Singer with a song:Joan Baez
 Biography : Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez was born in Staten Island, New York on January 9, 1941. She was the second of three daughters. Her father was a physicist, researcher and UNESCO consultant which took him and his family all over the States . He was of Mexican ancestry and Joan's mother was of English - Scottish decent. When Joan was ten, the family moved to Iraq for one year and would eventually settle in California where Joan would buy her first guitar and make her debut at a high school talent show playing her ukulele at the age of fourteen.
In 1957, Joan refused to leave her high school during an air-raid drill. She met one of her strongest political influences that very year and her road to being an activist was well on its way. After graduating from her high school in 1958, she recorded a demo album, but was unsuccessful at attracting a contract or a major music deal. The family eventually moved to Belmont, Massachusetts where Joan began to visit the coffee-houses in the area and perform. She became interested in the folk scene there and eventually quit University to pursue her career as a singer and musician.
In Cambridge, Joan developed a devoted following at Club 47 where she would perform often. She soon impressed a man by the name of Bob Gibson who invited her to join him in his set at the Newport Folk Festival. She made her debut at the festival and established a reputation as a highly talented folk singer. During the year 1960, Joan released her first album, self-entitled "Joan Baez" which was a big hit. In the following years, she would release several albums including "Joan Baez/5" in 1964, her last all-acoustic album.
In 1961, Joan Baez met Bob Dylan at Gerde's Folk City. The two soon began a romantic relationship and would sporadically tour and perform together for the following four years until they split in 1965. Through the end of the sixties, Joan had released several albums , witnessed many Grammy nominations, and continued to lead fights against the war in Vietnam and other causes among many colleagues, artists and students who fought for the same issues.
Ending the sixties Joan married David Harris, an activist and a resister she toured the country with, and gave birth to their first child, Gabriel Earl in Decemeber. The two divorce years later after David served three years in prison for draft resistance. That same year, the album "Blessed Are" was released and Joan's rendition of The Band's song, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" went to the top ten songs of the charts. The mid-seventies would lead Joan to many commercial successes and also to the Rolling Thunder Revue with Bob Dylan and several other well-known artists. In 1979, Joan founded "Humanitas International Human Rights Committee" and was at the head of the organization for human rights for the following 18 years.
Throughout the eighties and nineties, Joan continued to perform at rallies and show her support for several issues that span a large range of causes. Many have expressed their appreciation for her presence in many of those rallies and issues. She has received numerous awards as a top female singer and is internationally recognized. Her latest album, "Gone From Danger", was released in 1998. Joan continues to perform before crowds today and hopefully will continue for future generations. - queen_blues
Sources:
The Joan Baez Web Pages ; Official Website
Vanguard Records:Joan Baez
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