Original review of 1965 Newport Folk Festival
(link) and today's retrospective,
Newport Folk Festival Pays Tribute, With a Jolt, to Dylan and Seeger.
On or about July 28, 1965 Bob Dylan whipped out his electric guitar and rock band at the Newport Folk Festival and, in my opinion in one day destroyed the hootenanny folk scene. As the old New York Times article points out music from islands off the South Carolina coast and from Louisiana's swamplands was being highlighted at Newport. This festival was a focal point of a vital coffee house scene in cities such as New York and Toronto.
As the New York Times article in the August 1, 1965 issue, linked above says: "Bob Dylan, who
seems unable to sneeze without causing controversy, introduced yery unpersuasively his new fusion of folk and rock 'n' roll." I am not persuaded. As today's article (linked above) said: "He was booed by some in the crowd — a topic of endless debate ever since — and a rift was torn in the folk continuum, leaving turbulence and ambiguity behind, and an uncertain road ahead."
To my mind there was nothing wrong with a "do it yourself" music. I remember my father of blessed memory would pick up a guitar after work on warm summer evenings and teach himself songs. All that the songs needed was a singer and a guitar, often the same person. This may have had weird results when the singer had no voice, meaning if I sang, or Bob Dylan sang but I digress. Electrifying this simple, inexpensive music took the industry down the road of ultra-expensive productions. Eventually the expense wound up stifling creativity. Record companies made billions, then crashed.
I can't blame this all on Bob Dylan, obviously. But a lot was lost.
Thoughts?
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