| "I Dig Rock and Roll Music" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Peter, Paul and Mary | ||||
| from the album Album 1700 | ||||
| B-side | "The Great Mandella (The Wheel of Life)" | |||
| Released | August 1967 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:31 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | ||||
| Peter, Paul and Mary singles chronology | ||||
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"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.
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 ] The backing band on the recording was The Paupers, a rock band from Toronto.
Cash Box said the song is "a rollicking trip with a sense of humor." [5]
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.
Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers. The group's repertoire included songs written by Yarrow and Stookey, early songs by Bob Dylan, and covers of other folk musicians. They were enormously successful in the early- and mid-1960s, with their debut album topping the charts for weeks, and helped popularize the folk music revival. After the death of Travers in 2009, Yarrow and Stookey continued to perform as a duo under their individual names.
The Mamas & the Papas was a folk-rock vocal group which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in New York City, the group consisted of the Americans John Phillips, Cass Elliot and Michelle Phillips and Canadian Denny Doherty. Their sound was based on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips – the songwriter and leader of the group – who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early 1960s.
"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John and Michelle Phillips in 1963 and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in December 1965. The lyrics express the narrator's longing for the warmth of Los Angeles during a cold winter in New York City. It is recorded in the key of C-sharp minor.
Jill Gibson is an American singer, songwriter, photographer, painter and sculptor. She is mostly known for her collaboration work with Jan & Dean and for having briefly been a member of the successful 1960s rock group the Mamas and the Papas. She was also one of the main photographers at the historic Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
"Monday, Monday" is a 1966 song written by John Phillips and recorded by the Mamas & the Papas, using background instruments played by members of the Wrecking Crew for their 1966 album If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears. Denny Doherty was the lead vocalist. It was the group's only #1 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Album 1700 is the seventh studio album by American folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, released in 1967. It produced the band's most successful and final hit, a recording of the John Denver song "Leaving on a Jet Plane". The album peaked at number 15 on Billboard magazine's Top LP chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Folk Performance category. Album 1700 was so named because its original LP issue was Warner Bros. Records catalog number W-1700 for the mono version and WS-1700 for the stereo version. It stayed on the charts and rose again in 1969, thanks to the single release of "Leaving on a Jet Plane".
"Creeque Alley" is an autobiographical hit single written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas in late 1966, narrating the story of how the group was formed, and its early years. The third song on the album Deliver, it peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard pop singles chart the week of Memorial Day 1967, becoming their last Top 10 hit. It made number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 4 on the Australian and number 1 on the Canadian charts.
"Words of Love" is a song by the Mamas & the Papas from their second studio album of the same name. The song was written by John Phillips, and featured Cass Elliot as the primary vocalist. It was released as a single in November 1966.
The Best of Peter, Paul, and Mary: Ten Years Together is a 1970 greatest hits release by American folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary. It is the last album released before the group split up in 1970.
Moving is the second album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary, released in January 1963. The third single, "Puff, the Magic Dragon," was a huge hit and a defining song for the trio, reaching #2 on the Hot 100, #1 on the Easy Listening, and #10 on the R&B Charts.
"Rockollection" is a 1977 French pop song composed and performed by Laurent Voulzy. Alain Souchon contributed the lyrics.
"I Saw Her Again" is a pop song recorded by the U.S. vocal group the Mamas & the Papas in 1966. Co-written by band members John Phillips and Denny Doherty, it was released as a single in June 1966 and peaked at number one on the RPM Canadian Singles Chart, number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, and number five on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart the week of July 30, 1966. It appeared on their eponymous second album in September 1966.
"Twelve Thirty" a.k.a. "Twelve-Thirty ", is a song by the Mamas & the Papas.
"Look Through My Window" is a song recorded by the American vocal group the Mamas & the Papas. It was written by John Philips, c. 1964 during a temporary separation from his partner, Michelle Phillips. The song was inspired by the fact that although John thought Michelle was out in California, she in fact was just blocks away in Greenwich Village. The mono version has a slightly longer fade-out so that the closing refrain "And the rain beats on my roof" is sung 9 times.
"Leaves That Are Green" is a song written and originally recorded by Paul Simon for his 1965 album The Paul Simon Songbook. It was later re-recorded with Art Garfunkel for the 1966 album Sounds of Silence, adding an electric harpsichord, rhythm guitar, and bass. It was also the B-side to the hit song "Homeward Bound".
Edward Hoh was an American rock drummer who was active in the 1960s. Although primarily a studio session and touring drummer, Hoh exhibited a degree of originality and showmanship that set him apart and several of his contributions have been singled out for acknowledgment by music critics.
"Sit Down, I Think I Love You" is a 1966 song composed by American singer-songwriter Stephen Stills and originally recorded by American-Canadian rock band Buffalo Springfield. A cover version by The Mojo Men was released as a single in 1967 and reached the U.S. Top 40. Also that year, Australian band The Executives charted in their home country with their version of the song.
"I Knew I'd Want You" is a song by the folk rock band the Byrds, written by band member Gene Clark, and first released as the B-side to their 1965 debut single, "Mr. Tambourine Man". It was also later included on their debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man.
"Safe in My Garden" is a song written by John Phillips and recorded by The Mamas and the Papas. The single was briefly in the Top 100 pop chart in the United States. AllMusic.com calls the song "One of the group's finest latter-day records."
"You Baby" is a song written by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri and was originally recorded by the Vogues in 1965, though their version was not released until 1996.
