Turn! Turn! Turn!: The '60s Folk-Rock Revolution

by Richie Unterberger

Setting the scene with America's traditional folk of the early '60s, this book describes the sea of change that began in 1964 when the social consciousness of folk met the energy of rock. It concentrates on 1964-66, when the best, most popular, and most controversial folk-rock was created. The book explores the dizzyingly fast cross-fertilization of such giants as The Beatles, The Byrds, and Dylan; the passionate conflicts between folk devotees and folk-rockers; the sudden frenzy of the media; and the unforgettable music that was born. Turn! Turn! Turn! also examines how folk-rock continued to influence late '60s psychedelic rock, country-rock and the British scene, as well as its gradual, partial transformation into the singer-songwriter movement. Based on first-hand interviews with such visionaries as Roger McGuinn, Judy Collins, Donovan, John Sebastian, Arlo Guthrie, Janis Ian and dozens of others.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction, Rock N Roll

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2002

About the author

Richie Unterberger's book "The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film" details the incredible wealth of music the Beatles recorded that they did not release, as well as musical footage of the group that hasn't been made commercially available. His other books include "Unknown Legends of Rock'n'Roll," the two-volume 1960s folk-rock history "Turn! Turn! Turn!"/"Eight Miles High," and "The Rough Guide to Shopping with a Conscience." He's also a frequent contributor to the All Music Guide and MOJO magazine, and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area."

Reviews

[Eclectic Review · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm impressed with the amount of historical research that went into this book. Unterberger's book is a concise summary of the folk rock era.

[John Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Well-written, thoroughly researched, packed w/ information about the whole scene. Definitely has me listening to plenty of folk-rock, and I have already ordered the sequel 8 Miles High.

[David Goldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richie Unterberger aptly titles his history of how America’s earnest folk scene morphed into the less earnest but more vibrant, and commercially successful, folk-rock scene Turn! Turn! Turn!. The title is apt because the change from Pete Seeger’s lo-fi, acoustic, earnest solo take on “Ecclesiastes” to the Byrds’ harmonic, electric, and mildly psychedelic version exemplifies the musical changes forced upon folk from the early to mid-’60s. Yet the title also describes the process of how popular music evolves. Unterberger starts the book with the famous “Dylan goes electric” performance at the Newport Jazz Festival. Yet, as he points out, Dylan had already started incorporating a wider range of instruments, including electric ones, toyed with a band, and broadened his songwriting from protest statements to personal and political themes. Reports from the crowd were equally mixed, with the so-called boos either completely misstated or directed more at the poor sound quality than at Dylan’s “heresy.” The scene becomes a microcosm for the entire book: how music, and culture, constantly change through a mix of experimentation, cultural shifts, and commercialism, with the folk-to-folk-rock transition being just one example.

Richie’s book is entertaining, even for someone like me who is not a folk-rock fanatic. The book is filled with fun stories about bands known and unknown. The bibliography at the end makes it easy to look up, and listen to, artists you’ve never heard of, and I was surprised by how many artists were either completely new to me (Tim Hardin), artists I had passed over (Janis Ian), or artists I had forgotten about (the Leaves). But it is the structure that Richie brings to each section that makes the book stand out. Yes, there are many facts and stories, but Richie is telling a story that transcends those facts.

Early folk started as rural music but moved quickly to the city because the lefty tradition from which much of it emerged was centered there. Combined with the allure of publishers and gigs, the early folk scene attracted those who couldn’t do rock and roll because of their lack of looks and charisma. And there was practically no way to hear new folk music, because there were so few recordings and so little media play. People literally had to go see shows or read sheet music to learn folk. But slowly they started incorporating more sounds. Purists clashed with those who wanted experimentation. Musicians began writing their own songs for the moment. They realized that they could influence kids. But by ’63, folk was on the decline; everyone had done their “folk” album, much as they would later do their “disco” album. People were ready, but for what? If this sounds like the early history of rock and roll, or of punk rock 20 years later, that’s the point. New trends always start from the ashes of the last, pure at first and then branching out while becoming commercialized at the same time. As Unterberger expertly portrays it, the story of folk-rock is the story of modern cultural change.
And speaking of change, the particular change for folk was the arrival of the Beatles, who were themselves much influenced by folk but ended up revolutionizing the folk scene. But this is not a one-way story. Richie is sensitive to a more dialectical approach to popular music. The Beatles incorporated so many elements of American music, including folk. This influenced not only folk musicians to go pop, but also helped the Beatles themselves become more serious, introspective, and outspoken. The Byrds didn’t just copy Dylan songs; they gave Dylan the impetus to expand his own musical repertoire. In the mid-’60s, Dylan covers cast him more as a standard songwriter to be interpreted, adding another dimension to his idiosyncratic individual performances.

What Richie does particularly well is get underneath the black-and-white, steady-beat-of-progress tropes that dominate rock history. Yes, the Beatles, Byrds, and Dylan were huge influences, but he also shows the other bands that were around and the scene leading up to them. And Richie has little tolerance for the purist-versus-progress debate. Yes, it existed, but he shows its nuances, as in the section where Dylan and the Byrds were just getting started, and again after Dylan became electric. Richie also has nuanced takes on the publication of folk and folk-rock hits, particularly Dylan songs by the Turtles, Manfred Mann, and Cher. He notes that at the time even folk-rock supporters like Sing Out! and Broadsidepresented “a surprisingly diverse range of opinions on both Dylan and folk rock.” For example, the magazine gave its editor plenty of space to write at length about his favorite rock records, and some issues included extended reviews of the Byrds, the Lovin’ Spoonful, the Beatles, Love, and even the Rolling Stones.

But just as folk-rock started as a revolt against folk purism on the one hand and commercialism on the other, by the late ’60s it had succumbed to many of the same problems. The scene, which had moved from rural to urban, from New York to Los Angeles, was now set to expand once again to San Francisco, with the harder-rocking psych-folk acts in the offing, repeating the cycle.

[Matthew G. Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book about rock ,it's development through folk strands,it's maturing,yet youthful bursts of political and social energy. Without which we wouldn't have a clue today.

[Trace Reddell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent historical, cultural, biographical, and at times critical treatment of the genesis and initial flourishing of '60's folk-rock. The density of the book's content is amplified by the density of the font, which literally packs a lot of text into a line and on a page, making the book feel like slow-going at times and much longer than 320 pages. But Unterberger is a wonderful writer, with a great command of and love for his subject matter. I enjoyed revisiting stories I've heard and read many times before by others, as well as getting introduced to musicians who'd only been on the periphery of my attention before, as well as several I'd never heard of or listened to. Great read, highly recommended, and I'm already well into the "Eight Miles High" follow-up, which is even better than this volume!

[Dan Steere · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides a comprehensive review and discussion of the merger of folk and rock music. As someone who lives through that time, it was an interesting opportunity to revisit those events and the strong opinions and controversies that arose. I found the sections on the Byrds to be the most interesting, but then again I always loved that music. My major recommendation for this book would be to include section headings throughout each chapter. Without appendices, the book is 267 pages long and divided into only six chapters. So, chapters are long and can seem rambling at times; subsections with headings would help.

[Peter Klein]

Very academic writing style.

Good information about a lot of the singers I listened to in the 60s.

[James Spina · Rating 4 out of 5]

So it's not all about downloading and iTunes and mytunes and tune-me-out. Music is about an evolution of styles and a revolution of popular culture that seems to have come to a grinding Tech-No-Cultural halt. I weep for the new generation, dead to witnessing a phenom like that evolution of folk rock in the early 60s. A few choice folkies started listening to Brit invasion beat bands and realizing there was a world of electricitry and four part harmony out there. Dylan donned a strat and Roger McGuinn divvied up the harmonies to byrd band mates Clark, Hillman, Crosby and Clark. The sound was ether-real and soon said beats (as in Beatles) were recopping the Byrds. Dylan growled and gained legendary status. Music turned and turned and turned and for a few fab minutes folk rock reigned.
This book leads you down that path. Follow it. I'm looking forward to his followup of Eight Miles High.

[Crowey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable "prequel" to 8 Miles High, this book traverses the beginning of the folk-rock era - particularly around 1964-65. Shows how the Byrds, channeling Dylan were the premier folk-rock band, but more importantly, the book goes into great detail showing that they were far from the only ones and that it went much wider and further than certainly I realised. Well worth the effort, and would be very much in place in any decent music historian's library

[Garrett Cash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unterberger's well-researched work on the monumentally important folk rock boom of the mid-60's may be a bit dense as a cover to cover read, but it is an excellent history of a complicated genre that fans shouldn't miss out on.

[Ed Wagemann · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok

[Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really think Richie Unterberger did a job on this 1st of 2 books on 1960s' folk-rock. Well-written, balanced, intelligent, critical but enthusiastic -- his whole tome tells the story from Greenwich Village/The Beatles all the way to 1969 Woodstock Festival.

[Donald]

deals with folk rock and the many bands under its banner