This article is about folk rock in general, especially American folk rock. For British folk rock in particular, see British 🧲 folk rock

Folk rock is a genre of rock music with heavy influences from English folk and American folk music.[1] Combining 🧲 the elements of folk and rock music, it arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the 🧲 mid-1960s.[2][3] In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers such as Bob Dylan and the Byrds—several 🧲 of whose members had earlier played in folk ensembles—attempted to blend the sounds of rock with their pre-existing folk repertoire, 🧲 adopting the use of electric instrumentation and drums in a way previously discouraged in the U.S. folk community. The term 🧲 "folk rock" was initially used in the U.S. music press in June 1965 to describe the Byrds' music.

The commercial success 🧲 of the Byrds' cover version of Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" and their debut album of the same name, along with 🧲 Dylan's own recordings with rock instrumentation—on the albums Bringing It All Back Home (1965), Highway 61 Revisited (1965), and Blonde 🧲 on Blonde (1966)—encouraged other folk acts, such as Simon & Garfunkel, to use electric backing on their records and new 🧲 groups, such as Buffalo Springfield, to form. Dylan's controversial appearance at the Newport Folk Festival on 25 July 1965, where 🧲 he was backed by an electric band, was also a pivotal moment in the development of the genre.

During the late 🧲 1960s in Britain and Europe, a distinct, eclectic British folk rock style was created by Pentangle, Fairport Convention and Alan 🧲 Stivell. Inspired by British psychedelic folk and the North American style of folk rock, British folk rock bands began to 🧲 incorporate elements of traditional British folk music into their repertoire, leading to other variants, including the overtly English folk rock 🧲 of the Albion Band and Celtic rock.

Definition and etymology [ edit ]