Read Pete Seeger’s apology letter to Bob Dylan about the Newport Folk incident
If you ever find yourself in Tulsa, Oklahoma, it’s worth taking a look around the wonderful Bob Dylan Center. Located on Reconciliation Way, the museum exhibits rare and exclusive cultural treasures either owned or created by Dylan. One of the most fascinating items in the career-spanning collection is a letter written by Pete Seeger in the 1990s, in which the folk singer explains what actually happened at the infamous Newport Folk Festival in July 1965.
Frequently cited as one of the most pivotal moments in rock music, Dylan’s set at the ’65 Newport Folk Festival saw the folk singer-songwriter go electric for the very first time. On the first day of the event, Dylan begrudgingly delivered acoustic renditions of ‘All I Really Want to Do’, ‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now’, and ‘Love Minus Zero/No Limit’. When he returned the next day, the audience (largely made up of folk-revival purists) were surprised to see his backing band wielding electrified instruments.
Dylan broke into a rendition of ‘Maggie’s Farm’ at furious speed. The effect was startling. This man, who had been a spokesperson for the folk generation – who had embodied everything the ’60s folk boom aspired to – was now betraying the cause. As Joe Boyd, who helped operate the sound desk during the festival, recalls in his memoir White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s, the volume wasn’t even particularly high by today’s standards, “but in 1965 it was probably the loudest thing anyone in the audience had ever heard.”
People writing about the Newport Folk Festival incident tend to overemphasise the audience’s outrage. When Dylan finished ‘Maggie’s Farm’, some decided to boo, but an equal number cheered. According to Boyd, Dylan felt no desire to “interpret” this ambiguous reaction, plunging straight into the next song. Equally mythologised is the reaction of Pete Seeger, who – so the story goes – was so upset by Dylan’s abandonment of folkish ideals that he ran backstage in a fit of rage. Armed with a hatchet, Seeger located the power cords and was about the bring the axe down when some organisers hurried over and managed to restrain him.
A good story, but a false one. In a radio interview shortly before his death, Seeger said: “It’s true that I don’t play electrified instruments – I don’t know how to. On the other hand, I’ve played with people who pay them beautifully, and I admire some of them. Howlin’ Wolf was using electric instruments at Newport just a few days before Bob did.”
In his 1990 apology letter, Seeger draws that same comparison between Dylan and Howlin’ Wolf. In it, he explains that he actually liked Dylan’s electrified version of ‘Maggie’s Farm’ and that the cause of his dismay was that the sound of too muddy.
Seeger’s letter reads:
“Bob! Someone just told me that you too think I didn’t like your going electric in 1965. I’ve denied that so many times. I was furious at the distorted sound – no one could understand the words of ‘Maggie’s Farm’ – and dashed over to the people controlling the PA system. ‘No, this is the way they want it,’ they said. I shouted, ‘if I had an axe, i’d cut the cable’, and I guess that’s what got quoted. My big mistake was in not challenging from the stage the foolish few who booed. I shoulda said, ‘Howlin Wolf goes electric, why can’t Bob?’ In any case, you keep on. Best, Pete.”