Is Folk Music still Alive?

In a generation filled with music that's driven by electronic programming and studio magic, has folk music fallen to the wayside? If you listen to the music of today's generation you will find that it all stems from other generations of music eventually leading to its folk music origin. Folk music is alive today and it holds  relevance because today's folk music is just a modify version of folk roots. Today's  Alternative rock, Indie rock, Hip Hop, Rap, and general Popular music all relate to its past generations forms. Take Hip Hop and Rap for an example, "popular black music, with its strong roots in tradtional forms, the church and blues (R&B), Mowtown and soul, funk, and rap" (Lornell 325).

The foundation of modern Hip Hop and Rap can be found to be linked from traditional African American Music. This music first started out in the fields with simple work songs. This music carried on into the churches of the African Americans once they were liberated from slavery and it later transformed into the musical genre of the blues. From the blues the denomination of R&B was created and from there such musical styles as Motown, soul, and funk were forged. From all these changes over the generations  modern Rap was born.

 Even today's Alternative rock and Indie rock can linked to past generational forms of rock music. You can start the root of rock from the Blues which is connected to African American work songs. Rock and Roll is a subset of the Blues, from it came R&B and then transformed into Rockabilly music in the 1950's that gave birth to such legends as Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis. From there came early Rock in the 1960's then into the hair bands of the 1980's.
In the end from all this transformation came into what we know today as modern Alternative rock and Indie rock. Just like today's Hip Hop and Rap modern Rock has connections to past generational musical forms. Folk music is not dead in today's music nor i it lost, it simply has been modified like all folk music has as it travels into a new generations hands.

1. http://idlelive.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/adccb_celebrity_13-rappers-who-think-theyre-the-best.jpg

2. http://www.greatlakesfolkfest.net/glff2006/Programs&Activities/Music&Dance/bell.html

3. http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0906/360_beatles_0623.jpg