One of the most accomplished folksingers of theSixties, Joan Baez ( born Joan Chandos Báez, in Staten Island, New York, on January 9, 1941 ) was an instrumental figure in the decade’s civil rights movement. Possessing an operaticsoprano voice with a strong vibrato, shecrossed over from folk to rock and country whilemaintaining a politically charged message.Starting out in Boston and Cambridge, Baezfirst gained recognition at the 1959 NewportFolk Festival. Still musically active, she has leftan indelible mark on the genre.From 1960 to 1964, Baez was the popular faceof folk music, headlining festivals and concerttours and singing at political events, includingthe August 1963 march on Washington. Duringthis period, she began to champion the work offolk songwriter Bob Dylan.Her repertoire gradually moved fromAppalachian songs and traditional materialtoward the socially conscious work of theemerging generation of ‘60s artists like Dylan