Billy Bragg

Billy Bragg stands with one foot in the American dustbowl of Woody Guthrie and one in the anarchy of British punk. Bragg's early records from the 1980s were a revelation: the power and fury of punk transmitted via the age-old medium of a man alone with only his guitar. His songs address social injustices, workers' plights, and affairs of the heart with equal aplomb. In the late 1990s, Bragg embarked on a remarkable collaboration with the band Wilco, putting music to a treasure trove of newly discovered Woody Guthrie lyrics, and the 2000s saw his continued recording, writing, and political activism.

• rock