MUSI 3104 W12
1960s Folk, Folk Rock
• Note at this point: how and why chronology is going to start getting
mixed up a bit. From here on the course will be a mixture of
chronological and thematic (for example, leaping ahead with folk
before doubling back for harder rock, etc.).
• Another source of complexity is the high level of hybridization and
social mixture between popular music styles in the 1960s. For
example, the line between genres such as folk, folk-rock, and
psychedelic rock became quite blurry. Reasons? And are there
reasons this may have been especially true in a scene like Toronto
or Winnipeg in the mid-1960s?
• When we get to folk and folk-rock of the mid-1960s we have a new
situation in terms of Canadian influence. It could be argued that this
was the first time Canada played a leadership role in an
internationally successful and influential genre of popular music.
And not only that, but the Canadianness of these artists was a topic
of widespread discussion at the time.
• Because of this, we can adopt a different style of discussion. Up to
now, I've been providing a lot of context in order to show the
significance of a fairly small and scattered number of examples. But
when discussing folk and folk-rock of the 1960s I'm going to switch
gears and we're going to listen to a lot of music in a relatively short
period of time. The point is to show the range and depth of this
particular scene, which was part of what made it so influential.
• But before doing this, a few contextual details that need to get into
the course somewhere, and that fit here historically...
• 1945-1955 is the window for parents of boomers setting up
families. So the boomers are becoming teens from the late 1950s
through late 1960s. Why are the boomers, as a group, so frequently
cited in histories of popular music?
• May 1957, CHUM (in Toronto) became the first Canadian radio
station to go all-rock, and also that year premiered the first Top-40
chart that paid particular attention to sales and airplay in Canada.
• Ronnie Hawkins had six CHUM Top-10s between 1959 and 1965
(that was his heyday of his influence).
• Thumbnail history, folk music after the 1940s: 1940s establishment
of new directions in folk music. By mid-1950s a fairly large
urban/student subculture dedicated to the style. By the late 1950s a
commercial explosion and the appearance of major festivals. Then
by the mid-1960s the appearance of contemporary singersongwriters.
• Canadian artists and institutions were generally on the cutting edge
of these changes, both in terms of career and institutional timing,
and also because their aesthetics often corresponded well to the
emerging singer-songwriter scene (poetic, introspective,
contemporary but with an attraction to the rural and to tradition,
spiritual, etc.).
• The Mariposa Festival began in 1961 in Orillia. By comparison, the
Newport Folk festival started in 1959. Mariposa moved to Toronto
in 1964.
• The importance of Yorkville Village as the closest Canadian
equivalent to Greenwich Village. This lasted pretty much
throughout the 60s. Gentrification of Yorkville was well underway
by the early 1970s, and unlike Greenwich Village it did not draw
much attention to the area's bohemian past.
• Overhead: Yorkville in the 1960s
• Ian and Sylvia Tyson made up one of the earliest popular Canadian
folk acts (formed 1961, had been singing together in Toronto clubs
since around 1959). They were right at the forefront of the late1950s urban folk revival, both in terms of timing and in terms of
fame.
• They gave crucial early support to other Canadian artists by
showcasing their material during this period (e.g. Gordon Lightfoot
and Joni Mitchell), and by introducing them around.
• Overheads: Ian & Sylvia LP cover and performance photo
• Ian and Sylvia "Four Strong Winds" (1961)
• This song developed into one of those "unofficial anthems"
• A few other nuances to notice about Ian & Sylvia…
• They were visually and musically quite traditional, with no clear
rock leanings. Yet they were important for helping to foster the
scene and artists who would develop folk rock. This helps to
illustrate the interconnectedness of genres by the early-to-mid
1960s.
• Ian Tyson has often said that it wasn't his specific intention to write
any kind of patriotic or place-specific song. He doesn't regret or
resent the nationalistic significance assigned to FSW by some
people, but he also doesn't claim it as deliberate.
• This will emerge as a common theme among some Canadian artists
of the period who were adopted by others as symbols of
Canadianness, and we'll return to it when we talk about debates
surrounding Canadian Content regulations.
• Buffy Sainte-Marie is of Cree ancestry and grew up in Saskatchewan
and Massachusetts. Her professional career was never based in
Canada, but she did perform here often in both industry and civic
capacities (for example she played at Expo '67, and for the Queen
1977).
• Her early work stood out for its social commentary, although she
has also had significant hits with more pop-oriented material (e.g.,
"Until It's Time For You To Go" and "Up Where We Belong"). Many
of her songs address Native experience, but it's far from a singular
concern in her work.
• Overheads: Buffy Sainte-Marie first LP cover and performance
shot
• Buffy Sainte-Marie "Universal Soldier" (1964)
• Gordon Lightfoot was from Orillia. Was a successful boy soprano, and had
a wide-ranging musical background (including playing drums and studying
jazz orchestration). Didn't begin writing folk songs or singing them until
around 1961, but rapidly became well-known in that circle. By 1964 he
had an active performing schedule and by 1965 his songs were being sung
in hit versions by major artists like Peter, Paul, and Mary, Ian & Sylvia and
Marty Robbins.
• By 1965-1966 he was getting better known as a performer. The first of his
annual Massey Hall concerts was in 1967. These were an annual event
until 1984, then every 18 months after that into the 1990s. They were
widely regarded as a major Toronto popular music tradition, and by the
end he could sell out three or four consecutive nights.
• Overhead: Gordon Lightfoot in 1960s
• Gordon Lightfoot "Early Mornin' Rain" (1965)
• Note: As with some artists of the 1930s through the 1940s that we've
studied, the line between country and folk is very blurry in the work of
people like Gordon Lightfoot and Ian Tyson.
• The song which arguably did the most to put GL on the map as a
symbol of Canadian identity was the "Canadian Railroad Trilogy,"
which was commissioned by the CBC.
• Gordon Lightfoot "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" (1967)
• Interestingly, right around the time CanCon was coming into effect
Lightfoot went more strongly in a pop and country-rock direction,
which involved among other things toning down the "chronicler of
Canada" angle that had been such a part of his folk image.
• Reminder here, nature of the "pop aesthetic" and what that implies
for any form of cultural distinctiveness. He didn't drop it altogether
though (consider "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald").
• Lightfoot emerged as a major player in the merger of soft rock and
folk music that defined the singer-songwriter sound into the 1970s,
and was also a commercial force to be reckoned with for most of
the decade.
• Overhead: Sundown LP cover
• Gordon Lightfoot "Sundown" (1974)
• Leonard Cohen is from Montreal. From the start he was a literary
figure as much as a musical one. He was already a published and
widely-recognized poet by the mid-1950s, and had published two
novels by the mid-1960s.
• Note that Canadian poetry in the 1960s and 70s was enjoying a
substantial degree of international recognition. In general, the high
reputation of Canadian poets and Canadian singer-songwriters
reinforced one another.
• In 1966 LC began singing some of the poems at readings, and
gradually developed full-flung concerts.
• Overheads: Leonard Cohen in the 1960s
• Leonard Cohen "Suzanne" (1966)
• Is there anything arguably "Montreal" about LC's overall aesthetic?
• Consider also his voice, along with singers like Bob Dylan and Neil
Young.
• Joni Mitchell was raised in Saskatoon (one example of the
important role of Western artists and scenes in folk music: Ian
Tyson was also from the West and had been a rodeo rider in his
early years, and Neil Young developed much of his early style while
living in Winnipeg).
• JM came to public notice at the 1965 Mariposa festival. Her initial
fame was based on early folk things, and especially "Both Sides
Now." One thing this song clearly illustrates is the idea of the folk
vocalist as virtuoso.
• Overheads: Joni Mitchell 1960s pose, Clouds LP cover
• Joni Mitchell "Both Sides Now" (1967)
• She began to make major artistic contributions as one of the
earliest singer/songwriters in the 1970s sense. Discuss what that
involves in terms of lyrical and musical style.
• Overhead: Blue LP cover
• Joni Mitchell "River" (1971)
• Stompin' Tom Connors began as a Maritime-based country
singer/songwriter very much in the Wilf Carter and Hank Snow vein.
Was an orphan and lived a migrant lifestyle for a time in the early
1960s, then began singing professionally in the mid-1960s, first in
Timmins, where he got the name.
• Prolific and quite successful well into the 1970s. Involved in running
his own record label (Boot records), which released 29 of his
albums in the 70s (some of which sold over 50,000 copies).
• His Juno protest was in 1978 (more about which later) and he
ended up staying away until the late 1980s, when he had an
unexpected comeback driven partly by the interest of university
students.
• Overhead: Bud The Spud LP cover
• YouTube: Opening of Across This Land (posted by Applejax2011),
"Sudbury Saturday Night" (original recording 1969)
• Stompin' Tom Connors "The Ketchup Song" (1969)
• Overhead: Stompin' Tom mural (Toronto, near Ryerson,
commissioned by Capitol Records, 1990. Lasted about 10 years)
• Overall: What kind of nationalism and vision of Canada is STC
promoting?
• How does it relate to older colonial clichés?
• To the emerging 1960s modernized image and multiculturalism?
• To emerging debates about cultural imperialism and protectionism?
• Bruce Cockburn is from Ottawa, although studied as well in Boston
and Paris. He had a wide-ranging background that included
classical, jazz, and rock.
• He was becoming a well-known folkie by the late 1960s. Some
things that made him stand out: another brand of mysticism
(bucolic and implicitly Christian, later explicitly so), a very gentle
and anti-pop aesthetic vocally and on the guitar.
• Overheads: Bruce Cockburn posed photo, first LP cover, High
Winds White Sky LP cover.
• Bruce Cockburn "All The Diamonds" (1974)
• Bruce Cockburn "Sunwheel Dance" (1972)
• Discuss: changes in folk guitar style in the 1960s and 1970s.
Leadership role of some Canadian artists in this.
• We'll come back to BC a few times: business-wise when we talk
about True North records, and style-wise when we get to the 1980s.
• The mid-1960s saw several folk rock bands appear fairly rapidly.
Best known were The Byrds, formed in 1964. Buffalo Springfield
was formed in 1966.
• Canadians were especially prominent in this movement, both at
home and in their U.S. activities.
• One issue here, the relationship between the incubation of a style
and its commercialization. In terms of artists experimenting with
folk rock fusions and playing them live, Canadians in Canada
seemed to be on the vanguard (as of 1963 or so). Also, several of
the bands to popularize the style had Canadians in them (1/4 in the
Lovin' Spoonful, 3/5 in Buffalo Springfield, and 4/5 in The Band).
• However, these bands were ultimately all "American" in their
overall image and the site of their commercial breakthroughs.
• The Lovin' Spoonful was formed in 1965 in New York (unusual for
folk rock since the scene was centered in California). They had
several hits until around 1967, but then fell out of favour pretty
quickly.
• The Canadian angle is tenuous (one of the cofounders), however, I
would emphasize it because of the general Canadian presence in
folk music and folk rock.
• Overheads: Two Lovin' Spoonful LP covers
• The Lovin' Spoonful "Do You Believe in Magic?" (1965)
• Briefly discuss: overlaps between folk rock and psychedelia.
• Bands like The Lovin' Spoonful and The Byrds (in their early years)
tended towards a sing-songy, jangly interpretation of folk rock,
drawing mainly on the melodic nature of folk songs.
• But some others picked up on folk politics and more roots-oriented
aspects, and developed those more strongly.
• Buffy Sainte-Marie "Cod'ine" (1964)
• Quicksilver Messenger Service "Codeine" (1967)
• One of the artists to most fully explore the way that folk could
overlap with various different aspects of rock style was Neil Young.
• Overhead: Neil Young LP cover
• Neil Young "The Old Laughing Lady" (1968)
• Overhead: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere LP cover
• Neil Young "Running Dry (Requiem For The Rockets)" (1969)
• Neil Young overall is a great example of eclecticism. And some of his
work raises interesting questions about the boundaries of the folk
rock aesthetic. Will come back to him in hard rock segment, and
also with country rock.
• As we've already seen, the late 1960s was the period in which
Canadian self-concern about identity and cultural protection was at
its highest, and soon we'll be discussing details of the Canadian
Content regulations.
• Keep in mind that the contemporary nation-state is a fairly recent
phenomenon (not much older than the 19th century).
• Also, there are many other kinds of unit into which people may be
bound, for example religious groups, monarchies and empires,
linguistic and cultural groups, geographical neighbours, etc.
• Building a "nation" is always an active process; a matter of
exploiting some of these units and repressing others. The debate
surrounding Canadian Content regulations in the late 1960s, and
their implementation in the early 1970s, is a classic example of the
interplay between the fluidity of identity and the drive to formalize
it.
• Given both the Centennial year and everything else we've said
about the mid-1960s, around 1967 the timing was right for a
general re-evaluation of Canadianness.
• The CRTC was created in 1967-1968.
• The contemporary CanCon regulations were first imposed in 1970
• Walt Grealis was a music publisher and record promoter bothered
by the lack of domestic support for Canadian artists. He launched
RPM in 1964, a trade paper with a nationalist agenda. Another
music promoter, Stan Klees, also became very important in writing
for RPM and supporting its operations.
• They found an ally in Ritchie Yorke, a journalist with connections to
publications like Rolling Stone and Billboard.
• In the early years they were faced with widespread apathy at best,
active resistance at worst. By 1968 RPM had become quite strident
and activist in advocating for some form of legislated Canadian
content in radio.
• Some details about the CanCon regulations...
• Quotas. 30% on all AM stations, and a varying percentage for FM
stations. Why?
• The MAPL formula.
• Multi-pronged definition of "Canadian" -- not only citizens
(regardless of residency), but also medium-term temporary
residents. Again, why?
• Note what is not included. Why no actual regulations on "content"?
What does this tell us about the ultimate purpose of the
regulations?
• There are various arguments in principle against CanCon
regulations, made by people who would have preferred not to see
them implemented.
• Who might be most likely to make these arguments, and how
convincing do we find each one?
• The forced-nationalism argument.
• The quality/mediocrity argument.
• The competitiveness argument.
• Also, which of these (if any) really touch upon the actual
intent/purpose of the regulations?
• There are also various complaints about implementation, made by
people who support CanCon in principle but who are not convinced
by the existing version…
• Weakness regarding times of day.
• Unwillingness to hold all formats and kinds of music to the same
quotas.
• Too much flexibility in definitions of Canadianness.
• 1970: Juno Awards established (named after Pierre Juneau, first
CRTC president).
• They followed on from the RPM Gold Leaf Awards which were
founded in 1964. Until 1975, winners were selected by RPM
readers.
• In 1975, CARAS was formed to be the governing body, and only
CARAS members voted from then on. CARAS is made up of
professionals from recording, performance, publishing,
broadcasting, and retail, although at certain points various public
feedback/poling components have been included.
• In 1975 the CBC began television coverage.
• Some suggest that during this time the emphasis shifted away from
developing talent and supporting local/niche artists, and towards
promoting already-established artists and industry priority artists.
• It was also felt by some that the expatriate factor was intensified by
these developments. For example, Paul Anka was the host in 1975.
• Another common criticism by the mid-1970s was that the
predictability of nominations was becoming absurd. For example, in
the period 1970-1978, the nominations/wins for a few selected
artists were: Gordon Lightfoot 17/12, Anne Murray 13/8, Stompin'
Tom Connors 12/6, and Murray McLauchlan 12/5.
• Yet another issue: since the Junos showed a marked Anglophone
bias, supporters of Francophone and Québec popular music found
it necessary to start the Félix Awards, which began in 1979.
• 1978: Stompin' Tom Connors letter and protest (text in Edwardson:
179).
• A lingering question we can come back to yet again: are there really
generalized "Canadianisms" that can be found in a wide range of
Canadian culture products?
• Keeping in mind all the cautions I've been giving about overlyreductionist views, here are some candidates that frequently get
put forward and discussed. With each of these, how convincing are
they? For which Canadian times and places do they seem like a
good fit? For which do they not?
• Canadian consciousness is marked by a powerful sense of isolation
and wilderness. We tend to always have a frontier mentality, feel
connected to and threatened by natural forces. Canadian art
reflects this, in that it often deals with landscapes, desolation,
distances, climate (especially cold), rocks and natural history, etc.
• Our self-image is largely a negative one, i.e., we are "not
Americans." This is always complicated though: insider/outsider,
irony, complicity. It often involves a strange mixture of superiority
and inferiority complexes.
• Or, alternatively (in part a component of the non-American point),
we are not intrinsically nationalist.
• Or as a negative side of that, we just don't bother trying to have an
identity. We are happy limiting ourselves to enjoying and
consuming the culture of others.
• Or, as a "positive" spin on that, our identity is stunted by structural
features but that in itself is a crucial part of our identity. Notice how
the structural argument, to be convincing, needs to hinge on the
availability of Canadian products (if they are available, then they
could be chosen, and so it becomes the "making an effort"
argument, above).
• With respect to the "borrowed culture" angle, can suggest that
syncretism/eclecticism is a uniquely Canadian trait, i.e., look for a
distinctive and more creative way to think about borrowing.
• Will Straw describes two general positions in debates about
national cultural identity. One is essentialist, arguing that there are
indeed distinctive traits to Canadian art and that these are caused
by distinctive features of Canadian experience.
• The other position he calls the compensatory position, which argues
that Canadian identity is marked by the activity of finding and filling
unexplored niches in the cultural products of other regions (mostly
the U.S. and U.K.).
• For example, there is a market for arty movies, for restrained TV, for
music with "regional authentiticy" (e.g. Maritime), for obviously
syncretic music, etc., and we move into these niches.
• Such moves do not express something fundamental about
Canadianness, but rather opportunities for Canadians to fill gaps
left in cultural products largely defined by outside forces. But of
course, the particular way that particular gaps are filled tells you
something about the particular Canadians who filled them.