Folk to Rock with Elektra Records

The blog has featured many of the earlier American folk artists, from the Weavers, Josh White, Peggy Seeger, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and Earl Robinson to the Broadway show Sing Out, Sweet Land. But it has given no attention whatsoever to the great folk music boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the subsequent folk-rock era. Strange, because I was an enthusiastic proponent of the music as a young fellow.

Without trying to define terms, what was usually considered "folk music" became more popular following the Kingston Trio's massive 1958 success, "Tom Dooley." Soon, major labels were looking for folkies to record. Where record executive John Hammond once had worked with the likes of Billie Holiday and Charlie Christian, now he was signing the young Bob Dylan to Columbia Records.

Jac Holzman at the controls

While this was occurring, Jac Holzman was already an old hand at recording folk music - he had started his folk label Elektra in 1950. (As for the name, "Elektra" is just the German spelling of "Electra" of Greek mythology. As such, it's the title of a well-known opera by Richard Strauss.)

Over the years Elektra's main artists had included Oscar Brand, Theodore Bikel, Josh White and Cynthia Gooding. As the 1950s wore on, it branched into jazz and even a recording by vocalist Anita Ellis. 

One of the most influential artists for the new generation of folk singers was Bob Gibson. His first big success at Elektra was the 1961 album Bob Gibson and Bob Camp at the Gate of Horn. That same year, Elektra issued Judy Collins' first LP, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, consisting of traditional songs. The influential singer-songwriter Tom Paxton came on board in 1964, as did the politically committed Phil Ochs.

So when Elektra decided to celebrate its 15th anniversary in 1965 with a low-price sampler album, it had a distinguished roster to drawn upon - Camp (who had changed his name to Hamilton Camp), Collins, Paxton and Ochs all contributed songs, as did several newer acts - one of which pointed straight toward Elektra's future.

Folksong '65

I've transferred my vintage copy of the Elektra 15th anniversary album, Folksong '65, a good sounding mono pressing. A few notes on the contents follow.

The first song is by the excellent Tom Rush, who had just recorded his first Elektra LP, after a few on other labels. The self-titled album included the traditional "Long John," his contribution to the sampler. Nearly half of the contributions to the album were traditional songs.

You may notice the distinctive sound of 12-string guitars on this and many of the other cuts. The rich flavor of this instrument is seldom heard these days.

Judy Collins

Also in the traditional vein was Judy Collins' "So Early, Early in the Spring," wonderfully well sung. This comes from her Fifth Album, and is the only traditional tune on that record, which contains three Dylan songs and one by Phil Ochs.

Very different but still traditional was the work song, "Linin' Track," powerfully done here by John Koerner, Dave Ray and Tony Glover.

Hamilton Camp selected a Bob Dylan song, "Girl of [from] the North Country," which he sings  reverently. Dylan had done it for Columbia a few years before.

Herb Brown, Dick Rosmini, Bob Camp, Bob Gibson - Newport 1960

There were few better exponents of the 12-string guitar than Dick Rosmini, who contributed the instrumental "900 Miles," which I believe he calls "900 Miles to Go" on his 1964 Elektra LP.

Tom Paxton provided one of his best known songs to the compilation, "The Last Thing on My Mind." Not really to my taste, but done well. It's from his 1964 LP, Ramblin' Boy, a typical title.

As the second side of the sampler begins, we're briefly in a different sound world - powerful, loud and electric. It is the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's famous "Born in Chicago," here in a different version from that on the band's first album, also released in 1965.

This may have been a new sound to the folkies, but really was just the urban blues style as it had been purveyed for many years by such musicians as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. Butterfield went so far as to engage the Wolf's bassist (Jerome Arnold) and drummer (Sam Lay) for his band.

Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, Sam Lay, Elvin Bishop, Jerome Arnold

New or not, the Butterfield sound was something of a sensation, and it portended the amplified "folk-rock" music that was then coming to the fore. It was at about this time that Dylan showed up to the Newport Folk Festival with what was purported to be a rock band, but was actually members of  the  Butterfield group along with organist Al Kooper. (Butterfield guitarist Mike Bloomfield would later form a band called the Electric Flag with Nick Gravenites, who wrote "Born in Chicago," and a different recording group with Kooper. He also played on Dylan's seminal LP Highway 61 Revisited, as did Kooper.)

With the next song on the sampler, we are back in the world of traditional folk music, with the angelic duo of Kathy & Carol (who still perform together) doing "Fair Beauty Bright."

Mark Spoelstra was another East Coast singer-songwriter, but one who did not become as well known as Bob Gibson or Tom Paxton. He sings his "White Winged Dove."

Fred Neil

For me, the best number on the sampler is Fred Neil's "Blues on the Ceiling," a compelling song done by a superior vocalist with apposite guitar accompaniment. Neil was a most talented man, who never received the attention he deserved. His best known songs are "Everybody's Talkin'" and "The Other Side of This Life." The latter and "Blues on the Ceiling" can be found on Neil's 1965 LP Bleeker and MacDougal.

The youngest artist on the album was Bruce Murdoch, who contributed his "Rompin', Rovin' Days." One wonders how much rompin' and rovin' Murdoch had done at that point - he was all of 17.

Phil Ochs

The LP ends with another powerful artist, Phil Ochs, who is represented by his memorable "Power and the Glory," from his 1964 LP All the News That's Fit to Sing.

What's Shakin'

By the time Elektra put out its 1966 compilation, What's Shakin', its focus had shifted to the more electric side of the folk spectrum. There are no traditional songs on the album and the sound of the 12-string guitar is missing.

What's Shakin' was not a sampler so much as an effort to assemble some interesting pieces and parts that it had in the tape can.

First, the label wanted to capitalize on the new fame of the Lovin' Spoonful, which had a huge success in summer 1965 with "Do You Believe in Magic." Unfortunately for Elektra, the band's hits were property of Kama Sutra records, even though the Spoonful had done several demos for Elektra earlier. It is those latter songs that are heard on What's Shakin'.

The Spoonful songs included two covers - Chuck Berry's "Almost Grown" and Leiber and Stoller's "Searchin'," along with "Good Time Music" and "Don't Bank on It Baby," written by the group's leader, John Sebastian. These are all nice songs, but not as memorable as the Kama Sutra recordings.

Also prominent on What's Shakin' is the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Its contributions are essentially outtakes from its earliest Elektra recordings. They include covers of several well-known blues songs - Willie Dixon's "Spoonful," Little Walter's "Off the Wall," James Cotton's "One More Mile" and the odious "Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl," recorded by many blues artists. Butterfield contributes "Lovin' Cup."

Three songs were allotted to Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse. Clapton was not nearly as well known then as he was to become. The Powerhouse also included Steve Winwood, whose Spencer Davis Group had just had a British hit with "Keep on Running," largely on the strength of Winwood's distinctive vocals. (Winwood is called "Steve Anglo" in the LP's notes.) Another Powerhouse member was bassist Jack Bruce, who would form Cream with Clapton in 1966.

Eric Clapton and Stevie Winwood

Clapton had just left the British blues group of John Mayall, and the Powerhouse's repertoire was heavily blues oriented - Memphis Slim's "Steppin' Out" (there must have been a ban on using the letter "g" in song titles back then) and Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" (later to be a memorable Cream specialty). Also on the LP is "I Want to Know," attributed to S. MacLeod, who is likely Sheila McLeod, wife of group member Paul Jones, the excellent singer from the British group Manfred Mann, which also contributed Jack Bruce to the ensemble.

The Powerhouse recordings on What's Shakin' are the only ones the group ever released.

Al Kooper

What's Shakin' also included single contributions from two artists we encountered above. Tom Rush had moved on from traditional material to a cover of Fats Domino's "I'm in Love Again." And the ubiquitous Al Kooper weighed in with his "Can't Keep from Crying Sometimes," which he later recorded with the Blues Project. (It's a take on a Blind Willie Johnson song.)

In sum, 14 songs, none of them acoustic, just a year after Folksong '65, which had 11 acoustic songs out of 12 total. Things had changed. On the horizon for Elektra were the rock groups Love, the Doors and Clear Light - although several folk acts remained. Also during this period, Elektra started the excellent classical label Nonesuch, originally a reprint operation, later becoming more adventurous.

This transfer of What's Shakin' comes from my vintage mono pressing, which has excellent sound. Back then, you had to pay extra for stereo. My teenage self preferred to spend his money on more records.