7 Bob Dylan 7everywhere. At the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, while
previewing songs from Another Side of Bob Dylan, he
confounded his core audience by performing songs of a
personal nature, rather than his signature protest reper-
toire. A backlash from purist folk fans began and continued
for three years as Dylan defied convention at every turn.
On his next album, Bringing It All Back Home (1965),
electric instruments were openly brandished—a violation
of folk dogma—and only two protest songs were included.
The folk rock group the Byrds covered “Mr. Tambourine
Man” from that album, adding electric 12-string guitar and
three-part harmony vocals, and took it to number one on
the singles chart. Dylan’s mainstream audience skyrocketed.
His purist folk fans, however, fell off in droves.
In June 1965 Dylan recorded his most ascendant
song yet, “Like a Rolling Stone.” Devoid of obvious pro-
test references, set against a rough-hewn, twangy rock
underpinning, and fronted by a snarling vocal that lashed
out at all those who questioned his legitimacy, “Like a
Rolling Stone” spoke to yet a new set of listeners and
reached number two on the popular music charts. And the
album containing the hit single, Highway 61 Revisited,
further vindicated his abdication of the protest throne.
At the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, Dylan bravely show-
cased his electric sound. After an inappropriately short
15-minute set, Dylan left the stage to a hail of booing—
mostly a response to the headliner’s unexpectedly
abbreviated performance rather than to his electrification.
Nonetheless, reams were written about his electric betrayal
and banishment from the folk circle. By the time of his
next public appearance, at the Forest Hills (New York)
Tennis Stadium a month later, the audience had been
“instructed” by the press how to react. After a well-received
acoustic opening set, Dylan was joined by his new backing