Bob Dylan Photo: Creative Commons
On the evening of 25 July 1965, Bob Dylan took the stage at Newport Folk Festival, backed by an electric band. The audience of folk purists and political activists who had hailed him as their acoustic prophet reacted with a mix of shock, booing, and scattered cheers. It was the shot heard round the world—Dylan’s declaration of musical independence, the end of the folk revival, and the birth of rock as the voice of a generation—and one of the defining moments in twentieth-century music.
On the 50th anniversary of this seminal event, Nick Bollinger talks to writer and musician Elijah Wald, whose new book Dylan Goes Electric! explores Dylan’s decisive act in its cultural, political and historical context.
Music details
Artist: Bob Dylan
Song: Like A Rolling Stone, Tombstone Blues, Desolation Row
Composer: Dylan
Album: Highway 61 Revisited
Label: Columbia
Artist: Bob Dylan
Song: Highway 51
Composer: Trad. Arr. Dylan
Album: Bob Dylan
Label: Columbia
Artist: Bob Dylan
Song: Maggie’s Farm, Like A Rolling Stone, It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
Composer: Dylan
DVD: The Other Side Of The Mirror
Label: Columbia
Artist: Pete Seeger
Song: We Shall Overcome, John Henry
Composer: Trad. Arr. Seeger
Album: The Essential Pete Seeger
Label: Sony
Artist: Peter, Paul & Mary
Song: Blowin’ In The Wind
Composer: Dylan
Album: Ten Years Together
Label: Warner Bros.
