Today is Joan Baez's 65th birthday. Last night, I relistened to her second album, the eponymously titled one that includes Mary Hamilton and Silver Dagger and All My Trials and House of the Rising Sun. WHAT A VOICE!!!
IMHO, every female who ever grew her hair long, put on a pair of jeans and sang a song accompanying herself on a guiter owes her a debt. It's hard to remember today how influential she was-- at 19 she was on the cover of Time Magazine (when that really meant something). She set the standard for combining musical artistry with political activism. Everyone from Emmylou Harris to Ani DiFranco, from Odetta to Aimee Mann, from Joni Mitchell to Melissa Ferrick-- they all followed in her footsteps.
Happy birthday Her Joanness.