Song:The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Album:How Sweet The Sound
Of course Joan Baez is a legend of folk music. But mainstream commercial success has eluded her except for this version of Robbie Robertson's The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. She was born Jan. 9, 1941 in Staten Island, NY and signed with Vanguard Records after appearing at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival. She recorded her debut in 1960 and through the early 60s became the popular face of folk music. She became a songwriter later but initially championed Bob Dylan and had a hit with her cover of Phil Ochs' There But For Fortune in 1964. She experimented with recording with an orchestra and got interested in country music when she married war protester David Harris in 1968. He was a big country music fan. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down was on her 1971 album Blessed Are... and reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's her only top ten hit. But her albums always sold well. She moved to A & M Records and her 1975 album Diamonds and Rust went gold. She left A & M for Columbia's Portrait in 1977 and has bounced around different labels ever since. Joan currently records for Razor & Tie. PBS recently produced a documentary called How Sweet The Sound for their American Experience series and the DVD and CD are recommended if you want to learn more about Joan Baez. Here's Joan Baez performing The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down on The Midnight Special 1973.
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