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Exclusive Qobuz Playlist #35: October Song

We’re very excited to be media partners with the truly unique online streaming platform and download store Qobuz. This month, the 35th of our monthly bespoke playlists, we focus on American and British folk and folk-rock from 1966. The music that in part came from tradition, was happening and new, and pointed to the sounds future artists would make

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There’s something very brown and autumnal about folk music anyway, but when it comes to 1966, it’s present even more so. The Beatles having made Rubber Soul, the previous year, Dylan’s sepia, Blonde On Blonde, and The Byrds and Simon & Garfunkel’s versions of ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ and ‘Scarborough Fair’ all hinted at the earthy, seasonal feel of late summer into fall.

This was also both a sound and look that would further shape the second half of the decade, and much of the music scenes that grew from there. That a large portion of American folk music sprang from The British Isles (along with the African traditions, European and indigenous influences, and the new American experience) so much of the early ’60s US folk revival drew on this influence, leading to Simon & Garfunkel’s and The Byrds’ slightly later interpretations of traditional material to develop a Beatles ring.

Folk music has always been circular, changing over time, and then again and again reverting to strict traditions. The early to mid-60s saw folk move from the coffee houses to festivals. And it progressed. Dylan was called Judas for playing electric. Folk-rock was born when The Byrds’ mix of Dylan and The Beatles entered the homes of pop music loving teenagers. After that, even the most ardent folkies added a pop element to their songs.

This playlist is all drawn from the year 1966, a time that was pivotal in folk music’s influence on pop culture, and pop culture’s influence on folk.

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