Newport Folk Festival: plays electric

Newport had celebrated him as a folk hero, so the change was startling. With Mike Bloomfield on guitar, Al Kooper on organ and a rhythm section from the Butterfield band, he played only three songs, including "Maggie's Farm" and the newly released "Like a Rolling Stone". Some of the crowd jeered; how many, and whether at the music, the poor sound or the short set, has been argued about ever since. He came back alone with an acoustic guitar for two more songs. The night became the best-known symbol of folk music meeting rock. Highway 61 Revisited followed within weeks, and he soon went on tour with the Hawks, facing similar hostility. The 2024 film A Complete Unknown ends with this night.