Far Out 40: A playlist of the most beautiful songs by the forgotten women of folk
From Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell to Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, we often conjure up a certain set of names when we think of classic folk artists. Yet, dig a little deeper, and you’ll find a whole host of forgotten names, mainly female, who deserve to be celebrated on the same levels as the all-time greats.
The music industry has always been considerably kinder to men – expecting less and giving them more in return. While there are several iconic female folk artists, there are legions that were never able to make it big despite possessing incredible amounts of talent. Perhaps they simply weren’t taken seriously, or maybe they didn’t have the means to abandon domesticity and other expectations in favour of writing, recording and touring the world.
Then there are those certain female folk artists who never meant to become famous; they simply made music as a mode of expression, such as Sibylle Baier and Molly Drake (Nick Drake’s mother), recording themselves onto tapes at home. Years later, some were coaxed out of obscurity by family members, like Baier, whose son encouraged her to release a collection of her songs, which became Colour Green. Or, like Drake, these recordings were discovered years later and released posthumously.
We can thank the internet for helping the rediscovery of many forgotten female artists, such as Vashti Bunyan. The musician attempted to start a pop career in the 1960s with little success. Instead, she abandoned modernity and travelled to a commune via horse and cart, writing songs on her guitar during the journey. She recorded these tracks in 1970 and released them as Just Another Diamond Day, which also failed to shift many copies, causing her to abandon music. Only years later, thanks to curious vinyl collectors on the internet, did Bunyan reemerge into the spotlight, reissuing her album and garnering a cult following in the process.
A more tragic example comes in the form of Connie Converse, who went missing in the ‘70s after several years of trying – and failing – to become a successful folk artist. She recorded songs on a reel-to-reel tape with the help of her friend, the cartoonist Gene Deitch. He was responsible for sharing the tapes with the public in the 2000s, introducing her music to new listeners who quickly fell in love with her gentle songs. We will perhaps never know what happened to Converse, but her music has immortalised her memory beautifully.
A story somewhat similar to Constance’s belongs to Shelagh McDonald, who disappeared in the ‘70s after releasing two albums. It wasn’t until the 2000s, however, that she reappeared. She did a tell-all interview with the Scottish Daily Mail, where she revealed that she had experienced a particularly bad acid trip, which left her with severe paranoia. She forced herself into relative anonymity and stopped singing; only in the past few years have her songs been rediscovered, with McDonald also returning to performing.
Some of these artists, upon being rediscovered, recorded new music, such as Bunyan and Linda Perhacs, proving that it’s never too late to have another go at something, even when the first attempt appeared to be a failure. From those who are more well-known in the sphere of forgotten female folk artists to the relatively obscure, here are 40 songs that deserve to be heard by more listeners.
A playlist of beautiful songs by the forgotten women of folk
- ‘Wish I Was A Single Girl’ – Tia Blake
- ‘Diamond Day’- Vashti Bunyan
- ‘Forget About’ – Sibylle Baier
- ‘Talkin’ Like You (Two Tall Mountains)’ – Connie Converse
- ‘Chimacum Rain’ – Linda Perhacs
- ‘I don’t love nobody’ – Elizabeth Cotten
- ‘The Seeds of Thyme’ – Isla Cameron
- ‘Walkin’’ – Patti Whipp
- ‘Good Times’ – Shelagh Mcdonald
- ‘The Kiss’ – Judee Sill
- ‘I’d Like To Walk Around In Your Mind – Vashti Bunyan
- ‘I Remember’ – Molly Drake
- ‘Autumn Lullaby’ – Bridget St John
- ‘Early Morning Blues and Greens’ – Diane Hildebrand
- ‘Hurried Life’ – Ruthann Friedman
- ‘Take Me’ – Karen Dalton
- ‘Freight train’ – Elizabeth Cotten
- ‘How Wild the Wind Blows’ – Molly Drake
- ‘I Los Something in the Hills’ – Sibylle Baier
- ‘It’s Gone’ – Patti Whipp
- ‘Nine Hundred Miles’ – Barbara Dane
- ‘The Rising of the Moon’ – Tia Blake
- ‘O Willow Waly’ – Isla Cameron
- ‘She Moves Through the Fair’ – Anne Briggs
- ‘Father Neptune’ – Connie Converse
- ‘Piper’s Call’ – Ruthann Friedman
- ‘Nothing More Than Strangers’ – Catherine Howe
- ‘Hey, Who Really Cares?’ – Linda Perhacs
- ‘Ask Me No Questions – Bridget St John
- ‘Stargazer’ – Shelagh Mcdonald
- ‘Winter is Blue – Vashti Bunyan
- ‘The Recruited Collier’ – Anne Briggs
- ‘The Tailor and the Mouse’ – Shirley Collins
- ‘Terrarium’ – Nancy Lee Baxter
- ‘The Pearl’ – Judee Sill
- ‘Dink’s Song’ – Carolyn Hester
- ‘Dedication’ – Mary Perrin
- ‘God Bless the Grass’ – Malvina Reynolds
- ‘I Hate the Capitalist System’ – Barbara Dane
- ‘Maybe In Another Year’ – Jennie Pearl