The Rock Mountain Music Experience
  • RM HOME
    • About Rock Mountain (RM)
    • RM Lay-Out
    • Contact, Sponsor, Support, Advertise With RM
    • Site Map
    • JOIN/LOGIN
  • RM'S MUSIC INGREDIENTS
    • RM'S MUSIC INGREDIENTS
    • Jazz >
      • Many Forms of Jazz
    • The Blues >
      • Slave Music
      • Gospel
    • Soul >
      • Motown
    • Funk
    • Rhythm and Blues
    • Rockabilly
    • Surf Rock
    • Rock N Roll >
      • Skiffle
      • History of Rock n Roll
    • Rock >
      • Progressive Rock
      • Psychedelic Rock
      • Folk Rock
      • Glam Rock
      • Punk Rock
      • Country Rock
      • New Wave >
        • New Wave - Sub Genres: Ska, New Romantics & Others
    • MTV
    • Folk >
      • Country And Western
      • Bluegrass
    • Disco
    • Electronic
    • Grunge
    • Metal >
      • Thrash Metal & Others
    • Hip-Hop And Rap
    • Reggae
    • World Music
  • ROCKING THE WORLD
    • ROCKING THE WORLD
    • 1. Music as Power
    • 2. Music & Mass Production >
      • Part B. Pop & Mass Production
    • 3. Rock's Implicit Politics >
      • The Answer?
      • Rock n Roll's Death
    • 4. 1960s - Cold War - Hot Rock >
      • Era of Rock Politics
    • 5. Rock Revolution - Woodstock to Watergate >
      • The Counterculture
      • 1968 - What A Year
    • 6. 1970s - Glam to Punk: The West Falters
    • 7. 1980s Onwards -The West Triumphs - But Rock Dies
    • ROCKING THE WORLD - POLITICAL THEMES IN POPULAR MUSIC >
      • 1. Music & War & Peace
      • 2. Music & The Environment
      • 3. Music & Human Rights
      • 4. Music - Empowering Class
      • 5. Music & Drugs
      • 6. Music & Sex
    • ROCKING THE REGIME >
      • Rocking Australia
      • Rocking China
      • Rocking Cuba
      • Rocking Ireland
      • Rocking Japan
      • Rocking Germany
      • Rocking Russia
  • RM VILLAGE
    • RM VILLAGE
    • Dead End Street >
      • Leadbelly Blues Bar
      • Chelsea Hotel 45th Street
      • Heartbreak Hotel RM Village
      • Between Rock and a Hard Place
      • Hard and Heavy Rock- The Troubadore Club
      • Rockers, Bikers and Broads (Harleys, Triumphs and Hooters)
    • Peace Train >
      • Buddha's Guitar Rescue Shop
      • Greenwich Village
      • House of Big Pink
      • Environmental Earth Music
    • Times Square >
      • Tin Pan Alley
      • Brill Building
      • Pistols Punk Den
      • Vaudeville Theatre
    • Road Down-Under >
      • Slim Dusty Way >
        • Bushwhackers Pub And Shearing Shed
        • Australia - Down-Under Inn
      • Countdown the Village
      • Surf Down-Under Shop
    • Hank Williams Drive >
      • The Wild Horse Saloon
      • The Ryman Auditorium
      • Sun Records
    • Route 66 >
      • Route 66 - Kansas
      • Route 66 - Oklahoma
      • Route 66 - Texas
      • Route 66 - New Mexico
      • Route 66 - Arizona
      • Route 66 - California
    • Woody Guthrie Way >
      • Alice's Restaurant
      • The Gospel Church
    • The Dock Of The Bay >
      • Yellow Submarine
      • The Edmund Fitzgerald
      • Reavell's Jetty >
        • River Boat Queen
        • The Black Swan - Buccaneer, Colonial Settler & Slave Ship
    • Long And Winding Road >
      • Fidel and Che's Place - Music of the Revolution
    • Abbey Road >
      • Over There Club - Crooners and Big Bands
      • The Cavern Club - Mathew Street >
        • Experience The Cavern Club
        • The Cavern - Backstages >
          • Early Beatles
          • The Complete Beatles
          • The Yardbirds
          • The Kinks
          • The Who
          • The Rolling Stones
          • The Animals
          • The Moody Blues
          • The Hollies
          • Gerry & The Pacemakers
          • Cilla Black
      • The King's Head Tavern
      • The Marquee Club
      • Carnaby Street >
        • Models, Fashions and Styles of the 60s
        • Apple Studios
        • Mods, Rockers and Skinheads
      • Abbey Road Studios
      • Haight Ashbury >
        • Experience Simply Love >
          • I Love My Animal
          • I Love My Motor
          • Loving The Environment
          • Loving My Home/Country
          • Simply Sex
      • RM Surf Shop >
        • Experience Endless Summer >
          • Surfing History
          • Surf Boards
          • Surf Big
          • Surfin Horrors
          • Surf Music
          • Surf Babes
          • Surf The Pacific
          • Surf Down Under >
            • Surf Down Under - Part Two
            • Surf Down Under - Part Three
            • Surf Down Under - Part Four
      • Beat Boulevarde
    • RM THEATRE >
      • RM THEATRE
      • Arena One - Concerts & Films
      • Arena Two - New Acts
      • Arena 3 - Listen to RM Core Albums Page 1 - 50's & 60's >
        • Page 2 - 1970's
        • Page 3 - 1970's
        • Page 4 - 1970's
        • Page 5 -1980's
        • Page 6 - 1990's
        • Page 7 - 2000's
        • The Beatles Core Album's
        • Rolling Stones Core Album's
  • EXPERIENCE RM
    • EXPERIENCE RM
    • Experience The Cave of Fame
    • Experience The Wild One >
      • Walk On The Wild Side
      • Bad Boys, Bad Girls
    • Experience The Rock Hotels Journey >
      • Hotel Saigon
      • The Chelsea Hotel >
        • Leonard Cohen
        • Janis Joplin
      • Hotel California
      • Heartbreak Hotel
    • 2021 - A Space Rock Odyssey
    • Experience Women >
      • Women With Attitude >
        • Respect
        • With Ambition
        • With A Message
        • At Work
        • At Play/Teasing
        • Traditional
        • In Lust
        • In Love
        • In Pain
        • With Regrets
        • Pissed Off
        • Behaving Badly
        • Askew
        • Moving On
        • Empowering Themselves
        • And Men Coming Together
    • Experience Warsongs >
      • First World War
      • Second World War >
        • NAZI War Songs
  • BANDS & ARTISTS
    • BANDS & ARTISTS
    • Rocking The USA & Canada >
      • Andrew Sisters
      • Artie Shaw
      • Benny Goodman
      • Billie Holiday
      • Jo Stafford
      • Louis Armstrong
      • Bing Crosby
      • Ella Fitzgerald
      • Glenn Miller Orchestra
      • Hank Williams
      • The Platters
      • Bill Haley & The Comets
      • Little Richard
      • Chuck Berry
      • Dean Martin
      • Buddy Holly & The Crickets
      • Frank Sinatra
      • Miles Davis
      • Patsy Cline
      • Elvis Presley
      • Sam Cooke
      • Ricky Nelson
      • Paul Anka
      • Johnny Cash
      • Doris Day
      • Connie Francis
      • Everly Brothers
      • Bobby Vee
      • Roy Orbison
      • Del Shannon
      • Dion & The Belmonts
      • James Brown
      • Ray Charles
      • The Byrds
      • The Lovin Spoonful
      • The Young Rascals
      • Turtles
      • Beach Boys
      • Gene Pitney
      • Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
      • The Righteous Brothers
      • Neil Sedaka
      • Joan Baez
      • Bob Dylan
      • Simon & Garfunkel
      • The Doors
      • Jimi Hendrix
      • Janis Joplin
      • Jefferson Airplane
      • The Velvet Underground
      • Todd Rundgren
      • Mama's & The Papa's
      • Peter, Paul & Mary
      • Supremes
      • Dionne Warwick
      • Barbra Streisand
      • Buffalo Springfield
      • Frank Zappa
      • JJ Cale
      • Rodriguez
      • Creedence Clearwater Revival
      • Jackson 5
      • The Monkees
      • Al Green
      • Eric Carmen & The Raspberries
      • The Band
      • America
      • Chicago
      • The Eagles
      • Canned Heat
      • Carole King
      • Joni Mitchell
      • Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
      • Joe Walsh & The James Gang
      • Earth, Wind & Fire
      • Blood, Sweat & Tears
      • Jimmy Buffett
      • Don McLean
      • Seals and Crofts
      • Neil Diamond
      • John Denver
      • Bread
      • Kenny Rogers
      • Emmylou Harris
      • Dolly Parton
      • Jim Croce
      • Linda Ronstadt
      • Gordon Lightfoot
      • Steely Dan
      • Ry Cooder
      • Doobie Brothers
      • England Dan & John Ford Coley
      • Steve Miller Band
      • Carly Simon
      • James Taylor
      • Alice Cooper
      • Aerosmith
      • Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
      • Bachman-Turner Overdrive
      • Boston
      • Patti Smith Group
      • The Ramones
      • Kiss
      • Joan Jett
      • Lou Reed
      • Blondie
      • Billy Joel
      • Styx
      • Boz Scaggs
      • Bette Midler
      • Lionel Richie
      • Devo
      • Dire Straits
      • Rickie Lee Jones
      • Judds
      • Randy Travis
      • Joan Armatrading
      • B-52's
      • Prince
      • Bon Jovi
      • Cher
      • R.E.M
      • Travelling Wilburys
      • K.D. Lang
      • Run-D.M.C
      • Strokes
    • The British Rock Invasion
    • Rocking The United Kingdom >
      • Honeycombs
      • Freddy & The Dreamers
      • Searchers
      • Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas
      • Graham Bond Organisation
      • The Troggs
      • Zombies
      • Small Faces
      • Eric Burdon
      • Dusty Springfield
      • Marianne Faithfull
      • Herman's Hermits
      • Peter & Gordon
      • Dave Clark Five
      • Spencer Davis Group
      • Manfred Mann
      • Donovan
      • Engelbert Humperdinck
      • Arthur Brown
      • Petula Clark
      • Procol Harum
      • Blind Faith
      • Derek & The Dominos
      • Gary Glitter
      • Marc Bolan/T Rex
      • Badfinger
      • Black Sabbath
      • Deep Purple
      • Slade
      • David Bowie
      • Elton John
      • Pink Floyd
      • Mike Oldfield
      • Led Zeppelin
      • Average White Band
      • Bad Company
      • Buzzcocks
      • Sex Pistols
      • Gerry Rafferty & Stealers Wheel
      • Fleetwood Mac
      • Electric Light Orchestra
      • Peter Frampton
      • Queen
      • Adam & The Ants
      • Joe Cocker
      • Rod Stewart
      • Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music
      • Bay City Rollers
      • Elvis Costello
      • Genesis
      • Big Country
      • Damned
      • Iron Maiden
      • George Harrison
      • Boy George & Culture Club
      • The Cure
      • Ian Dury & The Blockheads
      • Slits
      • Police
      • Dire Straits
      • Eric Clapton
      • Simple Minds
      • Phil Collins
      • Big Audio Dynamite
      • Duran Duran
      • Pretenders
      • Fine Young Cannibals
      • Billy Bragg
      • Pet Shop Boys
      • Depeche Mode
      • Stone Roses
      • Bush
      • Oasis
      • Blur
      • Amy Winehouse
      • Arctic Monkeys
    • The Supergroups
    • Rocking Down Under - Australia & New Zealand >
      • Aussie Music TV >
        • Bandstand Music TV
        • Six O'Clock Rock Music TV
        • Uptight Music TV
        • GTK Music TV
        • Hit Scene Music TV
        • Happening 70,71,72 Music TV
        • Countdown Music TV
        • Rock Arena Music TV
        • Recovery Music TV
        • Rage Music TV
        • Wrok Down Music TV
      • Australian & NZ Major Bands & Artists >
        • Johnny O'Keefe
        • Frank Ifield
        • Ray Brown & The Whispers
        • Bees Gees
        • Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
        • Easybeats
        • Twilights
        • Loved Ones
        • Normie Rowe
        • Ronnie Burns
        • Seekers
        • Strangers
        • Bobby and Laurie
        • Johnny Chester & Jigsaw
        • John Farnham
        • Zoot
        • Masters Apprentices
        • La De Da's
        • Brian Cadd-The Groop & Axiom
        • Mixtures
        • Doug Parkinson
        • Russell Morris
        • Spectrum
        • Captain Matchbox
        • Ted Mulry Gang
        • Daddy Cool, Mondo Rock & Ross Wilson
        • Max Merritt & the Meteors
        • Sherbet
        • Jon English
        • Helen Reddy
        • Skyhooks
        • ACDC
        • Split Enz
        • Little River Band
        • Dragon
        • Angels
        • Sunnyboys
        • Radiators
        • Rose Tattoo
        • Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons-Black Sorrows-Jo Camilleri
        • Icehouse & The Flowers
        • Sports
        • MI-Sex
        • Divinyls
        • Richard Clapton
        • Cold Chisel
        • Men at Work
        • INXS
        • Midnight Oil
        • Goanna
        • Mental As Anything
        • Australian Crawl
        • Hunters and Collectors
        • Hoodoo Gurus
        • Crowded House
        • Paul Kelly
        • Yothu Yindi
        • Screaming jets
        • Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
        • Kylie Minogue
        • Tina Arena
        • Whitlams
        • Silverchair
        • Living End
        • Grinspoon
        • Powderfinger
        • Cat Empire
        • Sleepy Jackson
        • The Cure
        • John Butler Trio
        • Jet
        • Bob Evans & Jebediah
        • Eskimo Joe
        • Pete Murray
        • Lior
        • Josh Pyke
        • Angus & Julia stone
      • Mixed-Pg 1 Aussie & NZ Bands/Artists
      • Mixed-Pg 2 Aussie & NZ Bands & Artists
      • Mixed-Pg 3 Aussie & NZ Bands and Artists
      • Mixed-Pg 4 Aussie & NZ Bands and Artists
      • Mixed-Pg 5 Aussie & NZ Bands & Artists
      • Docs of Aussie Music
    • Rocking Latin America & The Caribbean >
      • Bob Marley & The Wailers
      • Jose Feliciano
      • Los Lobos
      • Peter Tosh
      • Ricky Martin
      • Ritchie Valens
      • Santana
      • Shakira
    • Rocking Europe & Beyond >
      • ABBA
      • A-ha
      • Boney-M
      • Demis Roussos
      • Julio Iglesias
      • Kraftwerk
      • Tee-Set
      • Focus
      • Golden Earring
      • Nana Mouskouri
      • Pussycat
      • The George Baker Selection
      • Vangelis
      • Nena
      • Shocking Blue
      • Europe
      • Scorpions
      • Falco
      • Roxette
      • Enigma
      • Bjork
    • Rocking Ireland >
      • Boomtown Rats
      • Chieftains
      • Clannad
      • Cranberries
      • Corrs
      • Dubliners
      • Enya
      • Fureys
      • Gilbert O'Sullivan
      • Hothouse Flowers
      • Luka Bloom
      • Nolans
      • Pogues
      • Ronan Keating
      • Sinead O'Connor
      • Thin Lizzy
      • U2
    • Rocking Africa
  • MEMBERS
    • Members List
    • Blog
Picture

Folk Rock

Listen To
Donovan
Picture
Donovan 'Catch The Wind'
Picture
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.

RM Radio 
Coming Soon
Picture
Picture
Bob Dylan
Picture
The Background

The phenomenon of Folk Rock was deeply embedded in the tumultuous politicised 

1960s. As one observer noted: ‘The 1960s were turbulent, troublesome, exciting, tragic,

and revolutionary. Much was gained, much was lost. We probably must wait for future

historians blessed with the greater perspective of further intervening decades, to provide

a final evaluation of the 1960s. Indeed, some of the changes initiated in the 1960s are 

still unwinding, and we cannot be sure whether the eventual effects on human society

will be for better or for worse.'



Many political issues fed the growing Folk movement in the late 1950s and early 60s, 

including – the Cold War, the nuclear threat accompanying a possible new world war,

the Vietnam War and the associated draft, growing threats to the environment, 

population growth and the negative threats of industrialisation and drugs, the role of 

alternative ideologies, lifestyles (hippies) and religions. There also was a growing sense

of caring for community balanced by concerns for self development – human rights and

civil rights, including racial and female equality. Further, many in the Peace Movement

began to realise that perhaps resorting  to violence – political violence, was the only

way to achieve their ends. All these issues began to be reflected in the Folk music of the

era.
The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man

Music was thus a central ingredient in the 1960s social and political landscape. The

music of the 1960s reflected much of society’s concerns and feelings, but in addition it

reinforced attitudes and beliefs and helped modify important value systems, spreading

political and social changes to an ever –widening segment of the population. As always,

many were motivated by music to act. As one observer noted: 'If one considers such

statements might be possible exaggerations, perhaps one should ask someone who was

part of the 1960s youth generation (and can remember it) what the times would have 

been like without the music. Just try and imagine no Beatles, no Dylan, no Stones; no

Soul music, no Acid Rock. The possibility is so bewildering that it is difficult to

formulate a coherent answer.'


The Emergence
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
But from within the Folk movement came a singer who brought together the two 

cultural and musical factions and as such had an important if not 'revolutionary impact'

on the nature of Rock n Roll. This singer of course was Bob Dylan, who needs no

introduction and his story is elsewhere on this site. But it was Dylan, the Byrds and

then later to a large extent also John Lennon who were able to fuse the two and

produce global Folk Rock.


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

Following this, Dylan was firmly viewed as the messiah of the young-Folk movement.

However over the next few months, he changed direction subtly with his lyrics causing,

many to wonder what he was actually on about and where he was headed musically

and even politically, with some of his lyrics more about love than protest. But then in

1965, he released ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’. This work surprised many of  his

protest-orientated followers. While it only rose to number 39, it nevertheless started a

ripple that became a tidal wave within months. This time it was not the lyrics that

upset the 'die-hards', it was the music. It used drums and electric guitars; in fact, it 

sounded suspiciously like Rock. In fact, the album, 'Bringing it All Back Home', used

electric instruments on half of its songs.


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.

Picture
Dylan
Picture
Lennon
Picture
Together
‘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

Dylan's influence on Folk Rock and its artists cannot be questioned. According to

Zsatmary. ‘By the end of 1965, various Folk Rockers had recorded 48 different Dylan

songs, most of them concerned with topics other than protest. According to 'Newsweek'

'healthy, cheap, moral or venal’, Folk Rock is what’s happening at this moment in the 

dissonant echo chamber of Pop culture’.'

All in all, it must be said that the Folk Rock explosion in the US perhaps best 

epitomized by the Byrds was also heavily influenced by the Beatles. Folk Rock was

Lennon and Dylan mixed together. However, 'it was the Byrds who grafted the bouncy,

jangling harmonies of the Beatles onto Dylanesque Folk, and therefore as with other 

Folk rockers, the Byrds reflected the pervasive influence of the Beatles who were

conquering  the US at that time and changing the sound of Rock n Roll.'

The Major Players

Picture
Bob Dylan
Picture
The Byrds
Picture
John Lennon
Picture
Simon & Garfunkle
Picture
The Mamas & Papas
Picture
Sonny & Cher
Picture
Donovan
Picture
The Doors

Plus Many, Many, Many Others

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

Picture
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sounds Of Silence

Picture

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. 

Picture
The Byrds
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'.


The Mamas and The Papas

Just as we can and have observed with many genres of music, Folk Rock is a vague and

generalised term. Following the example set by the Byrds and Dylan, many, many Folk

Rock groups suddenly appeared. For most part, such groups were the Folkies of the 

early 1960s, who added drums and converted  to electric guitars and called themselves

Folk Rockers. One of the most successful of these groups could be considered The 

Mamas and the Papas. While the Byrds blended Folk with a harder  Rock-sound, the 

Mamas and the Papas tended towards a softer Rock style. In the 2 year period

from early 1966 through late 1967, they had 9 singles in the Top 40, including 6 Top 

Ten hits.

Picture
The Mamas And The Papas - California Dreaming

Picture
Donovan was yet another major Folk Rocker. Across the Atlantic, Donovan 

mimicked Dylan and wanted to be Europe’s and primarily Britain's version, if not 

answer, to Dylan. Donovan performed Folk music in clubs throughout Britain and on 

TV. He eventually made it big with such Folk Rock songs as ‘Catch The Wind ‘ which 

in style resembled Dylan’s ‘Blowin in the Wind’. In 1966, amid the Folk Rock boom, 

Donovan scored his first American success with the electrified sound of the chart 

topping ‘Sunshine Superman;’ and ‘Mellow Yellow’.
Donovan - The Universal Soldier

Picture
Donovan - Sunshine Superman
Other Folk Rockers 

As one observer noted: 'To accommodate the wide variety of post-1965 Folk Rockers

the definition of the term Folk Rock must be very generalised indeed. After all, the

Mamas and the Papas, Dylan, and Simon & Garfunkle do not sound alike. Each artist 

who melded the lyrical profundities and tunefulness of Folk music with the

electrification, bass line, and hard beat of Rock found a unique recipe to achieve the

combination. And as always, the high priests on both sides were rightly indignant.
' The 

pure Folkies felt their music was corrupted by the crass commercialisation and

and mindless noise of Rock; while the pure Rockers  resented the invasion of their basic

good-time music by the self-conscious 'profundities' of the Folkies. But, in between, a 

vast new audience relished the opportunity to have somewhat more thought-provoking 

and intelligent lyrics dished up to them in a musical context they enjoyed.

Picture
Joan Baez
Picture
Judy Collins
Picture
Buffalo Springfield
Picture
James Taylor

As a consequence, many successful Folk Rockers, too many great acts to list here, 

emerged from 1965 onwards, even Joan Baez became considered as a Folk Rocker, as 

did Buffalo Springfield and Judy Collins, among many others, including James Taylor. 

Most considered themselves influenced in some way by Dylan. The Loving Spoonful,

which in the mid 1960s hit the top Ten in the US with ‘Do You Believe in Magic’, ‘You

didn’t have to be so nice’. ‘Daydream’, and ‘Summer In the City’,’ also attributed their

sound to Bob Dylan.

Some Further Great Examples of Folk Rock
Van Morrison - And It Stoned Me
Don McLean - American Pie
The Young Bloods - Get Together
Gordon Lightfoot - Sundown
The Doors - The End


Wrap Up

By 1968, the Folk Rock explosion had faded. Dylan was recuperating from his

motorcycle accident; the Byrds were turning towards Country Rock; the Mamas and

the Papas were disbanding; Buffalo Springfield moved away from Folk Rock and then 

disbanded; Donovan had gone psychedelic and Sonny and Cher had turned more

toward commercial Pop Rock. Only the sounds of Simon and Garfunkle lingered on. 

But in its 2 to 3 year heyday, Folk Rock brought together two important and seemingly

antithetical styles of music. Some excellent and incredible new music was produced. 

And from these beginnings grew some important trends in the subsequent decade – 

namely the singer-songwriter trend and the Country Rock trend.


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
Through Dylan's influence on the Beatles, especially John Lennon, the 'Dylanesque'

lyric found its way into the very heart of 1960s Rock especially via Folk Rock.



Want To 
See 

More Of Rock

Mountain
Picture
John Lennon - Working Class Hero


Go To Major 

Bands &


 Artists
Picture

Return To 

Rock
Picture
Rock

Return To RM 

Music Ingredients
Picture
RM Ingredients

Go To 

RM Lay Out
Picture
RM Lay out

Return 


To Home
Picture
RM Home


One Final Comment From Pete Seeger:
Pete Seeger's reaction to Dylan going electric.
Copyright © Politics International Pty Limited 2012. Contact Rock Mountain via email: secretary@rock-mountain.org