Which Musician Was Known for Playing Psychedelic Folk Music?
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We all know Bob Dylan, but who was the musician known for playing psychedelic folk music? Learn all about him in this blog post!
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and artist who was highly influential during the 1960s and 1970s. Dylan started his musical career playing in coffeehouses and gained popularity for his unique style of folk music, which was often infused with elements of blues, country, and rock and roll. He is also known for his lyrical and often cryptic songwriting, which often engaged with social and political issues.
His early life and how he got into music
Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota. He grew up in Hibbing, where he learned to play the guitar and piano and formed several high school rock bands. In 1959 he began attending the University of Minnesota, where he wrote songs and performed with a folk music group called the Golden Chords. In 1960 he left college and hitchhiked to New York City, where he became a regular at the folk music clubs in Greenwich Village.
His musical style and how it evolved
Dylan began his musical odyssey playing old-timey folk music in the coffeehouses of Greenwich Village. He eventually became one of the most influential singers of his generation, known for his nasal voice, poetic lyrics, and unique style of singing. He was also a master of using folk music to comment on the social issues of the day. In the 1960s, Dylan became interested in rock and roll and began to experiment with electric instruments. His use of electric guitars and amplifier feedback on “Like a Rolling Stone” caused a stir among folk purists, but Dylan’s electrified sound quickly caught on with the public. He would go on to play a pivotal role in the development of psychedelic folk music with his groundbreaking album Blonde on Blonde.
His impact on the music industry
The young performer quickly gained a huge following, and by 1965 he was widely recognized as an important new voice in American music. His early songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are a-Changin'” became anthems of the civil rights and anti-war movements. Dylan’s style of music was unique and influenced many other artists that came after him. He is often referred to as the “father of folk rock” and his impact on the music industry is still felt today.
Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett was an English musician, singer-songwriter, and painter. He was a founding member of the rock band Pink Floyd, but left the band in 1968 due to illness. Barrett was known for his eccentric behavior and psychedelic folk music.
His early life and how he got into music
Syd Barrett was born in Cambridge, England, on January 6, 1946. His father, Arthur Max Barrett, was a chemist who worked for the local university, and his mother, Winifred Ethel Barrett (née Rushworth), was a children’s music teacher. He had an older sister, Rosemary Jane Barrett. As a child he was nicknamed “Syd” after his middle initials. He attended primary school at St Andrew’s School in Cambridge; his parents hoped he would then follow his father into the medical profession. When he was ten years old he suffers from a nervious breakdown and was hospitalised for nine months. After this he became interested in art and music. He began learning the guitar at age 12 and started his first band, Geoff Mott and the Mottoes, with friends from school.
His musical style and how it evolved
Syd Barrett’s musical style was initially influenced by the British folk music revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was also interested in blues and rock and roll. When Barrett joined Pink Floyd, he brought with him a wealth of material that would be recorded by the band and released on their first two albums, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) and A Saucerful of Secrets (1968).
Barrett’s songwriting began to change as he started experimenting with drugs, particularly LSD. His lyrics became more abstract and surreal, and his music began to incorporate elements of psychedelic pop and rock. Barrett’s use of feedback and distortion also became more pronounced, giving his songs a rawer, more experimental sound.
While some fans enjoy Barrett’s later work for its eccentricity and uniqueness, others feel that it doesn’t match the quality of his earlier material. Either way, Barrett’s contributions to Pink Floyd’s early sound are undeniable, and his influence can still be heard in the band’s music today.
His impact on the music industry
Barrett’s impact on subsequent popular music is incalculable. His work with Pink Floyd laid much of the stylistic groundwork for what would become known as “psychedelic rock”, and his use of extended, elaborately structured song forms and sonic experimentation proved highly influential within progressive rock… In the decades that followed, Barrett’s record sales languished in relative obscurity, but his influence was spreading: his songwriting style was adopted by a new generation of artists including Television Personalities, Robyn Hitchcock and The Flaming Lips, while his innovative guitar playing exerted a strong influence on players as diverse as David Gilmour, Kevin Shields and Alex Turner.
