On 7/30/2013 7:44 AM, Michael Biel wrote:
> Perhaps their excuse would be that they had discussed the 50's as being
> when adults bought albums and kids bought singles, but I would go beyond
> their narrow view of performers that teenagers would know of. Kids did
> not buy Bob Dylan albums in 1962 or 63. They DID buy Elvis albums,
> Kingston Trio, but not Dylan.
Depends where you were; I grew up in Chicago, and the teenage folkies
were buying Dylan albums, and arguing about them far into the night.
> Although I was there in the folk scene, I had gotten my introduction to
> Dylan in 63 when my British pen-pal asked me to send him Freewheeling
> which had not been released there. The delay in releasing his first 2
> albums in England is not noted despite crediting Dylan with part of the
> thrust to albums with his first albums, especially Freewheeling, but
> this was not noticed at the tie -- only later. They did have an aside
> about the growth of the American Folk Music scene being an influence in
> the album, but then jump back to Dylan. If you want to note album
> artists that did not have hit singles, it started before Dylan. Harry
> Belefonte was not a singles seller, but with "Mark Twain" and especially
> "Calypso", his albums were very influential. I
Belafonte had a *huge* hit with "Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" and another
with "Jamaica Farewell". The former was big enough to get parodied by
Stan Freberg ("Too piercing, man").
discovered recently when
> doing my "First Family"/"My Son the folk Singer" research that Joan Baez
> had THREE albums in the top 15 that month and that Peter Paul and Mary's
> first album was the No 1 album that these two comedy albums bumped off.
> Dylan's own albums were not making a wave yet -- PP&M MADE Dylan. Later
> on the doc discusses the live album and credits Peter Frampton with
> starting that phase of albums, they forgot "The Weavers At Carnegie
> Hall" and then Belafonte's three GIGANTIC HIT Carnegie Hall and Greek
> Theatre albums as being influential sellers for performers who still
> were not singles sellers.
See above about Belafonte's singles. The Kingston Trio's "From the
Hungry I" was a big live album, too, and kids bought it. At least, all
the folkie kids at my school did.
Peace,
Paul
