Music

Joan Baez was born in New York in 1941, but she grew up in various places around the world, depending on her father's missions, who worked for UNESCO. Paris, Geneva, Rome, Baghdad, the family lived out of their suitcases and to the rhythm of the cities they discovered.

As a teenager, Joan gave free rein to her passion for music, which quickly became her refuge no matter where her family chose to live. It was in Boston that she discovered folk music, but also a young man, a musician, with whom she fell madly in love with. His name was Robert Zimmerman, but history knows him today as Bob Dylan. Together and with two friends, they recorded a first album, which allowed Joan to tread the stage of the Newport folk festival where the public first discovered her; shy, behind her long black hair. It was this performance that earned her her first contract, as well as her first solo album. The success, initially timid, grew with each release, particularly her covers of Bob Dylan, on guitar.

In 1963, she marched barefoot during the civil rights march in Washington. Nicknamed "La passionaria", dubbed by Martin Luther King himself, she marched with her fist raised. Although she affirmed her convictions, she didn't yet dare to sing her own lyrics, and released albums of covers. In 1967, she was imprisoned for supporting conscientious objectors, met David Harris (a pacifist activist) in prison and married him straight away. Two years later, pregnant, she became one of the figures of Woodstock, while her husband was once again behind bars and she dedicated a fiery speech to him. The singer was at the height of her popularity and her social and political commitment. Her aura and talent inspired many other singers.

In 1973, she released "Diamonds And Rust", where, in chosen words, she recounts her relationship with the now very famous Bob Dylan. This album is often considered her finest work and the following ones will remain in the shadows. Even though her records are rarer and less acclaimed by the public, her commitment to the causes that are close to her heart remains absolutely intact. She notably becomes the first artist to perform in Sarajevo, in ruins after the Bosnian War.

In 2007, she received a Grammy Award for her entire body of work and, at almost 70 years old, immediately began a new tour. She will also celebrate her 75th birthday on the stage of the Beacon Theatre in New York, surrounded by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Paul Simon, Damien Rice, Mavis Staples and other legends of American popular music. Joan Baez will say her (first) farewell to the stage a few months later, with these resonant words: "You can't choose how to die, or when. But you can decide how you're going to live. Now." Which won't stop her from hitting the road again a few years later, accompanied, in particular, by her son Gabriel Harris...

(MH with CMa - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)
Photo: Joan Baez at the Gent Jazz Festival on the stage of De Bijloke in Ghent (Belgium) on July 4, 2019