Category Folk

“Heart Like a Wheel” (Linda Ronstadt/Kate and Anna McGarrigle)

Heart Like a Wheel, Linda Ronstadt

Today’s classic song of the day was never released as a single, but it should have been. The song is “Heart Like a Wheel” and it was written by Canadian singer/songwriter Anna McGarrigle, recorded by both Anna and her sister Kate and by big-time American singer Linda Ronstadt. “Heart Like a Wheel” is a beautiful song about how wonderful and…

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“Hammond Song” (The Roches)

The Roches

Today’s classic song of the day is more obscure than most, and I expect that many readers of this blog won’t know it. But if you do, you probably love it. The tune is “Hammond Song” by the Roches. The Roches were a new-folk group of three sisters (Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy) out of New Jersey who hit the scene…

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“Too Many Martyrs (The Ballad of Medgar Evers)” (Phil Ochs)

All the News That's Fit to Sing, Phil Ochs

This week’s last socially relevant song of the day is “Too Many Martyrs (The Ballad of Medgar Evers)” by the late, great folksinger, Phil Ochs. It’s a tribute to and a lament for the life and death of Medgar Evers. Medgar Evers was a Civil Rights activist in Mississippi during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Evers was an Army…

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“If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)” (The Weavers/Peter, Paul and Mary/Trini Lopez)

If I Had a Hammer, the Weavers

Today’s classic socially conscious song of the day is “If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song).” It’s a progressive song, a protest song, a song arguing for justice, equality, and the power of the people. “If I Had a Hammer” was written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays of the folk group the Weavers back in 1949 and was…

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