YouTube Gold: Dylan Goes Electric
A seminal moment in music history
Bob Dylan’s influence in the 1960’s is impossible to overstate. He was a revolutionary figure in a lot of ways who stretched out what popular music could be. He had an enormous influence on the Beatles, who in turn had an enormous influence on things far beyond music.
But up until 1965, Dylan was seen as a folk musician who was supposed to have a sort of moral superiority about his music. No electric guitar for him, no rock and roll. Certainly not!
Dylan though was not keen on being boxed in by other people’s expectations and he was listening to other musicians. He was particularly taken with the Beatles hit “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” and also very impressed with the Birds.
So when he attended the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 and “went electric,” as they said, it didn't go over well with everyone.
He played his classic Like A Rolling Stone and a couple of other songs and some people felt betrayed (later, in the UK, someone actually called him Judas for playing an electric guitar).
Dylan has always challenged expectations though. This performance from Newport was just the beginning. It never really stopped, onstage or off.