OPPapers.com

1960S Rock Outline

American Folk Music
Folk music has been in the heart of the nation for generations. Early artists appeared around the time of the Great Depression as the voice of the nation and a shoulder to lean on. The 1960s was also an era of change and unrest, and like the artists that came before them, 60s folk artists represented the outrage and spirit of the American people.

Early Influences:
- Woody Guthrie
o Early 30s
o Most well known for the song, “This land is your land” which, recorded at the time of the Depression, was intended to lift the spirits of average Americans
- Pete Seeger

Figures of the Early 1960s:
- Bob Dylan
o Considered to be the most influential figure of the 1960s Folk movement
o Started his career playing in New York coffeehouses
o Many of his songs were politically motivated and reflected the cultural upheaval of the 1960s
o Some of his most popular earlier works can be found on the album, “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”
o In response to the new music of the British Invasion and the Blues movement that had been occurring for years, he began to change his sound to fit the mood of the mid 1960s
o Initiated the Folk-Rock movement when he experimented with electric guitars and sound on his album, “Bringing It All Back Home”
o Credited for his literary talent in his songwriting
- Joan Baez
o Involved in civil rights and nonviolence
o Played in coffeehouses in Boston
o Gained considerable attention from the ’59 Newport Folk Festival
o Had an off and on relationship with Bob Dylan while they toured together
- Tim Buckley
- Leonard Cohen
- Donovan

British Invasion
The British Invasion was not an attack on American soil as it sounds, but it was however a takeover by British musicians on American pop culture. The sounds of nation reverberated across the Atlantic and reshaped the quiet folksy-blues oriented music of America and turned it into the noisy, angry, electric superpower it would become.

First Wave:
- The...