and the practice of nonviolence. In the later 60's, I grew into the peace movement and became a draft resister, returning my draft card in the first nationwide return. Throughout those 55-56 years, I've viewed Joan as a friend and guiding light - even though we've never met. While I have several of her albums, I have never seen her perform other than on a television set. Thank you, Joan, for giving us all your gift of voice and music to support us in our struggle to improve the world. And I hope to finally see you live in Seattle on Nov. 4th. May God bless you.
18
I do admire Joan Baez a proud Staten Islander. The headline about I am history, is a bit of a turn off. She is a folk singer and very good. Her most famous songs were her Dylan covers. Two great survivors from the folk era.
1
I think maybe you took the quote a bit out of context. I took it to mean, "I'm old and it's up to someone else to make history."
17
Or she’s history the same way someone like, say, John Lewis is. A survivor of a tumultuous time, upon whom the rest of us project our respect and our own histories
9
I think she meant she's done, as one would say if someone retired after a long tenure: "She's history."
12
Beautiful article. Thank you Ms. Baez. You are well loved. May you be forever young.
24
A letter for Ms Baez: You were the sound of the 60s for me and my friends. You stayed with us for all these years. When do we get to say thank you? Right here in the NYTimes who has published this article on where you are now, in your artistic and private life. Every year the Kennedy Center gives out honors. I want you to have one - as a great American, one with a conscience. Since that doesn't look like it is going to happen, maybe your fans can cheer you here, with letters of gratitude.
136
My idea of perfection: Snowing outside, fire going, baking bread and listening to "Diamonds and Rust."
Thank you, Joan!
136
Terrific article about a great and influential artist and activist. I have listened to her music since my teens and always came away inspired. As a female musician myself, however, I must point out that Joan Baez was and is a soprano. Falsetto is a term used only for the high range of a man's voice.
68
Glad you said this -- I was about to.
3
Thank you for pointing that out, I am not a musician, but falsetto sounded wrong. She is a gorgeous soprano and a beautiful soul.
4
Elizabeth: Re: "Falsetto is a term used only for the high range of a man's voice." I should point out, however, that, in the first place, although "falsetto" is necessarily high, high is not necessarily falsetto. A good male singer can sing many of the very same pitches either falsetto or modal.
In the second place, although the term "falsetto" is usually reserved for male singers, it is physiologically perfectly possible for female singers to employ the very same technique. It's just more difficult to distinguish falsetto singing from modal singing in females. I can't call enough of Baez's singing to mind to venture an opinion as to whether she used falsetto. It's easy enough for me to remember, however, that Joni Mitchell often did for special effect.
In any case, the great probability is that the writer of this article simply doesn't know what he's talking about and doesn't even believe when it comes to music that that matters a whit.
2
Actually Joan Baez doesn't make history, nor is she history. She's a singer and a songwriter, that's all. A very talented one, but in a few centuries, it's pretty doubtful that anyone will know any of her songs, just as it is with nearly all songwriters.
3
I suspect at least The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down will resonate through time.
Looking forward to the new generation of singer songwriters for this Resistance!
7
First, you should look inward and ask yourself why you feel it's necessary to share such a bitter, unsolicited comment. Next, you should know that if you study history in its totality it's not just about kings, presidents, battles, wars, and the economy. History is also about social change and those who help to bring about those changes. Ms. Baez's contributions through her art and activism is inextricably linked to the tremendous social upheaval of t960s-70s. She will be remembered much longer than you give her credit for and most likely much longer than anything you have accomplished.
15
Politely beg to disagree. In a few centuries, when they look back at the protest marches of the 1960's Joan Baez will be remembered. Can even see them using them again for their own protests.
14
Dear Joan, I was able to see you at the Mariposa Folk Festival (Toronto Island) in 1969 and then bought my first copy of Any Day Now. I still listen to it at least once a week. Thank you for everything!
16
I love "Any Day Now."
9
I went to Brandeis U in Waltham, Massachusetts 1956 and graduated in 1960. Some time during my time there, we went in to Boston or perhaps Cambridge to a coffee house and heard Joan Baez sing. We asked her to play at a dorm social hour, I think the fee was $50; she was a great success for a no-name singer.
36
I love Joan Baez. Thank you, Ms. Baez, for sharing your beautiful voice and music, and for inspiring so many people over the years!
59
Joan Baez: I am much older than you but I still enjoy your beautiful songs and your singing style. You are very poetic and romantic in your singing style with culture and love. When I was a part-time student and whenever I have time I would listen your songs and relax with records I purchased and I still have those records. I did not enjoy the Beetles but I think you are still the best intellectual singer. Please don't tell us that this would be your last recording. You should continue your artistic contribution to the turbulent world that we are living in today. Voice changes but people still love your songs especially older generations. Please make us feel happy and with a peace of mind.
11
Elegant, eloquent, gentle and considerate, we met on St. Marks Place and parted, knowing probably forever, with a kiss on my cheek I'll never forget. Since a little boy, the sound of her voice usually signals tears to my eyes, but when I hear her sing Percy's Song, it is much much more than anything else anywhere. I think I'll tune in right now and have a listen.
18
This is a sad passing. I am excited to be going to see her and I will be taking my daughter to see Ms Baez. Ms Baez is a link to an age of great promise but also misery. She is the tail end of an episode of history where art blossomed all around us. It sometimes feels like we live in a desert, humanity drained of music and color. Its that the cost of the security most of the world now has? I hope not.
23
"Mr. Dylan was inducted into the Rock Hall in 1988, 29 years before Ms. Baez."
This line seems intended to suggest yet another example of men receiving recognition while women are ignored. And there are plenty of instances of that. But I think that it has more to do with the fact that he actually wrote and sang rock music and she didn't.
I'm glad she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame because she deserves all the acclaim that she gets. But the definition of "rock" has to be really stretched to include her music. I'm happy it was.
12
The R&R Hall of Fame doesn't claim that all of it's inductees are rock musicians. Ray Charles was inducted years ago and he was not a rocker, neither was Johnny Cash. However, they were major influences on rock and roll and greatly influenced by rock and roll. There is no question that the same can be said of Joan Baez. She may not be a rocker herself, but her influence on the music and on other musicians runs deep. I don't think there has been a woman with a guitar over the last half century in any genre of music who hasn't been influenced by Joan and more than a few of the men as well. And the same must be said of virtually every musician who has become a political or social activist through music or direct action. Joan is one of the defining musicians of the last half century and if she had been a man she would have been in the RR Hall of Fame many years ago.
6
I am happy to defer to any argument in favor of Joan Baez suitability for the tribute, having asserted that I am happy about it. My only problem would be with the last sentence of this statement. I cannot see how one could know that "if she had been a man she would have been in the RR Hall of Fame many years ago" unless one had been privy to their deliberations over all of that time. If not, it just seems like an assertion of "self evident" doctrine.
Actually what it suggests is Baez had nothing to do with the world of rock and roll. No more, no less.
I suppose that the Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience award is the equivalent of a Lifetime Achievement Award in Enlightenment, but in my mind, it does not come close to recognizing Joan Baez as one of the greatest humanists of our time. The first time I saw Joan Baez perform was in a coffee house in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1965; the last time was at the Paolo Soleri Amphitheater in Santa Fe in the mid-1990s, there were many times in between, all of them memorable. You've done good Joanie, take a break.
56
I was never a fan of her vocal style, but I admire the way she sticks to her principles and stays grounded despite decades in the spotlight. Her influence on generations of musicians is undeniable, and her political and social activism for justice and equality is a shining example for the ages. Also admirable is that she has the grace to know when it's time to stop singing and to channel her energy elsewhere.
I wish her well on her final tour and thank her for all her hard work, on and off the concert stage.
22
@JR - Yes! And now I actually like her voice - not simply because it's lower and less dramatic, but now it seems real - reflecting a life lived. (And still love listening to her late sister and brother-in-law, Mimi and Richard Farina - there are days when nothing but "Pack Up Your Sorrows" will help. :-)
6
JR, just curious... what vocal style are you a fan of?
Thanks so much for all the wonderful music and inspiration over the years.
52
Joan Baez is an incredible musician and activist. She has a special place in the hearts of millions both young and old. I had the pleasure of meeting her two years ago, and she was an immensely kind and caring person. We love you Joan!
25
I'm glad to report that her voice has only declined by her own high standards. As of last January, on the steps of SF City Hall, it was as electrifying as ever.
163
I always wanted to hear Joan sing, but never had a chance unless last year, when my wife and I attended a Lampedusa concert to raise funds for the Jesuits to aid refugees. Even though Joan was not the "star" of the show, it was exciting. Joan Baez is one of the few truly heroic people on the planet.
48
“My foundation in nonviolent political action was set before I started singing, and both are second nature to me. So I do not preclude the possibility of civil disobedience and even going to jail. Someone will have to.
33
Joan Baez is a beautiful human being, the kind for which we should all be thankful. Not only has her voice and music been enchanting us for decades, but she is a role-model for future generations of women.
I had the pleasure of seeing her perform once some twenty years ago in Cambridge, England, and it was unforgettable. Now I hope to see her one last time on her farewell tour. Thank you, Joan, for all the wonderful music and passion for social justice that you have given to the world!
193
A classic and a classy lady. She not only through her music but also through her activism has proven to be a force to be reckoned with. As a woman, as an individual, she is iconic in her honesty and her relentless pursuit of justice, fairness, and equality.
She may be retiring from singing, but fortunately so many, many of us will have her deep, beautiful voice being played often on our devices from iPhones to CD's to even vinyl. I look forward to viewing - and purchasing - her paintings to come. And I also look forward to joining her in her passionate presence and involvement in causes near and dear to our hearts.
33
What a pleasure to encounter again a woman who has stuck to her beliefs and ideals for so many years, who has not wavered in support for the humane beliefs she has held and practiced as a troubadour and an activist. May she enjoy many good years more, painting and lending a hand or her voice when she feels moved to.
151
Thank you Joan. I'm now 71 and you always felt like a big sister.The fight goes on.
68
Strong image of a beautiful woman with a voice for the ages. I'd love to meet her and make a portrait. I still listen to the first album.
62
I wonder WHY they haven't honored her...maybe she wouldn't accept?
Joe Henry is literally my favorite pop(...?) artist of all time, so I'm excited about this album. Joan Baez, who I saw in concert at Stony Brook circa 1978, has chosen well for production of her final album. Anyone who is unfamiliar with Henry's own fascinating body of work would do well to start with the album "Trampoline" and move forward in his discography.
16