Joan Baez was 15 when she was first brought to tears by one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches in 1956. Seven years later she would perform in front of a quarter million people at the March on Washington.
Now James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown,” is reintroducing her work to a whole new generation.
Early life and big break
Baez was born in 1941. Her father was a physicist so her family moved around frequently, but she spent the majority of her teenage years in the California Bay Area. Baez’s father is Hispanic, and her mother is Scottish. Her heritage forced her to be subjected to discrimination, which led her to become a strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement.
She bought her first guitar when she was in high school. She briefly attended Boston University before falling into the city’s scene of folk music. Baez performed her first concert at Club 47 in Massachusetts in front of an audience of only her family.
Her career took off after she performed at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival alongside folk singer Bob Gibson. She signed with Vanguard the next year.
Debut and Bob Dylan
Baez recorded and released her album “Joan Baez” in 1960. The record features famous songs like “House of the Rising Sun”, “Mary Hamilton”, and “Donna Donna”. She headlined her first professional concert for a sold-out crowd in New York City in 1961. From there, she went on to release several more albums throughout the decade. Her first three albums were all certified gold.
In “A Complete Unknown,” Baez meets Bob Dylan in a chance encounter at Gerde’s Folk City. While they did meet at Gerde’s, it was not by chance. In fact, Dylan was recommended to Baez by someone on the road who thought he was terrific. Not long after meeting him, Baez invited Dylan to open for her on the road.
From there on out she helped launch Dylan into stardom in the folk scene. They performed songs together that combined activism with expression. The two would go on to have a very public romantic relationship that would last for nearly three years.
Activism and 1970’s Success
The 1960s was a time of heavy political discourse in America. During this time Baez turned to art to voice widespread change. In 1963 she took the stage at the March on Washington and sang “We Shall Overcome.” The song became a Civil Rights anthem, and found a place on the top 40 charts in the U.K.
She also heavily participated in efforts held by university students to end conflict in Vietnam, including vowing to not pay a part of her taxes in order to protest military spending in 1964. In addition to this protest, she was arrested twice for blocking an armed forces induction center in 1967. In the 1970’s she established the west branch of a human rights organization.
Baez saw huge chart success after releasing a remake of The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” in 1971. She released what is considered one of her most well known albums, “Diamonds and Rust” in 1975. The album featured hits like “Dida”, and “Winds of the Old Days” and a title track about her ex-boyfriend Bob Dylan.
Now
Baez released her final studio album, “Whistle Down the Wind” in 2018, but retired from touring in 2019. Her retirement has not stopped her from using her voice to speak up. In 2020 she helped raise $50,000 for pandemic relief by selling her original paintings. She also recently returned to the stage to perform at a charity event that paid tribute to her. The event raised over $600,000 for California Fire Relief.
And for those wondering if she’s seen “A Complete Unknown,” the answer is yes. In fact, she has nothing but praise for the movie and actress Monica Barbaro, who played her in the film.
Baez may be 84, but the film has made her work young again, and in time her legacy even bigger.