Legends of Folk: The Village Scene
August 20th, 2011 by Mr. C
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- Simon & Garfunkel
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- Bob Dylan
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- Richie Havens
I saw a great documentary on PBS called LEGENDS OF FOLK: VILLAGE SCENE which was about the folk music movement during the 1960’s in the Greenwich Village section of NYC! The film had awesome footage of live performances from relatively unknown folk musicians at the time in the process of becoming the great legends that they turned out to be which includes Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Simon & Garfunkel, Peter Paul & Mary, The Mamas and the Papas, The Lovin’ Spoonful, & many more! I’ve been to a number of Richie Havens performances in the past and it was always amazing to hear him tell stories about the folk music vibe in the village in the 1960’s up in the cafes on Mcdougal & Bleeker streets and performances at Washington Square Park! Richie Havens, if you didn’t know was the 1st act to perform at WOODSTOCK on Friday August 15,1969 at Yasgur’s Farm! Richie slayed his performance with his 2hr 45min set! Havens really set the tone, mood, & rhythm of that historic weekend! Getting back to the documentary, the Village was a hotbed of creativity in folk music due to the turbulent times of the Vietnam war and the civil rights movement. These topics bred songs of unity, love, & anti-war sentiments. These folk legends would gather in the many cafes that ran rampant on Mcdougal street & surrounding area such as the Gaslight Cafe, Night Owl, The Folklore Center, The Fat Black Pussycat, Folk City, Cafe a go go, The Bitter End, & Cafe Wha to just name a few! Cafe Wha & The Bitter End are still in operation to this day! The current Fat Black Pussycat lounge/bar on West 3rd street is not the same as the Fat Black Pussycat theatre of yesteryear. The original location of the pussycat theatre was on Minetta street which is being occupied by a mexican restaurant at the current time. The documentary didn’t mention the Bottom Line on west 4th street because it was erected in the 1970’s but that also was a good venue to check out great musicians up until 2004. The 1960’s sure was a golden era for music in downtown NYC!
Visit the PBS website to find out more about this fascinating documentary!
Watch the full episode. See more PBS Specials.
Tags: folk music, greenwich village, legends of folk
Posted in community, mr. c, music | Comments (0)
