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Folk Music in Greenwich Village: 1961-1970

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MacDougal Street between Minetta Lane and Bleecker Streets.

The exact date is impossible to confirm. But it is widely accepted that Bob Dylan arrived in New York City on 24 January 1961, in the midst of the coldest winter New York had seen in 28 years. He’d dropped out of the University of Minnesota, and spent the last twenty-four hours driving east with Fred Underhill and two others. Just a few hours after slamming the car door shut, Dylan was walking into Café Wha?, at 115 MacDougal Street. Fred Neil, the club’s MC, found out that he was a musician, and asked him to play something. It was his New York City debut.

He continued to play with Neil, who is now better known for writing ‘Everybody’s Talking,’ which was featured in the film ‘Midnight Cowboy.’ Paul Clayton and Dave van Ronk were also playing at Café Wha? at the time. So was Noel Paul Stookey, who had come to the Village in 1959, as well as Peter Yarrow.

Mary Travers had been born in Kentucky, but her family had moved to Greenwich Village when she was about three years old. She attended Elizabeth Irwin High School, where her musical director introduced her to Pete Seeger. As an adult, she moved to Macdougal Street, and hung out with the Clancy Brothers at the White Horse Tavern (567 Hudson Street). She, Yarrow, and Stookey performed together as Peter, Paul, and Mary, for the first time at the Bitter End in 1961.

the bitter endThe Bitter End had just opened that year. It held hootenannies every week, and also hosted Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, John Denver, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Odetta, Neil Young, Pete Seeger, Josh White, and Phil Ochs, among many, many others. (It is still open today, at 147 Bleecker Street.)

Gerde’s Folk City, at 11 West 4th Street, was another popular performance space and hangout. Carolyn Hester and Logan English were the first two folk musicians to perform there, in June of 1960. English was MC at the venue, working alongside Charlie Rothschild, who would become Judy Collins’ manager. The Weavers (including Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie), Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, Loudon Wainwright III, and Rev. Gary Davis all played there. Bob Dylan had his first professional gig here on April 11, 1961, supporting Blues great John Lee Hooker. He also got his first major break here, when his performance was reviewed in the New York Times. This is also where he first played ‘Blowin’ in the Wind,’ and met Joan Baez. She was quickly rising in popularity at the time, becoming known as the ‘Queen of Folk,’ and he was apparently eager to impress her. She would launch his career, inviting him to play with her on stage, and scolding fans who found his voice bothersome.

In 1963, a duo calling themselves ‘Kane & Garr’ began playing at Gerde’s Folk City on Monday nights. One evening, with Columbia producer Tom Wilson in the audience, they debuted three songs: ‘Sparrow,’ ‘He Was My Brother,’ and ‘The Sound of Silence.’ Wilson brought the duo in for a studio audition, where they were signed, after another performance of ‘The Sound of Silence.’ They returned to Gerde’s Folk City in 1964 as Simon and Garfunkel. (Bob Dylan was there, and apparently talked through the whole show. This was the beginning of a long-standing grudge between Dylan and Simon.)

gaslight cafeThe Gaslight Café and the Kettle of Fish (at 116 and 114 MacDougal Street, respectively) had also continued to book and serve folk musicians. Paul Clayton reportedly met Bob Dylan at the Kettle of Fish; he and Dave Van Ronk would become mentors to Dylan. Folk musicians also gathered at the Bottom Line (15 West 4th Street), and the Village Gate (160 Bleecker Street). Another hangout and performance space was at 152 Bleecker Street, at Café au Go Go, which opened in 1964.

Before it closed in 1969, Café au Go Go hosted Judy Collins, Odetta, the Grateful Dead (who made their New York debut here), Linda Ronstadt, Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, James Cotton, Muddy Waters, Jefferson Airplane, Cream, and many others. It was also the place where Joni Mitchell had her first performance in New York City, in 1967. Mitchell also frequented the Tin Angel Café next door, along with Roy Blumenfeld. It is believed that their relationship was the inspiration for her song, ‘Tin Angel.’

Mitchell soon moved out to California. Peter, Paul, and Mary sang at the March on Washington in 1963, and at the Selma-Montgomery March in 1965. Bob Dylan signed with Columbia Records in October of 1962, and moved to 161 West 4th Street. In December of that year, he toured in the United Kingdom. He returned in 1963, to sing with Joan Baez at the March on Washington. Tensions began to rise between himself and the folk and protest movements, however, and 1964 and 1965 saw a rapid change in his musical style. After a rocky start, Simon and Garfunkel also found mainstream success in 1965. They, Mitchell, Dylan, and Peter, Paul, and Mary had moved beyond the Village, becoming nationally (and internationally) known musicians.

(Sources: x x)

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    19 responses to “Folk Music in Greenwich Village: 1961-1970

    1. Great post!

      However, the Dead’s first NY performance was actually for free in Tompkins Square Park on June 1, 1967.
      You can’t be faulted for this, since most sources do not report the concert in the park. It was sparsely attended with only about 100 people. I know it occurred, because I was there and have photos.

      This blog reports in detail. It states the early June concerts were cancelled. http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2009/12/june-1-1967-tompkins-square-park-new.html?showComment=1420658340448#c6391235030036203631

      Again, thanks for a nice post

    2. Where have all the coffee houses gone? The true ones where people actually listen to new talent are far and few between. These day you’ve got to order double latte’s and other fancy drinks while the foaming machines make it impossible to even here the piped in blues, jazz or folk.
      I have a dream of opening a listening coffee house – no decaf, just espresso and black tea – and a stage where new (young or boomers) can share their instrumental and composed songs from the heart – whether they go on to “international fame” or just hang out for the love of sharing their souls through music. The Village was a birthing room for the greats mentioned in this article and I would suspect thousands of others who never got a recording contract. What we need today are Village-type venues all over the country – and world – to encourage creativity and where the world can stop and listen and then maybe, just maybe do something to raise voices against the insanity and the noise.

    3. Does anyone remember the Cafe Why Not? I played in Wahington Sq back in 1966 and someone from there picked me up to play at Why Not. It was right across the street from Wha.

      1. This is just too amazing. I was looking through old pics of the Village in an Esquire feature and saw that one of the photos had the awning of the Cafe Why Not? I’ve never seen one before. No one I’ve ever spoken to has ever heard of it, but it’s part of my legend and life story. When I wasn’t a waiter, I used to be one of the hawkers (I was 17 or 18 at the time) standing outside, cajoling the tourists to come inside. I was dating one of the waitresses. Haven’t thought of that in years. The singers would make the rounds of the cafes. Richie (Havens) would come in for a set, along with lots of other musicians who never went on to that level of success. Do a set, pass the hat, move on to the next gig. That’s what Friday and Saturday nights were on McDougal and Minetta. I’m so glad I saw your post. Lots of good memories!

        1. Hi Richard. I’m looking for some very dear to my heart who was a classical and ballad singer in the 60s in Greenwich Village. Depending on your age now, maybe you can help with ideas of thoughts. Thank you sir.

      2. Yes I remember the why not! It was a narrow alley with a roof! We joked about the name but I don’t remember much else! The people I was with have all died!

    4. Does anyone remember a cafe from that time called the White Raven? Or perhaps the Black Dove? Either way I performed there on basket night with my good friend David Heishman when the featured act was the The Holy Modal Rounders.

    5. I heard Jerry Jeff Walker play Mr. Bojangles in the Washington Square United Methodist Church. I felt like I was part of something.
      Thank you so much for this post. Good times. Good feelings. Young, new feelings.
      Sex, drugs, folk music.

    6. I came late to the loveliness that was the Village, my first visit being in 1969. I would guess that as Dylan and some others were arriving, the scene was already ending. By the time I was there, I didn’t see much of a trace of Emma Goldman or even Woody. The place still had some great electricity, even late… Now? Just money and some really great memories.

    7. One of your responders asked if anyone remembers the Cafe Why Not? When I reached Greenwich Village in early 1963, that was the first folk club I visited and sang in. One of the singing acts there was a duet featuring Tim Hardin. I also remember Bob Dylan doing a surprise set at that coffee house in late ’63 as a favor to the manager there–and hardly anyone in the audience other than other performers recognizing Dylan. Over the next year and a half, I played at most of the small coffee houses all around the Village and even got to open a few times at the Gaslight Cafe. I later joined a group called the Bitter End Singers, taking our name from the famous folk club in the Village. It was a wonderful era and a great place for young folk singers to get started and grow as performers. I was very grateful to have been a part of it.

    8. Freshman year at FIT, 1962, my roommate Jill Rosenberg introduced me to “The Cat”, a/k/a The Fat, Black Pussycat” on McDoogle or Bleeker. It became a 2nd home to Little Mary Sunshine from Hamburg, NY. So glad I got to be a part of it all. Only regret: Boooing Dylan whom I learned to love. Thanks for the memories!

    9. I’m trying to remember a music magazine, it had a benefit celebration for its many years, I’m drawing a blank, I think it began with a B or an S………doing web search has not helped.
      Can you remind me ?…….it was not a slick magazine, it was very homemade, in a way

      1. Broadsides. There was a CD compilation on multiple discs that is just awsome. Hard to find but well worth it.

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