Folk and Folk Rock – Conclusion

Overview

The 1960s saw a revival of folk music. Following the model of an earlier generation of folk musicians such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, many folk musicians in the 1960s used their music to promote left-wing social causes. The Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War protests, and protests for women’s rights were all places where folk music could flourish. Bob Dylan shattered the folk music aesthetic in 1965 when he played an electric set at the Newport Folk Festival. After this performance, the lines between folk music and rock were blurred. Dylan’s influence paved the way for many different folk and folk rock artists during the 1960s, including the Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas, and Simon and Garfunkel.

Objectives

Identify two important figures in early American folk music, Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie
Recall why Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie were inspirational figures in the folk revival of the 1960s
Examine the music and career of Bob Dylan
Recall why Bob Dylan's electric performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival was so upsetting to folk music purists
Recall the many stylistic and generic reactions to Dylan "plugging in," namely, the rise of the genre of folk rock

Conclusion

Bob Dylan

Inspired by Woody Guthrie’s music and politics, Bob Dylan became one of the most important figures in the American folk revival movement and then in the shift from folk to folk rock music. Dylan’s electric performance at the 1965 Newport Festival is a seminal moment in rock history. Dylan’s influence went beyond just "plugging in," however. He also encouraged other musicians to eschew commercial, trivial messages in their music and instead pursue deeper and more meaningful expressions.

“When I think about the real pioneers of the psychedelic movement in a musical sense, not just the culture, everything had a handmade sort of vibe to it. We're inventing our culture as we move along into this.”

-Chris Robinson

“Bob Dylan was the source of pop music's unpredictability in the Sixties. Never as big a record-seller as commonly imagined, his importance was first aesthetic and social, and then as an influence.”

-Jon Landau

Woody Guthrie became part of the mass migration of dust bowl refugees known as "Okies." Without food or money, Woody hitchhiked, rode freight trains, and even walked to California, developing a love for traveling on the open road -- a practice he would repeat often.

Songfacts