Popular Acoustic Guitar Songs

When I think of popular acoustic guitar songs, I can't help but think of Peter, Paul And Mary. No, not the biblical ones, the folk group from the sixties. At that time in America and England there was an interest on the part of the younger generation in the folk music of their respective countries. One of the few groups to cash in on the folk boom to any great extent was Peter, Paul And Mary.

Peter, Paul And Mary helped Bob Dylan become the legend that he is by making his songs accessible to the wider music-loving public. The ones who did not find a nasal whine romantic or, indeed attractive in any way. So here's a lesson in getting together a repertoire of popular acoustic guitar songs: your presentation is paramount.


Bob Dylan wrote the songs. He had the feelings that connected with a generation of angry and discontented young people. But Peter, Paul And Mary brought the composer and the audience together. So a popular acoustic guitar song need not be one that people have heard of before. It could be a song that you MAKE popular. Maybe not to a worldwide audience, but your own circle of friends is a start.

The Doors recorded a song called Light My Fire. It was a loud driving rock song. It was re-worked by Jose Feliciano as a Latin ballad and reached number three on the pop charts. To many music fans Jose Feliciano's version of Light My Fire is the definitive one. Now THAT is a popular acoustic guitar song. Eric Clapton's acoustic version of Layla is another example of a popular acoustic guitar song that started life as something totally different.

So, you have something to think about regarding presentation when you consider how you get together an acoustic guitar repertoire. Another factor that kind of relates to presentation is how your technical expertise on the guitar matches up with the demands of the song. If you find yourself fumbling your chord changes maybe you should look for some substitutions or a simpler song.


Acoustic guitar songs can be both popular and easy to play. The America song, Horse With No Name can be played using only one chord. There are a gazzilion songs with only three chords. House Of The Rising Sun is an extremely popular song often played on acoustic guitar, which has only four easy chords.

We have thought about the importance of presentation when looking for popular acoustic guitar songs. We have also mentioned not overextending our guitar technique. Two simple ideas that are extremely important when you are choosing popular acoustic guitar songs for your repertoire.

Do you want to learn to play the guitar? Learn How To Play A Guitar For Free is a constantly updated blog which contains all the resources you need for: learning to play solo guitar, how to learn guitar chords, how to learn to read and play easy acoustic guitar tabs, finding a free online guitar tuner, looking for free guitar lessons online, and how to learn guitar scales.