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"I Dig Rock and Roll Music"
Single by Peter, Paul and Mary
from the album Album 1700
B-side"The Great Mandella (The Wheel of Life)"
ReleasedAugust 1967
Genre
Length2:31
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Peter, Paul and Mary singles chronology
"For Baby (For Bobbie)"
(1966)
"I Dig Rock and Roll Music"
(1967)
" Too Much of Nothing"
(1967)

"I Dig Rock and Roll Music" is a 1967 song by the American folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, written by Paul Stookey, James Mason and Dave Dixon.

Background

Credited to Stookey-Mason-Dixon, the song's lyrics reference contemporary rock artists including the Mamas & the Papas, Donovan, and the Beatles. The song parodies and satirizes the vocal style of the Mamas & the Papas in the first verse, Donovan in the second verse and the Beatles in the third verse. [1] [2] Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic commented that the song "simply celebrates the simple joy of pop music at the time." [3]

In an interview with the Chicago Daily News in 1966, a year before the song's release, Mary Travers expressed contempt for the emergence of the folk rock genre: "(It's) so badly written. ... When the fad changed from folk to rock, they didn't take along any good writers." [4]

The line "When the words don't get in the way, yeah" and especially the phrasing of "yeah" is a reference to the line "Every other day, every other day, every other day of the week is fine, yeah" from the Mamas & the Papas' song " Monday, Monday".[ citation needed]

The line about Donovan and "his crystal images" refers to the mention of "crystal spectacles" in " Epistle to Dippy". The song is also noted for its psychedelic feedback effects, miming the volume swell on the electric guitar from Donovan's 1966 song " Sunshine Superman". The backing vocal effect in the verse parodying the Beatles reflects " Yellow Submarine".[ citation needed]

Cash Box said the song is "a rollicking trip with a sense of humor." [5]

Chart history

The song was a hit single for the group and reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. [6] In Australia, the song reached No. 4.

References

  1. ^ John Shepherd (8 July 2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: VolumeII: Performance and Production. A&C Black. p. 212. ISBN  978-0-8264-6322-7.
  2. ^ Rock Eras: Interpretations of Music and Society, 1954-1984. Popular Press. 1987. p.  198. ISBN  978-0-87972-369-9.
  3. ^ Greenwald, Matthew. Song Review by Matthew Greenwald at AllMusic. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  4. ^ "Obituary: Mary Travers, 72; Member of Folk Group Peter, Paul and Mary". The Washington Post. September 17, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  5. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 12, 1967. p. 22. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  6. ^ David F. Lonergan (2005). Hit Records, 1950-1975. Scarecrow Press. p. 90. ISBN  978-0-8108-5129-0.
  7. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1967-10-21. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  8. ^ "Flavour of New Zealand, 3 November 1967". Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  9. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN  0-89820-089-X
  10. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 7, 1967". Archived from the original on November 28, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  11. ^ Musicoutfitters.com

External links