Dylan Goes Electric!

On the evening of July 25, 1965, Bob Dylan took the stage at the Newport 
Folk Festival. Backed by an electric band, he roared into a blistering version of 
"Maggie's Farm," followed by his new rock single, "Like a Rolling Stone." The 
audience of committed folk purists and political activists who had hailed him 
as their acoustic prophet reacted with a mix of shock, boos, and scattered 
cheers. It was the shot heard round the worldDylan's declaration of musical 
independence, the end of the folk revival, and the birth of rock as the voice of 
a generationand one of the defining moments in twentieth-century music.

In Dylan Goes Electric! Elijah Wald explores the cultural, political, and 
historical roots and impact of this seminal event. He delves deep into the folk 
revival and its intersections with the civil rights movement, the rise of rock, 
and the tensions between traditional and groundbreaking music to provide 
important insights into Dylan's artistic evolution, his special affinity to blues, 
his complex relationship to the folk establishment and his sometime mentor