# 3 American Folk Songs From the 1940s That Helped Invent the 1960s Sound

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/3-american-folk-songs-from-the-1940s-that-helped-invent-the-1960s-sound/
- Published: 2026-11-04T15:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T09:06:57+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/3-american-folk-songs-from-the-1940s-that-helped-invent-the-1960s-sound/
- Topics: Americas, Entertainment, Music, World

## Key points

- Guthrie’s song inspired folk artists including Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger.
- A 1941 recording helped carry a union song into the 1960s.
- Burl Ives popularised an older spiritual song in the mid-1940s.

## Summary

Three songs recorded or popularised in the 1940s helped shape the folk sound that became prominent in the 1960s. Their political, union and spiritual themes influenced later performers, including Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger.

The article highlights Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land”, The Almanac Singers’ 1941 version of Florence Reece’s 1931 union song “Which Side Are You On?”, and “The Wayfaring Stranger”, a much older religious song that Burl Ives made his signature in the mid-1940s. Each was later covered by folk musicians, linking the earlier revival to the 1960s scene.

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