america in the mid-late 1960s

• by 1965, america was leaning toward more liberal and understanding values.

• teens and young adults start to concern themselves with major issues.

  • young americans help make significant progress with civil rights.

  • they also start to protest the conflict in vietnam.

  • we also start to see a concern for the environment.

• who was influencing young americans to care about all these issues?

the counterculture

• the 1960s counterculture was a group of individuals whose ideas and values differed from mainstream society. some of these individuals were.

  • jack kerouac - beat novelist and poet whose work inspired the hippie movement.

  • timothy leary - an advocate of therapeutic LSD experimentation. his mantra “tune in, turn on, drop out” defined the 60s counterculture and hippie movement.

  • ken kesey - novelist and an advocate of psychadelic drugs. he hosted “acid test” parties around san francisco for people to experiment with psychedelics.

• along with these counter-culture icons, music played an important role in reinforcing these ideas and beliefs. the music played a major part in counter-culture.

do you love me like you love bob dylan

• CAUSE EVERYONE LOVES BOB DYLAN I JUST WANT YOU TO LOVE ME LIKE THAT YEAAAAH.

  • MY MOTHER FUCKING 8 BALL LETS GOOOOOO. 🎱🎱🎱

• bob dylan is one of the most important songwriters of all time. he can’t sing that well.

• his music influences generations of artists and people.

• dylan dropped out of college in 1960 and started to play music in small coffee houses in minnesota. he was a large fan of woody guthrie.

• he moved to new york city in 1961 to seek fame and to learn from his idol woody guthrie. he goes to greenwich village, a hub of counterculture. at this point woody guthrie is dying. bruce springsteen used to play in greenwich a lot. they had very small clubs.

• dylan is offered an audition at columbia records and is signed in october of 1961. the guy who signed him also signed aretha franklin (when she was still doing jazz) and bruce springsteen (who he thought was going to be the next bob dylan.)

• bob dylan (self-titled)

  • released in 1962

  • sells 5,000 copies

  • top songs

    • you’re no good

    • talkin’ new york

    • song to woody

• freewheelin’ bob dylan

  • dylan’s second album was released in march of 1963.

  • this album changed the public’s perception of dylan from one of many folk singers from nyc to a standout talent.

  • top songs

    • blowin’ in the wind

    • girl from the north country

    • don’t think twice, it’s alright

• the times they are a changin’

  • released in 1964

  • this album is dylan’s first to contain all original songs

  • top song

    • the times they are a changin’

  • by the time the timest they are a changin’ is released, dylan has become a major influence on he counterculture movement in the us.

• the emergence of folk rock

  • folk rock is the combination of rock and roll and folk music, two genres of music that forged their own paths through america.

  • folk rock combines the storytelling and seriousness of folk and the eletric instruments of rock to create a new genre of music.

  • the first instance of folk rock is bob dylan’s song released in 1965.

    • subterranean homesick blues.

  • while folk fans think dylan’s use of rock instruments in the song are a one time experimentation, it turns out that was not the case. oh bob you’re so silly! silly bob!

    • people believed that you should keep folk music acoustic.

• the newport folk festival incident

  • bob dylan is asked to play at the 1965 newport folk festival in rhode island.

  • dylan shows up to play with the paul butterfield blues band, a band that used electric instruments. eletric instruments were not allowed at newport folk yet.

  • fans start to boo, cry, and scream that bob dylan as “sold out.”

  • this performance at newport folk is considered to be the beginning of folk rock.

• bob has his first major hit with like a rolling stone.

• highway 61 revisited

  • top songs

    • like a rolling stone

    • highway 61 revisited

• blonde on blonde

  • top songs

    • rainy day woman #12 & 35

    • i want you

    • just like a woman

    • visiosn of johanna

• the motorcycle incident

  • in july of 1966, dylan crashes his motorcycle in woostock, ny.

  • he decides to recuperate in woodstock at a house called big pink.

  • while recuperating, he hires a band called the hawks who became one of the biggest folk rock bands - the band. they worked with bob and also made their own music.

  • after recovering from his accident he traves to nashville tn to begin recording again.

• john wesley harding

  • released in 1967

  • top song

    • all along the watchtower

      • this becomes a hit from jimi hendrix.

• nashville skyline

  • released in 1969

  • top songs

    • lay lady lay

    • girl from the north country (with johnny cash)

    • i threw it all away

• other hits

  • knocking on heaven’s door

    • guns and roses covered this!

  • it ain’t me babe

  • tangled up in blue

  • hurricane

    • the bridge in this fucks.

• in total, dylan has over 80 albums of live and recorded music.

• as of 2024, bob dylan continues to tour and perform.

• what is bob dylan’s most important contribution to rock?

  • lyrics! he gave us the ability to write cool lyrics to a rock song. to express what is happening to ourselves and the world.

the development of folk rock- folk rock artists

• after bob dylan introduces electric instruments to folk a whole new group of artists arrive on the scene. like my boys art and paul! see following bands to learn more.

the byrds

• the byrds formed in los angeles in 1964.

• their cover of mr. tambourine man goes to #1 in 1965. this is the second folk rock song to be released to have success, making folk rock a legitimate genre.

• after the success of mr. tambourine man, the byrds are bbilled as america’s answer to the beatles. they did not like this.

• other top hits

  • turn! turn! turn!

  • eight miles high

    • this fucks too. this bass goes CRAZY.

• by 1968, the riginal members have left the band. the byrds break up in 1973.

the band

• these are the guys that hung out with dylan in big pink!

• the band is a canadian-american folk rock band that is one of the most influential bands in rock history.

• the band forms in 1958 as the hawks, the back up band for country artist ronnie hawkins. so, they were originally called the hawks. he sounded a lot like buddy holly.

• the band records with bob dylan at big pink while he is recovering from his motorcycle accident. they release the basement tapes in 1975.

• the hawks split from dylan in 1967 and change their name to the band.

• the band is known for combining multiple genres to get their signature folk rock sound

  • folk

  • americana

  • jazz/funk

  • country

  • r&b

• music from big pink

  • released in 1968

  • this is the band’s debut album after leaving dylan

  • some songs are co-written with dylan

  • top songs

    • tears of rage

    • the weight

    • this weel’s on fire

    • i shall be released

• the band (the brown album)

  • released in 1969

  • considered one of the band’s best albums

  • the band consired this a concept album that focused on older americana themes

  • top songs

    • rag mama rag

      • this has a great fiddle! yeehaw!

    • the night they drove old dixie down

    • up on cripple creek

      • this one has a great bassline! pretty funky!

    • king harvest

• in total, the band has 10 studio albums and 9 live albums

  • top hits from their later albums

    • the shape i’m in

    • live is a carnival

    • don’t do it

    • ophelia

      • this one is pretty funky fresh. groovy.

    • atlantic city (bruce springsteen cover)

• the last waltz

  • by 1976, robbie robertson was urging the band to retire from touring after putting on a huge farewell concert.

  • on thanksgiving day, 1976, the band performs a concert at the winterland ballroom in san francisco.

  • the concert, filmed by an upcoming director martin scorsese, will go on to be called the last waltz. he’s a famous director now.

  • the last waltz features many special guests including

    • joni mitchell

    • ronnie hawkins

    • bob dylan

    • neil young

    • eric clapton

    • ringo star

    • van morrison

    • and neil diamond, for some reason

  • the last waltz is considered one of the best rock documentaries of all time

THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOO

• formed in 1965

• the mamas and the papas combined folk with pop music to make a very unique version of folk rock. they are also stunning look at them. they’re so amazing and awesome.

• the whole group is formed by john phillips. he gets into a group with denny doherty, and they added in michelle phillips. cass elliot was living in laurel canyon and everyone ended up at her house. she would sew buttons on people’s shirts and stuff. she wanted to sing with the other three so she practically stalked them.

  • between 1966 and 1967, the group has six top ten hit records

    • california dreamin’

      • ALL THE LEAVES ARE BROWN AND THE SKY IS GREYYYY

    • monday, monday

    • i saw her again

  • more hits

    • words of love

    • dedicated to the one i love

    • creeque alley

• they are known for their vocal harmonies arranged by john phillips. any of their songs that aren’t covers he wrote. he was big into the ‘60s drug scene. there’s rumors that michelle and denny slept together in front of john because he was so drugged up he couldn’t notice.

• the band organized the first true rock festival in 1967 called the montery international pop festival. otis redding (as well as many other black artists) saw a white audience for the first time. there was a new sound coming in by jimi hendrix, the who, the grateful dead, etc. there was a small local band with janis joplin performing and she was so amazing that they made her perform again because everyone loved her so much. it put festivals on the map.

• even though their music does not sound like folk rock, they are considered a folk rock group based on their previous music and their physical image.

• they have all passed except for michelle. cass passed away in england from heart failure. denny passed recently. john phillips’s daughter married eddie van halen. she had written a tell all book about her life accusing of incest. when they went to confront him, he was dead.

SIMON AND GARFUNKEL THE BOYS ART AND PAUL!!

• paul simon and art garfunkel are childhood best friends who meet in elementary school in queens, ny (mr. grills hometown) in 1963.

• the duo originally called themselves tom and jerry and had a hit record called hey schoolgirl.

  • these guys were enamored with the everly brothers. if you listen to what they’re doing in that song it is a copy of the everly brothers.

• after the success of hey schoolgirl, the duo go back to school and go their seperate ways for college. paul is a songwriter so he begins writing songs. he thinks the songs he wrote are pretty cool because he thinks he’s like bob dylan. so he called back up art and asks to try music again. this is when they switch to their sirnames.

• they reunite in college and now share an interest in folk music. they start performing in nyc clubs and coffee shops. oh yeah i’m gonna go clubbing and bust it down to art and paul.

• simon and garfunkel are signed to columbia records in late 1963 and release their first album in march of 1964. they have a folk sound with a hint of the everly brothers.

• wednesday morning, 3am

  • released in 1964

  • only sells 3,000 copies due to the british invasion.

  • the album is a mix of folk covers and original songs

    • the sounds of silence

      • this song is absolutley beautiful.

    • the times they are a changin (they covered dylan a lot)

  • after the album flops, simon moved to england and garfunkel goes back to columbia uniersity (he was studying mathematics.) they were both geniuses.

• the sound of silence (song)

  • in 1965, the producer of album, tom wilson, inspired by the new genre of folk rock, remixed the sounds of silence by adding bass, drums, and an electric guitar over the orginal recording. he didn’t inform simon or garfunkel that he was going to do this. paul simon said that he was horrified when he heard it for the first time.

  • the remixed sound of silnece hits #1 on the hot 100 chart

  • the success of the remix convinces simon and garfunkel to reunite and record their second album.

• the sound of silence (album)

  • the album “the sound of silence” is released in early 1966. cbs demanded that the album be called the sound of silence to cash in on the sucess of the song.

  • top songs

    • the sound of silence

      • i swear if i had a dollar for every time i typed the sound of silence i would have enough money to pay for my college tuition

    • april come she will

    • i am a rock

  • the sound of silence was recorded so fast that neither singer had much control over the album. for the next album, simon demanded control over their recordings.

• parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme

  • released in 1966

  • peaked at #4 on the billboard charts

  • considered one of the duo’s best albums

  • this is the first album thay paul simon had control over the production and recording process. my boy art gave great harmonies. he didn’t play any instruments.

  • top songs

    • scarbourough fair/canticle

    • homeward bound

    • the 59th street bridge song (feelin’ groovy)

• the graduate soundtrack

  • the graudate was a romantic comedy released in 1967 that featured music by simon and garfunkel. the soundtrack was released in 1968. in the movie, a graduate gets seduced by an older woman named mrs. robinson. this movie is totally wacky.

  • the graduate soundtrack wins the grammy for best orginal musical score for a motion picture.

    • mrs. robinson - the first rock song to win a grammy for record of the year.

• bookends

  • released in 1968

  • bookends is a concept album that explores life from a childhood to old age.

  • top songs

    • mrs. robinson

    • america

    • old friends

      • this song has some nice strings

    • a hazy shade of winter

      • this fucks! great beat! seems rolling stones esque.

  • bookends climbs to #1 on the billboard charts and stays there for seven weeks. it spends over sixty weeks on the charts in total.

• old friends… not so friendly

  • by this point in their career, the duo have grown apart due to various reasons, one of them being art garfunkel’s new acting career. he was in catch 22. pretty interesting. wish i knew that when i wrote that essay about that book. could have been thining about art.

• bridge over troubled water

  • released in 1970

  • this is the duo’s last album

  • it is one of the most sucessful albums of all time

  • charted in over 11 countries

  • best selling album of 1970, 1971, 1972

  • it was the best selling album of all time

  • it was on the billboard top 10 for 10 weeks

  • sold over 25 million copies worldwide

  • it has won six grammys including album of the year

  • top songs

    • bridge over troubled water

      • this is all art garfunkel!

    • cecelia

      • they were jamming in a hotel room and recorded it on a cheep tape recorder, and they realized that it had a cool echo so they used it in the song.

    • the boxer

      • to replicate the gunshot sound in this song, they brought their drum set iknto an empty elevator shaft and recorded it. la da da BOOM.

      • this song is one of the best songs of all time it is so amazing.

    • note to self: listen to the whole album

• even though bridge over troubled water was a major success, the duo decide to part ways. the duo seldom spoke until the 1980’s. paul simon made an album called graceland that did pretty well, and art garfunkel did some new movies.

• the central park concert

  • in 1981, new york city was looknig to put on free concerts in central park.

  • nyc asked paul simon if the duo would be open to reuniting for the show. they said yes!

  • the concert was the largest concert ever up until that time.

• simon and garfunkel continued to tour on and off through the early 2000s.

other folk rock artists

• joni mitchell

  • top songs

    • big yellow taxi

      • harry styles covered this lol. and the counting crows, apparently.

    • coyote

• joan baez

  • top songs

    • diamonds and rust

      • she has a very nice voice.

• judy collins

  • top song

    • both sides now

• john prine

  • top songs

    • in spite of ourselves

    • angel from montgomery

    • paradise

• cat stevens

  • top songs

    • father and son

    • wild world

• jim croce

  • top songs

    • bad, bad leroy brown

    • i’ve got a name

    • you don’t mess around with jim

• buffalo springfield

  • top song

    • for what it’s worth

• the lovin’ spoonful

  • top songs

    • do you believe in magic

    • summer in the city