Folk rock/ Alternative rock is
a musical genre combining elements of folk
music and rock music, In its
earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the
United States and the UK around the mid-1960s. The genre was pioneered by the Los
Angeles band The
Byrd's,
who began playing traditional folk music and Bob
Dylan-penned material with rock instrumentation, in a style
heavily influenced by The Beatles and other British
bands. The term
"folk rock" was itself first coined by the U.S. music
press to
describe The Byrd's' music in June 1965, the same month that the band's
debut album was
issued. The release of The Byrd's' cover
version of
Dylan's "Mr Tambourine Man" and its subsequent
commercial success initiated the folk rock explosion of the mid-1960s.Dylan
himself was also influential on the genre, particularly his recordings with an
electric rock band on the Bringing It All
Back Home, Highway 61
Revisited,
and Blonde on Blonde
albums Dylan's
July 25, 1965 appearance at the Newport
Folk Festival with an electric backing band is also considered a
pivotal moment in the development of folk rock.
The
genre had its antecedents in the American folk music revival, the beat music of
The Beatles and other British Invasion bands, The Animals' hit recording of the folk song "The House of the Rising Sun", and the folk-influenced song writing of The Beau Brummel's. In particular, the folk-influence evident
in such Beatles' songs as "I'm a
Loser" and
"You've Got to Hide Your Love
Away" was
very influential on folk rock.The repertoire of most folk rock acts was drawn in
part from folk sources but it was also derived from
folk-influenced singer-songwriters
such as
Dylan.Musically, the genre was typified by clear vocal
harmonies and a relatively "clean" approach to electric instruments, as
epitomized by the jangly 12-string guitar sound of The Byrd's. This jangly guitar sound was
derived from the music of The Searchers and from George
Harrison's
use of a Rickenbacker 12-string on The Beatles' recordings
during 1964 and 1965.
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