The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #167735 Message #4050031
Posted By: Tony Rees
02-May-20 - 05:57 PM
Thread Name: Best books on English/UK folk music?
Subject: RE: Best books on English/UK folk music?
If you are interested in the history of the folk revival in both North America (first 330 pages) and the UK/related areas (next 270 pages) then I strongly recommend Martin C. Strong's 2010 book "The Great Folk Discography, Vol. 1: Pioneers and Early Legends". Each artist's discography is preceded by a usually comprehensive and interesting biographical section. The coverage stops at groups and individuals who emerged up to about 1970; for later artists there is a volume 2 that is no doubt as good, though I have not seen it. More details at
The only caveat is that it excludes "Celtic Music" (Irish/Scots, etc.) which was intended to be covered in a separate volume, which regrettably has never appeared so far as I am aware.