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Chapter 5
Changin’ Times (1962-1966)
Outline
I. Folk music
a. The color line
b. Authentic versus commercial
c. The protest song
d. The politics of folk music
i. Woody Guthrie
ii. Pete Seeger
iii. The Almanac Singers
iv. The Weavers
e. The Newport Folk Festival
II. The Spirit of the Sixties
a. Social change
i. Civil Rights
ii. Protest
III. Bob Dylan
a. Woody Guthrie’s influence
b. Covers of traditional folk standards
c. Writing his own songs
i. Using irony and subtlety
d. John Hammond
IV. The folk scene
a. Greenwich Village
b. Hootenannies
c. Basket houses
V. Joan Baez
a. True to folk’s roots in protest
VI. The Civil Rights Movement
a. March on Washington, 1963
b. Protest singers
i. Phil Ochs
VII. Folk Lite
a. The Kingston Trio
i. Chart-topping hit
b. Peter, Paul, and Mary
i. Mixing pop success with activism
c. The Mamas and the Papas
i. From folk roots to mainstream pop success
VIII. The Beach Scene
a. Easygoing lifestyle
b. Jan and Dean
i. Hot rod music
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ii. Experimental studio techniques
c. Beach Boys
i. Producer and songwriter, Brian Wilson
IX. Folk influences on new rock music
a. The Beatles’ sound
b. The Animals’ remake of folk standard “House of the Rising Sun”
c. Dylan plugs in
i. Folk rock genre followers
ii. The Byrds
1. #1 hit cover, Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man”
iii. Simon and Garfunkle
1. #1 folk rock hit in 1966
iv. Other artists
X. Singer songwriters
a. Singers who perform their own, very personal songs
b. Canadians attracted to the Greenwich Village scene
i. Joni Mitchell
ii. Neil Young
iii. Leonard Cohen
Suggested Activities and Discussion Topics
1. As we listen to the folk songs on our Suggested Listening lists, let’s decide which are
authentic and which are commercial. Obviously, the Kingston Trio’s “Tom Dooley” is
commercial, while Woody Guthrie’s “Do–Re–Mi” is authentic. What factors distinguish
these two folk styles? One factor is the Kingston Trio’s comedy vs. the more pointed
irony of Guthrie. The Kingston Trio approach was to entertain, while Guthrie’s was to
inform, and, perhaps, a call to arms.
2. Bob Dylan obliterated the line between authentic and commercial. Folkies felt
betrayed, while the mainstream pop audience felt that Dylan couldn’t sing, which missed
the point entirely. After Dylan, there was more to write about—in the pop music
world—than just love. SEE: Suggested Listening.
3. Surf music. Jan and Dean sang of cars, surfing, and teen romance. Ironically, Jan was
injured in a car crash and remains disabled to this day. SEE: Suggested Listening, “Dead
Man’s Curve.”
4. The Beach Boys became so successful that they were deemed “America’s Band.”
They combined the surf guitar sound with the vocal harmonies of the Four Freshman.
Compare, for example, “Day by Day” with “In My Room.” Leader Brian Wilson showed
genuine musical genius, creating beautiful vocal arrangements and, since he did not read
or write music, simply singing all the parts to the musicians in their recording sessions.
The Beach Boys developed a competitive relationship with the Beatles in the later sixties:
Compare their tour de force albums, Sgt Peppers and Pet Sounds.
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5. The Byrds combine two elements to solidly establish the folk rock genre—the sound
of the Beatles and the lyrics of Dylan. Byrds guitarist Roger McGuinn adopted the
Rickenbacker 12-string guitar after seeing George Harrison play one in A Hard Days
Night.
Chapter 5 – Suggested Listening
Artist
Song / iTunes Preview
Representative Style
Woody Guthrie
“Do re mi”
Dust Bowl blues period;
compare Dylan, Talkin’
New York Blues
“Talkin’ Dust Bowl Blues”
Pete Seeger
We Shall Overcome N/A
Became a civil rights
anthem
The Weavers
“Goodnight Irene”
Rare folk-to-pop crossover
hit; a Leadbelly cover
Bob Dylan
“Blowin in the Wind”
Early song of importance
Joan Baez
“Diamonds and Rust”
Beautiful voice; popular
and yet, authentic
Phil Ochs
“There but for Fortune”
Ochs desperately wanted to
be the King of Folk
Peter, Paul, and Mary
“Blowin’ in the Wind”
Their cover provided
Dylan’s first hit
Kingston Trio
“Tom Dooley”
A rare #1 hit folk song;
pop-style folk
The Mamas and the Papas
“Monday Monday”
Folk pop style featuring
vocal harmony
The Animals
“House of the Rising Sun”
A folk classic taken in a
rock direction by Alan Price
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The Byrds
“Mr. Tambourine Man”
Their only #1 hit on a cover
of Dylan’s song; established
folk rock genre
Joni Mitchell
“Both Sides Now”
Excellence in her use of
literary devices as well as
melody and musicianship
Neil Young
‘Heart of Gold”
Heart is easy-going folk
rock; Ohio is a modern
social protest song
“Ohio”
Leonard Cohen
“Suzanne”
His classic, Suzanne;
Hallelujah used in the film
Shrek
“Hallelujah”