Though I'm sure musicians all over the United States were writing songs in their living rooms or bedrooms or wherever- there are some musicians that are definitely more well known than others. Some of these musicians were Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and even the Beatles.

Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, in Duluth, Minnesota on May 24, 1941, was initially not trying to be a political activist. He just made the music, people listened, and all the sudden he was representing much of the U.S.'s opinion the Vietnam War. Bob Dylan's lyrics talked about politics and social commentary, and infused literature and philosophy in there as well. He helped to change the way popular music was viewed. Some of his most famous protest songs were "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'".

Joan Baez, born in Staten Island, New York on January 9, 1941, is a folk singer/songwriter, who is specifically known for her special vocal abilities. She, much like Bob Dylan, wrote quite a few of her songs about social issues. It's possible the that the two of them influenced each other, because they were and still are very good friends, and for a while she was actually his singing partner. Some of her hit songs are "There But For Fortune", "Diamonds & Rust", and "We Shall Overcome". Even now, Joan Baez is a social activist, especially for the topics of nonviolence, civil and human rights, and, now, the environment.

Pete Seeger was born in Patterson, New York on May 3, 1919. He was a pretty busy guy, seeing as he is now known as a singer, songwriter, folklorist, labor activisit, environmentalist, and peace advocate. He grew up in an unusually politically active family, so of course it would affect him for the rest of his life. He was mostly active in the 1940s as a folk singer and a member of the band the Weavers. What's interesting is that, he actually used to be a member of the Communist Party of the United Sates of America, and it more or less killed his career thanks to the Second Red Scare. But he came back in the 1950s and 60s as a pioneer of protest music. Some of his most famous songs that he wrote or co-wrote are "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", "If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)", and "Turn, Turn, Turn".

The Beatles, are a very well know band of the 1960s and early 70s. Everyone has heard of them, really, they've influence many of todays musicians, and there have been movies dedicated to them, most recently Across the Universe and stage shows like Cirque du Soleil: Love. In all honesty, The Beatles started out as a teenybopper band, a good one, but still teenybopper-they wrote songs about first love, holding hands, and lots of other warm, gooshy topics- and most of their fans tended to be of the screaming girl variety. But of course, just like any other band their sound and lyrics evolved, into something that was more substantial and important to society. In 1965, The Beatles released the album Rubber Soul, which is now looked at as a classic folk record. In Rubber Soul they wrote about political and social issues. It didn't stop there either from the 1960s and into the 70s, The Beatles and, especially, John Lennon, continued to write songs about the world they were living in. Some of these songs are "Revolution" and "Imagine".