From a lifetime spent making her voice heard
Folk queen and civil activist Joan Baez has spent a lifetime making her voice heard. Here’s what she has to say.
Find your sound
I listened to music when I was little and just fell in love with it. I fell in love with the violin because of the vibrato, and then voices that had it too. I just wanted to sound like that. I would stand in front of the mirror wiggling my adam’s apple to make my voice sound like that. Eventually the vibrato came on it’s own.
Know where you’re going
I never thought this would turn into a career. I loved the coffee shop I sang in and was amazed that people would turn up to hear me. The career bit just came out of nowhere. I had times when my career was really shaky; I had no record contract and I had to figure out who I was. I hired a manager, told him I wanted to be part of the scene and he told me we’d have to start at the bottom and work up. I needed that.
Success is unbelievable
I never thought ‘this is it, I’ve made it’ and I was never showbiz. The first time I filled a tennis stadium with 12,000 people I didn’t get that they were there to see me. As I look back, and I have been in the public eye longer than I haven’t, I can see my success was very much overnight. I mean, I was on the cover of Time Magazine at twenty-one. It was the perfect storm, but a lot of it was the right place at the right time.
Politically correct
Sometimes I was criticised for using politics to sell records. Other times it was the view that politics would get in the way of my music. To me, they came together and I was glad I could do both. I did feel a little that Bob Dylan overshadowed my career at the time. His career was outstanding; I didn’t write ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ after all. When he went into the heavier side, it took the spotlight off me. But there are other places where I’m known because of my politics. I would never have given up on that - music and politics are connected. It still is.
Speak out
I didn’t compromise at the beginning, but then I read that Gandhi said ‘you can compromise, but don’t compromise your soul’. I liked that. Sometimes I just wouldn’t compromise, like when I protested in the Middle East. I didn’t realise that my protest enraged the head of the record company and he pulled my album. But I wouldn’t keep my mouth shut and I think it was worth it.
Keep your head
I missed a lot of fun and never took drugs. I alienated a lot of people. I admired them, but we weren’t on the same wavelength. I went to see Janis Joplin and asked if she wanted a cup of tea! While everyone was out drinking and taking drugs, I couldn’t really say, ‘Come to the Quakers House and meditate’! But it was self-imposed. About ten years later I tried pot for the first time. I was freaked out and wanted to die! It made my mouth really dry!
Remember what came before
Follow your heart is always true, but to me it’s all about context. Figure out what came before you and reflect on that. The past fifty years was an important time for music and you need to be part of that - learn from it.
Joan tours the UK throughout February/March beginning in Tunbridge wells on the 23rd February. See a full list of the dates and buy tickets to see Joan Baez live HERE
Words by Gemma Hampson
Find your sound
I listened to music when I was little and just fell in love with it. I fell in love with the violin because of the vibrato, and then voices that had it too. I just wanted to sound like that. I would stand in front of the mirror wiggling my adam’s apple to make my voice sound like that. Eventually the vibrato came on it’s own.
Know where you’re going
I never thought this would turn into a career. I loved the coffee shop I sang in and was amazed that people would turn up to hear me. The career bit just came out of nowhere. I had times when my career was really shaky; I had no record contract and I had to figure out who I was. I hired a manager, told him I wanted to be part of the scene and he told me we’d have to start at the bottom and work up. I needed that.
Success is unbelievable
I never thought ‘this is it, I’ve made it’ and I was never showbiz. The first time I filled a tennis stadium with 12,000 people I didn’t get that they were there to see me. As I look back, and I have been in the public eye longer than I haven’t, I can see my success was very much overnight. I mean, I was on the cover of Time Magazine at twenty-one. It was the perfect storm, but a lot of it was the right place at the right time.
Politically correct
Sometimes I was criticised for using politics to sell records. Other times it was the view that politics would get in the way of my music. To me, they came together and I was glad I could do both. I did feel a little that Bob Dylan overshadowed my career at the time. His career was outstanding; I didn’t write ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ after all. When he went into the heavier side, it took the spotlight off me. But there are other places where I’m known because of my politics. I would never have given up on that - music and politics are connected. It still is.
Speak out
I didn’t compromise at the beginning, but then I read that Gandhi said ‘you can compromise, but don’t compromise your soul’. I liked that. Sometimes I just wouldn’t compromise, like when I protested in the Middle East. I didn’t realise that my protest enraged the head of the record company and he pulled my album. But I wouldn’t keep my mouth shut and I think it was worth it.
Keep your head
I missed a lot of fun and never took drugs. I alienated a lot of people. I admired them, but we weren’t on the same wavelength. I went to see Janis Joplin and asked if she wanted a cup of tea! While everyone was out drinking and taking drugs, I couldn’t really say, ‘Come to the Quakers House and meditate’! But it was self-imposed. About ten years later I tried pot for the first time. I was freaked out and wanted to die! It made my mouth really dry!
Remember what came before
Follow your heart is always true, but to me it’s all about context. Figure out what came before you and reflect on that. The past fifty years was an important time for music and you need to be part of that - learn from it.
Joan tours the UK throughout February/March beginning in Tunbridge wells on the 23rd February. See a full list of the dates and buy tickets to see Joan Baez live HERE
Words by Gemma Hampson
