One of the leading critics in the music scene offers a fresh and necessary look at the day Dylan "went electric" at the Newport Folk Festival, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the event. On the evening of July 25, 1965, Bob Dylan took the stage at the Newport Folk Festival, accompanied by an electric band, and launched into his new rock hit, Like a Rolling Stone. The audience of devoted acoustic faithful and political activists who had accepted him as their prophet reacted with a mixture of shock, booing, and scattered applause. It was the bell that rang out across the world - Dylan's declaration of musical independence, the end of the folk music revival, and the birth of rock as the voice of a generation - and one of the defining moments of twentieth-century music.

In the book Dylan Goes Electric!, Elijah Wald explores the cultural, political, and historical context of this pivotal event that embodies the transformative decade that was the 1960s. Wald delves into the folk music revival, the rise of rock, and the tensions between traditional and avant-garde music to offer new perspectives on Dylan's artistic evolution, his particular affinity for the blues, his complex relationship with established folk music and his partial mentor Pete Seeger, as well as the ways he has forever reshaped popular music.

Breaking new ground in a story we think we know, Dylan Goes Electric! is a thoughtful, incisive assessment of the controversial event in Newport and a detailed, provocative analysis of why it matters.

Pages: 368, Dimensions: 14.6x14.6cm