Legendary folk singer-songwriter Joan Baez had an amazing 75th birthday celebration with a big concert at New York City’s famous Beacon Theatre. The special event was recorded for PBS’ Great Performances series, and thanks to YouTube, people all over the world can now watch it. One performance, a beautiful duet with fellow folk legend Paul Simon, became incredibly popular and has been watched over 10 million times!
Paul Simon, who was 73 years old at the time, joined Joan on stage to sing “The Boxer,” a famous song from Simon & Garfunkel’s 1969 hit album, Bridge Over Troubled Water. Paul played the guitar while singing alongside Joan, and they were joined by another talented guitarist, Richard Thompson, a 66-year-old folk music star from London.
Their performance was magical, with their voices full of emotion and experience. It felt like the song had grown deeper over the years. When they sang the lines, “I am older than I once was / And younger than I’ll be; that’s not unusual,” it touched the hearts of the audience. Another line, “After changes we are more or less the same,” made everyone think about how life has changed since the 60s but how some things still stay the same.
Joan’s birthday concert featured 22 songs, each performed with famous artists from her time. Some of the guests included David Crosby, who sang The Beatles’ “Blackbird” with Joan, as well as Damien Rice and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Along with these memorable duets, Joan also performed on her own and sang two classic Bob Dylan songs: “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and “Forever Young,” which was the final song of the show.
The concert also marked the beginning of Joan Baez’s 2016 North American tour, which included 18 shows. The tour was organized in partnership with Amnesty International to bring attention to “the critical and urgent issue of racial and ethnic disparities of incarceration, right here in the United States.”
Joan and Paul’s duet of “The Boxer” wasn’t the first time she had performed the song. Back in 1981, Joan sang a solo version of the song at the Oakland Auditorium (you can find the video on YouTube!), and in 1982, she performed it with Paul Simon himself at The Bread and Roses charity concert. Unfortunately, there’s no video from their 1982 performance, but the audio recording that survives is still full of charm, with their voices blending beautifully.
Joan Baez, born in New York City, became famous in the 60s and 70s as a singer, guitarist, and activist. Her life has been truly exciting. Since releasing her first album in 1960, Joan has recorded 24 more albums, dated both Bob Dylan and Steve Jobs before they became famous, and was friends with Martin Luther King Jr.
She performed at the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969 and has always stood up for important causes. She protested the Vietnam War and more recently, the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Joan’s music has always been closely connected to her activism. For example, in 1977, she recorded the song “Altar Boy and the Thief” as a tribute to her gay fans, showing her lifelong support for LGBT+ rights.
What do you think about Joan Baez’s incredible career and her birthday concert? Let us know in the comments below!
