The Youth Generation of the 1960s
 In the early 1960s, the youth were optimistic as the
“young” Kennedy administration were redirecting
society
 Kennedy’s assassination destroyed the optimism
 By the end of the 1960s, disillusionment, violence,
drugs and antisocial behavior were the norm.
But what happened in between? What was it like being
the youth in the 1960s?
 The 1950s- Republicans dominated; political and social
conservatism
 The 1960s- Democrats dominated; liberal years
 Social issues:
 Racial integration- the civil rights movement
 Young people participated in sit-ins, freedom bus rides, and protest
marches
 1965- civil rights legislation passed
 Vietnam War
 Youth rebelled against the selective service system and the growing
U.S. involvement in the war
 The protestors demanded peace
 The youth were less successful in this campaign; the war escalated
through the 1960s and didn’t end until early 1970s
 This frustration may be why domestic violence grew in the late
1960s
 Environment issues:
 Ecology- there was concern that the population growth
and industrial expansion would deplete natural
resources
 Technology- youth became suspicious in the newly
evolving computer industry
 Growing concern for the self- “getting to know one’s
self”
 Spiritual vehicles (Buddhism, meditation, etc)
 Drugs (barbiturates, amphetamines, etc)
 This contradicted their the natural health food trend they
promoted
 Violence- another inconsistency
 The peace-youth needed to resort to violence in order to make
their point
 Youth dropped out of school in order to protest against
“the establishment”
 Long hair, outlandish styles, students ran away
 Sexual revolution
 Females fashions became revealing
 Co-ed living was now an alternative lifestyle
Music was a central ingredient to the 1960s; it reflected
society’s concerns and feelings, reinforced attitudes and
beliefs, helped modify value systems and helped spread
changes. The youth were motivated by music to act.
 Combined folk music with rock and roll
 Robert Zimmerman (Bob Dylan)- born on May 24, 1941
in Duluth, MN
 His influence was Woody Guthrie, whom he had left
home to go visit in the hospital
 Moved to NYC where Guthrie welcomed him into the
folk culture
 He auditioned for Columbia Records with the song
You’re No Good by Jesse Fuller
 Vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica
 Would you have recommended Mr. Dylan for a recording
contract?
 Columbia Records signed him and his first record was
released in March 1962
 Included traditional folk songs and blues and 2 original
songs
 Talkin’ New York- in the “talking blues” style
 A story is half spoken and half sung
 An autobiography of his travels from the west to NYC
 Shows Dylan’s talent of writing lyrics with artistic skill
 Reveals his dry wit and sarcasm
Follow-up album in March 1963
 Blowin’ in the Wind
 Covered by Peter, Paul and Mary who turned it into a #2 hit
 Became an anthem of the youth movement as it expressed
optimism and confidence
 Masters of War- condemns the military-industrial complex
 Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
 Also covered by Peter, Paul and Mary
 One of his love songs
 A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall
 Vaguely refers to the spectrum of humanity’s disregard for
itself
 Album released in January 1964
 This is when Dylan emerged as a folk star
 The song The Times They Are a-Changin’ warns that there
is a new force in the nation
 The youth better adapt to it or they’ll “sink like a stone” in the
floods of change
 Has a rougher edge than Blowin in the Wind’s anthem
The following album, Another Side of Bob Dylan, was more
mellow and contemplative
 Subterranean Homesick- was #39 and used a drum set and
electric guitars- sounded like rock
 At the Newport Folk Festival, Bob Dylan used electric
instruments in July 1965
 He was booed and hissed when entering the stage, but
the “folk rock” style had been born
 Mr. Tambourine Man- a song by Bob Dylan was
covered by The Byrds in their rock style and was #1 in
June 1965
Dylan and the Byrds share the credit as they both
released this style at the same time
 Other important songs/albums:
 “Like a Rolling Stone”
 “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35”-in response to criticism
 “People will criticize you (“stone you”) no matter what you do
or how good you try to be. He tosses off the criticism with a
double entendre: ‘Everybody must get stoned.’ This hook line
can mean that everybody must endure criticism (getting
“stoned” in the biblical sense) or that one is best advised to
shrug off criticism and simply get “stoned” (i.e. with drugs or
alcohol.) –p. 180
 John Wesley Harding
 “All Along the Watchtower”
 Nashville Skyline- had a country sound
 Blood on the Tracks- #1 album in 1975
His obtuse lyrics were always at the center of controversy
 They were the most influential and sophisticated since
the beginning of rock and roll
 They used symbolism, internal ironies, sarcasm,
thought-provoking messages, dry wit, surrealism, and
graceful flow
 Topics included civil rights, war, folk rock, country
rock, surrealism, broken relationships and Christian
faith
 This band could have done very well if it weren’t for
the constant personnel changes
 Original group members in 1964:
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Jim McGuinn- born in Chicago, was the central figure
Gene Clark- from Missouri
David Crosby- singer from Los Angeles
Chris Hillman- mandolin player from Los Angeles
Mike Clarke- drummer from NY
 Their first album included Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob
Dylan cover) released in March 1965
 Electric-rock oriented
 Was #1 in June 1965
 Their second album Turn. Turn, Turn used original
material and more Dylan songs
 The song, Turn Turn Turn, was #1 in December 1965
 1966- Gene Clark left; the group remained a quartet
 Their 3rd album, Fifth Dimension was released in 1966
 Eight Miles High was #14
 Used unusual chord progressions
 Lyrics had a double meaning
 Was their most controversial hit
 In 1967, Crosby left after disagreements with McGuinn
 The group continued as a trio
 The Notorious Byrd Brothers album was the most
interesting and eclectic album
 Draft Morning- an effective protest song
 has effective lyrics and mixed-in sound effects
 Many songs have a country sound intermingled with
electronic rock sounds
 Contains experiments in meter (using 5 and 6 beats, etc)
 Phase shifting is used
 Mike Clarke then left the group and was replaced by Kevin
Kelly
 Gram Parsons joined
 Mid-1968- Parsons and Hillman left, leaving McGuinn as
the only original member
 1973- McGuinn finally disbanded the Byrds entirely
 One of the most successful “folk rock” groups
 They tended toward a softer rock style
 1966-1967- had 9 singles in the top 40 and 6 in the top
10
 Members who all moved to Los Angeles to record:
 John Phillips- from South Carolina
 Cass Elliot- from Maryland
 Denny Doherty– from Canada
 Michelle Phillips
 If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears album was released in
1966 and became #1
 California Dreamin’- #1 song
 Monday, Monday
 Their second album, The Mamas and the Papas, also
released in 1966
 I Saw Her Again was in the Top 10
 By mid-1968, the group disbanded
 Musical elements:
 Used echo and overdubbing techniques
 Quartet sounded like a full chorus with effective harmonies
 They rarely engaged in protest songs
 Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel released singles in 1957
as “Tom and Jerry” such as Hey Schoolgirl.
 The guys attended school together and auditioned for
Columbia Records
 1964- their first album Wednesday Morning 3a.m. was
released
 The Sounds of Silence- an original Simon song using
voices and acoustic guitar
 It was remixed with electric bass, electric guitars, and
drums
 Their second album used this title and remix as one of
the songs
 Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme album was
released in 1966
 Included Homeward Bound which was a Top 10 hit
 The Graduate film helped the duo return to the
spotlight
 Was #1 soundtrack for 9 weeks
 Contained Scarborough Fair/Canticle and Mrs. Robinson
 Mrs. Robinson became #1 hit
 1968- Bookends was a concept album and was
influenced by Sgt. Pepper
 Included the songs America, Overs, Voices of Old People,
Old Friends, Bookends Theme, Mrs. Robinson, A Hazy
Shade of Winter (folk rock)
 Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
 After that album, the duo went separate ways
 Their success was based on Simon’s lyric and tune
writing skills
 References to Bob Dylan, folk rock, and themselves
 Joan Baez
 We Shall Overcome- a civil rights anthem in 1963
 Diamonds and Rust- 1975
 Judy Collins
 Send in the Clowns- 1975
 Sonny and Cher
 All I Really Want To Do- 1965
 Buffalo Springfield
 For What It’s Worth- 1967
 Mr. Soul- 1967
 Donovan
 Catch the Wind
 The three basic types of form structure are:
 12-bar blues
 AABA
 Through-composed (new music composed for each
section of text)
 Classical composers use this as the music can respond to the
variations in mood, images and situations in the lyrics
 The form structure Bob Dylan uses is called strophic
 Each and every verse is set to the same music, regardless
of lyrical content
 Very common for folk music
 Example: church hymns
 Blowin’ in the Wind
 4-measure melody = 16-measure strophe with AAAB
 Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
 4-measure melody = 16-measure strophe with AABC
 The Times They Are a-Changin’
 5 stanzas with 6 lines per stanza; 26-measure strophe
 Mr. Tambourine Man
 Verse-chorus approach
 The test will include listening, multiple choice and
short answer questions.
 You should be able to:
 Describe the youth generation of the 1960s
 Describe the impact music had on the youth generation
 Describe Bob Dylan, his contributions and impact on
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folk music
Describe how “folk rock” was created
Describe the Byrds, Mamas and the Papas, and Simon
and Garfunkel and their contributions/impact on folk
music
Recognize other folk rock artist
Describe Bob Dylan’s song style