The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #63661 Message #1036890
Posted By: PoppaGator
16-Oct-03 - 01:15 PM
Thread Name: 6 reasons why I don't buy CDs ...
Subject: RE: 6 reasons why I don't buy CDs ...
I'm reading George Wein's autobio "Myself and Others" and learned yet another version of what happened backstage when Dylan "went electric" at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. (George was/is the founding producer of the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals, producer of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival since its 2nd or 3rd year back in the early 70s, and many other annual musical events aroun the world.)
Wein supports the view that Pete Seeger's negative reaction was to the sound quality, not the basic idea of playing electric guitars and drums. The person who *really* freaked out was Alan Lomax, who had already objected to the inclusion of the electrified Chicago blues acts on the bill (especially white boys Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield with their racially-mixed band, the musicians who wound up providing Dylan's accompaniment.) Lomax resigned his position on the NFF board of directors immediately afterward, allowing the festival to continue showcasing acts like Muddy Waters, Butterfield, the Junior Wells Band featuring Buddy Guy, etc. Two or three years later, they even included Big Brother and the Holding Company (with Janis Joplin) as a blues act (and therefore passable as "folk").
I was at Newport that year; I was arrested early Saturday evening when the cops saw me buy a beer -- after a l-o-o-o-n-g wait on line (or, to you Brits, "in queue") -- then immediately get back in line, sipping my beer in anticipation of buying another by the time I finished. They asked for my ID, determined I was underage (17), and took me off to spend the night in jail. I was released in the morning, with no charges, no record, no fine, etc., along with a couple of dozen other youthful miscreants -- but I soon learned about the big-deal historical moment I had missed, when Dylan had taken the stage with members of the Butterfield band, plugged in an electric guitar, and stupified the folk music esablishment.
By the way: I'm reminded of the title of one of the cuts on that first Paul Butterfied album: "Driftin' and Driftin." ;^]