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Folk Rock – simply stated is the merging
of Folk with Rock, much it originating from the time Bob Dylan went ‘electric’ in July 1965 and from then so many bands putting his lyrics to Rock music, most famously of which perhaps being the Byrds. This phenomenon soon spread with the 'politicisation' and ’folkisation’ of Rock by many other artists. Possibly the most prominent of whom, apart from Dylan himself, was John Lennon and Donovan, among others. Some even argue that Folk Rock was a synthesis of Lennon and 'Dylanesc' styles. Either way Folk Rock well qualifies as an essential ingredient of modern Pop music. |
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Bob Dylan was extremely important in
the emergence of Folk Rock. The youth movement in the early 60s closely identified with the Folk music styles of the Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul, and Mary. These serious socially conscious youth at the time shunned Rock n Roll as being mindless commercial junk. The result seemed to be an irrepairable split between the ‘Folkies’ and the ‘Rockers’. |
Bob Dylan - Blowing In The Wind
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By the mid 1960s, Dylan was a Folk hero and a giant in the genre with his mix of hard politics and romantic lyrics. Modelling himself after Woody Guthrie, among many others, Dylan wrote a number of politicised youth albums, 'The Times They Are A Changing' and 'Masters of War' for example. In 1963 Dylan reached his Folk zenith. In the summer of that year, Dylan appeared at the Newport Folk Festival. Introduced by Joan Baez, he brought the crowd to an emotional climax with ‘Blowin In The Wind’. Then joining Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, Pete Seeger, Theodore Bikel, and other Folk stars, he sang the civil rights anthem 'We Shall Overcome’. |
Bob Dylan - The Times They Are Changing
Bob Dylan At The Newport Folk Festival
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The Folkies worst fears were thus confirmed this time at the July 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Dylan’s much- anticipated appearance created a near riot as he wandered on stage with an electric guitar and then began to perform backed by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. But amongst the boos and hisses, few realised a new genre of music was now being born. It was ‘Folk Rock’. To Dylan’s horrified followers, including Pete Seeger (who it was reported first threatened to turn the power off, but then hid in a car with his ears covered) this was anethema to what Folk was supposed to be about, and Dylan appeared to have 'sold out' - but hardly so! As if to further confound his fans, Dylan released another electrified single called ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ in August 1965. This six minute song became his first major hit and broke the radio industry’s usual two and a half minute airplay protocol. |
Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues
Who Was First?
Dylan’s ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ hit the charts first; but the Byrds hit number 1 with 'Tambourine Man', whereas Dylan’s barely cracked the Top 40. So let's say the Byrds and Dylan developed Folk Rock at about the same time and can both claim the credit. |
‘Like A Rolling Stone’
was Rock music with Folk-like lyrics. Therein lay the basis of the new Folk Rock style. Dylan’s next album, 'Blonde on Blonde' continued the new trend and the rest is history. John Lennon further ingrained this genre with his own Folk Rock style combining social and political messages with Rock after first being influenced by Dylan – or so it's claimed. |
Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone
John Lennon - Give Peace A Chance
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Other groups became successful with the Folk-Rock formula of electric renditions of Dylan songs sung in harmony. In 1965, the Turtles, a band that switched from Surf Music to Folk the year before, hit the Top 10 with “It Ain’t Me Babe’. The same year, Sonny & Cher released the top selling, Dylan sounding ‘I Got You Babe,’ and Cher also scored a hit with Dylan’s “All I really Want To Do’. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were another famous duo that scored big with Folk Rock. In 1964 after being influenced by the Folk boom, they re-emerged with an album of soft harmonies, 'Wednesday Morning-3 am'. The album showcased Dylan’s ‘Don’t Think Twice’ and Paul Simon’s composition, ‘Sounds of Silence’ which soon became a huge hit. |
The Turtles - It Aint Me Babe
Sonny & Cher - I Got You Babe
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The Byrds Apart from Dylan, the Byrds need serious attention as co-originators of Folk Rock. As one observer argued: 'In the early to mid 60s, many groups added vocal harmonies to Dylan’s electrified Folk sound and sometimes used his songs to create what critics called what we now know as ‘Folk Rock’. The Byrds, probably the premier Folk Rockers of all time formed in 1964, with many members coming from a Folk background. In 1965, after obtaining a test pressing of Dylan’s ‘Mr Tambourine Man’, they hit the top of the charts with a version of the song that featured bouncy vocal harmonies and a twelve string guitar. The group followed with electrified, harmony-rich versions of Dylan’s ‘Spanish Harlem Incident’, ‘All I really Want To Do’ and ‘Chimes of Freedom’, as well as ‘Turn, Turn, Turn,’ a song adapted by Peter Seeger from the Book of Ecclesiastes. |
The Byrds - 'Turn! Turn! Turn!
There is little doubt that the Byrds
were one of Rock’s most talented and creative bands. They co-founded Folk Rock with Dylan, and they led the way to the Country Rock sound that became popular in the 1970s with '8 Miles High'. |
Van Morrison - And It Stoned Me
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Don McLean - American Pie
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The Young Bloods - Get Together
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Gordon Lightfoot - Sundown
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The Doors - The End
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Before leaving Folk Rock, we should again emphasize Dylan’s most significant contribution to the history of Folk Rock. His lyrics, with their symbolism, internal ironies, sarcasm, thought provoking messages, dry wit, surrealism, and graceful flow were the most influential and sophisticated since the beginning of Rock n Roll. |
Bob Dylan - Knocking On Heaven's Door
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One Final Comment From Pete Seeger: Pete Seeger's reaction to Dylan going electric.
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