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Talkin' Greenwich Village: The Heady Rise and Slow Fall of America’s Bohemian Music Capital
The definitive history of the rise and heyday of the revolutionary Greenwich Village music scene, based on new research and first-hand interviews with many of its legendary performers
Although Greenwich Village encompasses less than a square mile in downtown New York, rarely has such a concise area nurtured so many innovative artists and genres. Over the course of decades, Billie Holiday, the Weavers, Sonny Rollins, Dave Van Ronk, Ornette Coleman, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, Phil Ochs, and Suzanne Vega are just a few who migrated to the Village, recognizing it as a sanctuary for visionaries, non-conformists, and those looking to reinvent themselves. Working in the Village’s smokey coffeehouses and clubs, they chronicled the tumultuous Sixties, rewrote jazz history, and took folk and rock & roll into places they hadn’t been before.
Based on over 150 new interviews (Judy Collins, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Eric Andersen, Suzzy and Terre Roche, Suzanne Vega, Steve Forbert, Arlo Guthrie, John Sebastian, Shawn Colvin, the members of the Blues Project, and more), previously unseen documents, and author David Browne’s longtime immersion in the scene, Talkin’ Greenwich Village lends the saga the epic, panoramic scope it’s long deserved. It takes readers from the Fifties jamborees in Washington Square Park and into landmark venues like Gerde’s Folk City, the Gaslight Café, and the Village Vanguard, onto Dylan’s momentous arrival and returns, the no-holds-barred Seventies years (West Village discos, National Lampoon’s Lemmings), and the folk revival of the Eighties (Vega’s enduring “Tom’s Diner”).
In eye-opening fashion, Browne also details the often-overlooked people of color in the Sixties folk clubs, reveals how the FBI and city government consistently kept their eyes on the community, unearths the machinations behind the infamous “beatnik riot” in Washington Square Park, and tells the interconnected tales of Van Ronk, the seminal band the Blues Project, and the beloved sister trio, the Roches.
In also recounting the racial tensions, crackdowns, and changes in New York and music that infiltrated the neighborhood, Talkin’ Greenwich Village is more than just vivid cultural history. It also speaks to the rise and waning of bohemian culture itself, set to some of the most enduring lyrics, melodies, and jazz improvisations in American music.
Although Greenwich Village encompasses less than a square mile in downtown New York, rarely has such a concise area nurtured so many innovative artists and genres. Over the course of decades, Billie Holiday, the Weavers, Sonny Rollins, Dave Van Ronk, Ornette Coleman, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, Phil Ochs, and Suzanne Vega are just a few who migrated to the Village, recognizing it as a sanctuary for visionaries, non-conformists, and those looking to reinvent themselves. Working in the Village’s smokey coffeehouses and clubs, they chronicled the tumultuous Sixties, rewrote jazz history, and took folk and rock & roll into places they hadn’t been before.
Based on over 150 new interviews (Judy Collins, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Eric Andersen, Suzzy and Terre Roche, Suzanne Vega, Steve Forbert, Arlo Guthrie, John Sebastian, Shawn Colvin, the members of the Blues Project, and more), previously unseen documents, and author David Browne’s longtime immersion in the scene, Talkin’ Greenwich Village lends the saga the epic, panoramic scope it’s long deserved. It takes readers from the Fifties jamborees in Washington Square Park and into landmark venues like Gerde’s Folk City, the Gaslight Café, and the Village Vanguard, onto Dylan’s momentous arrival and returns, the no-holds-barred Seventies years (West Village discos, National Lampoon’s Lemmings), and the folk revival of the Eighties (Vega’s enduring “Tom’s Diner”).
In eye-opening fashion, Browne also details the often-overlooked people of color in the Sixties folk clubs, reveals how the FBI and city government consistently kept their eyes on the community, unearths the machinations behind the infamous “beatnik riot” in Washington Square Park, and tells the interconnected tales of Van Ronk, the seminal band the Blues Project, and the beloved sister trio, the Roches.
In also recounting the racial tensions, crackdowns, and changes in New York and music that infiltrated the neighborhood, Talkin’ Greenwich Village is more than just vivid cultural history. It also speaks to the rise and waning of bohemian culture itself, set to some of the most enduring lyrics, melodies, and jazz improvisations in American music.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published September 17, 2024
61 people are currently reading
2504 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
December 12, 2024
Pretty much a day-by-day description of who did what/when/where during the Greenwich Village folk music revival in the late 1960s and early 1970s. If you aren't a huge American folk music fan, you'll probably get bored quickly. This genre started out with traditional music played with acoustic instruments. It progressed to singer-songwriters using both electric and acoustic instruments. Rated 4.5 for folk music fanatics. Rated 2.5 for everyone else. This book pairs well with The Mayor of MacDougal Street by Dave Van Ronk.
August 28, 2024
History: A
Details: B
Music history: A
Writing: B
Best Aspect: So much interesting information.
Worst Aspect: Detailed and long.
Recommend: Yes for those truly interested.
Details: B
Music history: A
Writing: B
Best Aspect: So much interesting information.
Worst Aspect: Detailed and long.
Recommend: Yes for those truly interested.
July 6, 2025
If you are a HUGE folk music fan, then this is the book for you. I am not so I found the book rather hard going at times. I do love books about NYC and I do love books about the music industry so I thought there was a chance I would love this book. However, it was just too detailed about musicians I didn't care about. I would perk up when the author was writing about a musician I do like but the majority of the people he went into detail about I had never listened to. I'm thinking primarily of Van Ronk and The Roche Sisters and another band called The Blues Project. I had heard of the the Roche Sisters but never listened to them and the other two were new to me. The book pretty much uses Von Ronk's life as a framing device. I did not think him interesting enough to warrant so much time spent on him. At times it almost read like a biography of him.
I did like hearing about the development of Greenwich Village in general, in terms of the music and clubs. I think this would have been a great two hour walking tour! As a book, it dragged - a lot. I am relieved it is over. A weak two stars for teaching me more about the history of the Village.
I did like hearing about the development of Greenwich Village in general, in terms of the music and clubs. I think this would have been a great two hour walking tour! As a book, it dragged - a lot. I am relieved it is over. A weak two stars for teaching me more about the history of the Village.
December 10, 2024
A deep dive into the folk music scene that took root in and made New York's Greenwich Village neighborhood legendary in the national conscious, Browne presents this history with the help of a multitude of interviews from the people--especially the musicians--who were there and helped the scene fight for its life long after the times when similarly notable scenes faded from the limelight. Browne's writing and use of interview quotations make this less of a dry history and more of a group recollecting at a table at one of the storied venues detailed within. If I wasn't busy with grad school, I probably would've been playing around on the old nylon string guitar I have in between reading sessions. Perhaps that's the true mark of quality for a history book about music: making the reader want to play; in this case, the book is highly successful.
April 13, 2025
This is an excellent history of a roughly 50 year period of Greenwich Village. It’s primarily about the music clubs and the musicians who got their starts there. Some are obvious ones, like Dylan, David Van Ronk, The Loving Spoonful, The Roches, Blood Sweat and Tears, John Sebastian, and Peter, Paul and Mary, but I doubt you know the backstory of some of the musicians less associated with that neighborhood, like Suzanne Vega, David Johansen, Patti Smith and The Smithereens. The style is very much intimate storytelling, not at all dry and academic. I enjoyed it.
July 30, 2024
Growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, folk music was always on the radio or the stereo. I bought the first Joan Baez album and I still own the first Bob Dylan album that I bought for 1.99 at Woolworth’s. The first concert I attended starred Peter, Paul and Mary. I never made it to Greenwich Village until 1999. It was always in the news growing up and all the different players that David Browne writes about were always in the news. This is a great book about the history and changes that folk music went through. My friend, Allan Block, is even mentioned. I loved it! Read it!!!!
July 25, 2024
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Hachette Books, for an advance copy of this cultural and musical history about an area of New York City that was home to what can only be called a real group of characters. An area whose sidewalks and storefronts served as a garden of ideas in music, art, ways of thinking and being, with a legacy that is still being discovered today.
During the late 80's and 90's I spent a lot of time in Manhattan, seeing shows, shopping for records or rarities to resell in Connecticut, going to bookstores, and taking my father to doctor's. I walked a lot in the city, buses confused me, and being on a subway meant I might miss a sidewalk salesman with hot books, pirated videos, or what have you. My path always seemed to be down toward what was called the Village, short for Greenwich Village. Cities have a feeling, and no two cities feel alike. London feels different than Paris, Chicago is different from Los Angeles. The Village seemed different from Manhattan. Even from 14th Street that serves as its northern boundary. Though that might have changed. I haven't wandered the city since Covid, and even before that the area had changed. Cool shops became Boba tea stops. And the music doesn't seem to float on the air like it once did. Talkin' Greenwich Village: The Heady Rise and Slow Fall of America’s Bohemian Music Capital by writer and musical historian David Browne is a look at this section of real estate, who it brought in, cast out, the music made, the music lost, and the remarkable times it had, and maybe one day will again.
Greenwich Village is a section of the city which was in the past known for being a land lush in trees and grass lands, a green district, as it was called. Less than one square mile, The Village is bordered by 14th street, Broadway, Houston Street and the North River. However it always seemed like a place that existed on its own terms. Cheap rents brought artists types, who clustered on the sidewalks playing instruments, or even more in the parks, which brough the police out in force. Cafes and restaurants looking for ways to bring in customers would offer music nights, even if the musician had to sit in a chair amidst the people listening. As the area became known for cheap rents and interesting music, a scene began to develope, calling people from all over. One of those who always seemed there, living in a rent controlled apartment was David Van Ronk, a legend among the folk musicians who played in the Village, a friend to many, an instructor to more, Van Ronk was there at the beginning right up to his end. The book follows the growth of the Village, adding jazz clubs, folk royalty with Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, the eventual declining interest in the music, but with new players like the The Roches, and Shawn Colvin and Suzanne Vega. All told in interviews, with the people who were there, who heard, or played in this revolutionary scene.
I've enjoyed quite a few books by David Browne. Browne has a an ability to write about the music, while not missing the people who helped develop the sounds. There is much talk of Bob Dylan, but other musicains, some not as famous, and some lost to time are discussed, and their lives give the spotlight they deserve. Browne has a real skill in finding the story, the real story, not just the myth, and giving reminding readers these artists are actually human beings. They make mistakes, sometimes many, and not to lose sight of that. The book is laid out well, chronologically with a lot of stories, some funny, some sad. With a great soundtrack, that might send a lot of people to Discogs to find search out these songs on vinyl.
A great book for music fans, and for those interested in the cultural history of the city. The rise of folk, the club scene, the Stonewall riots. And the fall of recovery of the economy of a great city, that made it impossible for these cool places to pay rent. I highly recommend anything by David Browne, this is a good place to start.
During the late 80's and 90's I spent a lot of time in Manhattan, seeing shows, shopping for records or rarities to resell in Connecticut, going to bookstores, and taking my father to doctor's. I walked a lot in the city, buses confused me, and being on a subway meant I might miss a sidewalk salesman with hot books, pirated videos, or what have you. My path always seemed to be down toward what was called the Village, short for Greenwich Village. Cities have a feeling, and no two cities feel alike. London feels different than Paris, Chicago is different from Los Angeles. The Village seemed different from Manhattan. Even from 14th Street that serves as its northern boundary. Though that might have changed. I haven't wandered the city since Covid, and even before that the area had changed. Cool shops became Boba tea stops. And the music doesn't seem to float on the air like it once did. Talkin' Greenwich Village: The Heady Rise and Slow Fall of America’s Bohemian Music Capital by writer and musical historian David Browne is a look at this section of real estate, who it brought in, cast out, the music made, the music lost, and the remarkable times it had, and maybe one day will again.
Greenwich Village is a section of the city which was in the past known for being a land lush in trees and grass lands, a green district, as it was called. Less than one square mile, The Village is bordered by 14th street, Broadway, Houston Street and the North River. However it always seemed like a place that existed on its own terms. Cheap rents brought artists types, who clustered on the sidewalks playing instruments, or even more in the parks, which brough the police out in force. Cafes and restaurants looking for ways to bring in customers would offer music nights, even if the musician had to sit in a chair amidst the people listening. As the area became known for cheap rents and interesting music, a scene began to develope, calling people from all over. One of those who always seemed there, living in a rent controlled apartment was David Van Ronk, a legend among the folk musicians who played in the Village, a friend to many, an instructor to more, Van Ronk was there at the beginning right up to his end. The book follows the growth of the Village, adding jazz clubs, folk royalty with Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, the eventual declining interest in the music, but with new players like the The Roches, and Shawn Colvin and Suzanne Vega. All told in interviews, with the people who were there, who heard, or played in this revolutionary scene.
I've enjoyed quite a few books by David Browne. Browne has a an ability to write about the music, while not missing the people who helped develop the sounds. There is much talk of Bob Dylan, but other musicains, some not as famous, and some lost to time are discussed, and their lives give the spotlight they deserve. Browne has a real skill in finding the story, the real story, not just the myth, and giving reminding readers these artists are actually human beings. They make mistakes, sometimes many, and not to lose sight of that. The book is laid out well, chronologically with a lot of stories, some funny, some sad. With a great soundtrack, that might send a lot of people to Discogs to find search out these songs on vinyl.
A great book for music fans, and for those interested in the cultural history of the city. The rise of folk, the club scene, the Stonewall riots. And the fall of recovery of the economy of a great city, that made it impossible for these cool places to pay rent. I highly recommend anything by David Browne, this is a good place to start.
May 31, 2025
Music journalist David Browne chronicles the music scene in Greenwich Village from the 60s on, covering folk, jazz, and other categories. Some of the artists who populate the book are the very famous, like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and Joni Mitchell, and the somewhat famous, like Dave Van Ronk, Steve Forbert, and Suzanne Vega, plus a host of others that readers will recognize at least fleetingly, depending on one's taste and interests.
He also describes the ups and downs of the many music venues, most of which are now lost to high rents and changing tastes, like the Bottom Line, Folk City, Kenny's Castaways, the Village Gate and others that I once frequented myself, from the late 70s on.
This is most definitely a book for New York and music aficionados, and will bring back many memories of the Village as it once was, when it was fun and funky, and not completely overtaken by the ever-expanding NYU, but some of the material is obscure, depending on your time in the city and how closely you followed the music scene. It is enjoyable, but I wasn't wowed by the author's revelations, though I was interested in the career of Dave Van Ronk, who was thoroughly covered, and who I'd heard of but knew little about. He also focused quite a bit on the Roches, the trio of sisters who never quite made the big time, but were highly revered by many – but were not much of a known quantity to me.
Still and all, it was a fun read overall, and I was glad he mentioned the great Laura Nyro, though he gave her a mere sentence or two. One of my favorites, the singer-songwriter guitarist Kenny Rankin, a New York native, whom I saw many times in my New York years, including several times at the Bottom Line, sadly never made it into the book. I guess we all have our tastes, and mine are quite different overall from the author's...
He also describes the ups and downs of the many music venues, most of which are now lost to high rents and changing tastes, like the Bottom Line, Folk City, Kenny's Castaways, the Village Gate and others that I once frequented myself, from the late 70s on.
This is most definitely a book for New York and music aficionados, and will bring back many memories of the Village as it once was, when it was fun and funky, and not completely overtaken by the ever-expanding NYU, but some of the material is obscure, depending on your time in the city and how closely you followed the music scene. It is enjoyable, but I wasn't wowed by the author's revelations, though I was interested in the career of Dave Van Ronk, who was thoroughly covered, and who I'd heard of but knew little about. He also focused quite a bit on the Roches, the trio of sisters who never quite made the big time, but were highly revered by many – but were not much of a known quantity to me.
Still and all, it was a fun read overall, and I was glad he mentioned the great Laura Nyro, though he gave her a mere sentence or two. One of my favorites, the singer-songwriter guitarist Kenny Rankin, a New York native, whom I saw many times in my New York years, including several times at the Bottom Line, sadly never made it into the book. I guess we all have our tastes, and mine are quite different overall from the author's...
October 10, 2025
Well I just finished reading a book by David Browne (look him up..huge cred) TALKIN GREENWICH VILLAGE....I'll make it easy...ONE OF THE BEST IF NOT THE BEST HISTORIES OF THE VILLAGE AND HOW IT HAS IMPACTED ALL OF THE MUSIC WE LISTEN TO!
I have recently read 2 book about the history of the Village scene (Richard Barone's "Music + Revolution: Greenwich Village in the Sixties is a great companion book! )....and if u are an any kind of music fan these are a must. It is amazing how David Browne has taken so much information and detail and he has synthesized and distilled it into an entertaining and comprehensive phenomenal read!
He's has taken all the pieces of Village history....including but not limited to ...Jazz, Delta Blues, Monk, Mingus, the Five Soot , Washington Square Park history and hoots! The Vanguard, the Blue Note, Izzy Young, The Folk Center, Dylan, Monk, Mingus, Van Ronk, Ochs, Woodstock, Laurel Canyon, Ginsberg, Kalb, Springsteen, the Bottom Line, Folk City, The Bitter End, kettle of Fish, Cafe Au GoGo, The Blue Project, Al Cooper, The Village People, The Roches, and many more.
The book starts like a small stream and David Browne keeps adding events, people and places into what becomes a slipstream and a river of info all seamlessly woven into a terrific narrative.....AND ALL WITHOUT CONFUSING THE READER!! It's truly an amazing read from a truly skilled and focused writer...grab this book and enjoy the journey...it will truly change your life! Thank you David Browne!
I have recently read 2 book about the history of the Village scene (Richard Barone's "Music + Revolution: Greenwich Village in the Sixties is a great companion book! )....and if u are an any kind of music fan these are a must. It is amazing how David Browne has taken so much information and detail and he has synthesized and distilled it into an entertaining and comprehensive phenomenal read!
He's has taken all the pieces of Village history....including but not limited to ...Jazz, Delta Blues, Monk, Mingus, the Five Soot , Washington Square Park history and hoots! The Vanguard, the Blue Note, Izzy Young, The Folk Center, Dylan, Monk, Mingus, Van Ronk, Ochs, Woodstock, Laurel Canyon, Ginsberg, Kalb, Springsteen, the Bottom Line, Folk City, The Bitter End, kettle of Fish, Cafe Au GoGo, The Blue Project, Al Cooper, The Village People, The Roches, and many more.
The book starts like a small stream and David Browne keeps adding events, people and places into what becomes a slipstream and a river of info all seamlessly woven into a terrific narrative.....AND ALL WITHOUT CONFUSING THE READER!! It's truly an amazing read from a truly skilled and focused writer...grab this book and enjoy the journey...it will truly change your life! Thank you David Browne!
September 25, 2025
This is an enjoyable book all the way through, constructed in well-flowing narrative, overflowing with characterization and anecdote. Browne (a veteran writer for Rolling Stone covers the scene from 1957 all the way to it last gasp in the late eighties, from Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan to the Roches and Suzanne Vega. Although I'm unfamiliar with most of the pre-eighties musicians except for Dylan and Phil Ochs, my interest never flagged. There are lots of surprises here, from Bob Dylan turning up at a Patti Smith show in the seventies to Richie Havens co-authoring a song with Lou Gossett, Jr.
My one complaint would be that Browne doesn't seem to have much feeling for the music itself. Throughout most of the book, descriptions of the sound of these artists tends to be cursory and unenlightening. My suspicion that Browne isn't a fan was confirmed, I think, when we reach the Roches near the end, and suddenly we get a track-by-track analysis of each album's content together with full description. One can guess that this is where Browne's musical life started to intersect. Nevertheless, the life of the Village and its characters is very vivid and the book doesn't suffer too badly.
My one complaint would be that Browne doesn't seem to have much feeling for the music itself. Throughout most of the book, descriptions of the sound of these artists tends to be cursory and unenlightening. My suspicion that Browne isn't a fan was confirmed, I think, when we reach the Roches near the end, and suddenly we get a track-by-track analysis of each album's content together with full description. One can guess that this is where Browne's musical life started to intersect. Nevertheless, the life of the Village and its characters is very vivid and the book doesn't suffer too badly.
February 28, 2025
David Browne delivers a good story about the Greenwich scene starting in the late fifties and concluding roughly in the early 2000's.
You get twenty-one mentions of Dylan. You would expect that. You get a grand understanding of Dave Van Ronk, the glue of the village through the sixties, also known as The Mayor of MacDougal Street.
And. . .a head-scratching obsession with The Roches, Maggie, Terri (seventeen mentions), and Suzzy. To add a frame of reference, Van Ronk in his memoir, The Mayor of MacDougal Street mentions them. . .not once.
My brother and I grew up during the time the Roches recorded and we were both in the retail music business, my brother a buyer for well over 300+ stores. When I mentioned this to him, he said, "Who?"
Browne mentions Pete Seeger exactly four times. The Blues Project sixteen times.
Ok, I'm nitpicking. I did enjoy the book. I learned new things every day. I learned that Robert Fripp of King Crimson fame produced two of The Roches 10+ albums!
I'll stop now. . .
You get twenty-one mentions of Dylan. You would expect that. You get a grand understanding of Dave Van Ronk, the glue of the village through the sixties, also known as The Mayor of MacDougal Street.
And. . .a head-scratching obsession with The Roches, Maggie, Terri (seventeen mentions), and Suzzy. To add a frame of reference, Van Ronk in his memoir, The Mayor of MacDougal Street mentions them. . .not once.
My brother and I grew up during the time the Roches recorded and we were both in the retail music business, my brother a buyer for well over 300+ stores. When I mentioned this to him, he said, "Who?"
Browne mentions Pete Seeger exactly four times. The Blues Project sixteen times.
Ok, I'm nitpicking. I did enjoy the book. I learned new things every day. I learned that Robert Fripp of King Crimson fame produced two of The Roches 10+ albums!
I'll stop now. . .
June 20, 2024
This book isn't your dusty textbook history lesson. It's more like chilling in a smoky coffeehouse with a bunch of legendary musicians, swapping stories about the birth of folk, the evolution of jazz, and the explosion of rock and roll.
Browne dives deep, uncovering not just the superstars like Bob Dylan and Billie Holiday, but also the lesser-known folks who played alongside them. He sheds light on the racial tensions simmering beneath the surface, the government's attempts to control the scene, and even the falafel joint that became a cornerstone of the 80s music community.
It's a fascinating look at a place that was both a sanctuary for outsiders and a breeding ground for innovation. You'll get a kick out of the behind-the-scenes drama, the artistic clashes, and the sheer creative energy that pulsed through the Village.
Be warned, this book might make you want to grab your guitar, head to Washington Square Park, and belt out a tune yourself.
Browne dives deep, uncovering not just the superstars like Bob Dylan and Billie Holiday, but also the lesser-known folks who played alongside them. He sheds light on the racial tensions simmering beneath the surface, the government's attempts to control the scene, and even the falafel joint that became a cornerstone of the 80s music community.
It's a fascinating look at a place that was both a sanctuary for outsiders and a breeding ground for innovation. You'll get a kick out of the behind-the-scenes drama, the artistic clashes, and the sheer creative energy that pulsed through the Village.
Be warned, this book might make you want to grab your guitar, head to Washington Square Park, and belt out a tune yourself.
September 25, 2025
I've recently been on a big Greenwich Village/Folk Music/Bob Dylan kick, and this book is one of the best for understanding the history of the Folk Music and the Village.
This was a very thorough and well-written book. I couldn't put it down, but that's because I had a really high interest in the subject.
As for the content itself, the focus was more on completeness and thoroughness rather than maintaining an engaging narrative. There were some parts, and some storylines, that even though were important to the Village history, weren't particularly compelling or interesting.
Overall, it was a really good book and one of the best for understanding Greenwich Village during the 60s - not just a focus on Dylan, but everyone who played a role in the Village scene and its changes. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more books on the subject.
This was a very thorough and well-written book. I couldn't put it down, but that's because I had a really high interest in the subject.
As for the content itself, the focus was more on completeness and thoroughness rather than maintaining an engaging narrative. There were some parts, and some storylines, that even though were important to the Village history, weren't particularly compelling or interesting.
Overall, it was a really good book and one of the best for understanding Greenwich Village during the 60s - not just a focus on Dylan, but everyone who played a role in the Village scene and its changes. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more books on the subject.
January 15, 2025
If ever there was a time-travel ticket to a past and a place that you knew so well you could still see the sun glinting through the tree leaves, hear the din of the eateries as you walked by, and, most important, still hear the music that actually defied any given time or place, it would be David Browne's book, Talkin' Greenwich Village: The Heady Rise and Slow Fall of America's Bohemian Music Capital. That's because Browne has a way of writing, an eye for detail, a penchant for commentary, that draws you in to fill the background you in one way or another actually experienced, or, what Marshall McLuhan called "cool". [Review continues here ]
May 25, 2025
Super fun journey through a portion of Greenwich Village's rich folk music history and the artists/establishment owners that created it, including tons of memorable, detailed "I was there" moments provided by huge number of sources.
Somewhat unfocused in presentation, mostly just a chronological stream of research/interview snippets that's sometime thematically focused, sometimes not, but taken as a whole, a vibrant portrait of the locale and it's contributions to American Music definitely emerges.
Somewhat unfocused in presentation, mostly just a chronological stream of research/interview snippets that's sometime thematically focused, sometimes not, but taken as a whole, a vibrant portrait of the locale and it's contributions to American Music definitely emerges.
June 15, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed the premise of this book and learning about the culture of a famed NYC neighborhood. Maybe it's just me and my ADHD, but it was a bit hard to follow at times, and I wish the chapters were broken up more. 3🌟
I enjoyed the premise of this book and learning about the culture of a famed NYC neighborhood. Maybe it's just me and my ADHD, but it was a bit hard to follow at times, and I wish the chapters were broken up more. 3🌟
March 17, 2025
I really appreciated most of this book, in part because I was there and So much of these experiences were familiar and personal for me. However, the book devolved in the last couple chapter into a laundry list which even felt like it has lost the appeal of the author. It needed a much tighter edit. I read Dream Brother, about Tim and Jeff Buckley, which was far more appealing.
May 1, 2025
A great, nostalgic history of the multiple eras in which Greenwich Village helped produce the music that shaped American society, from the jazz greats to the folkies. I was surprised to learn the extent to which NYU is a villain in this story, increasingly taking over historic parts of the Village to support its expansion plans.
March 9, 2025
This was so good - I loved the writing and imagery and it took me back to an era that I was able to see at the tail end of the Greenwich Village scene which I was at NYU in the late '70's and early '80's. I highly recommend it.
August 16, 2025
Gotta love the stories, characters and songs that Browne pulls together for this highly readable history of a major piece of music history. And giving Dave Van Ronk his due as the central figure feels just right.
November 15, 2024
For those who had not experienced these times, Mr.Browne has accurately recreated these times.
You will not be disappointed by this book.
You will not be disappointed by this book.
February 8, 2025
Really only read about half before I had to return it to the library.
February 22, 2025
A must read if you care about NYs Greenwich Village and folk music. Added detail and depth to what I knew, even added a few new rooms to my brain.
March 4, 2025
From Dylan to Vega.
June 22, 2025
Great research -- discusses the venues, the artists, the producers, the city and university politics -- Dave Van Ronk is used as a unifier.
August 18, 2025
Loved reading about the Roches, Suzanne Vega, Christine Lavin, and at least one show I happened to attend, there's also stuff about jazz in here too.
October 24, 2025
The early 60s stuff was familiar but the story into the late 70s and 80s was fascinating. Had to keep stopping to listen to songs - always a good sign!
July 11, 2024
Loved this book!! Loved the way it was written :)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews