| "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 ]
Cash Box said that it's "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.
Donovan Phillips Leitch, mononymously known as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world music. He has lived in Scotland, Hertfordshire (England), London, California, and—since at least 2008—in County Cork, Ireland, with his family. Emerging from the British folk scene, Donovan reached fame in the United Kingdom in early 1965 with live performances on the pop TV series Ready Steady Go!.
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 composed of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto 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 were an American folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group was composed of 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, musician, and leader of the group, who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early 1960s.
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. It was the group's only #1 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and the first time in history a song by a mixed gender group reached the top of the charts.
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 cover of the John Denver composition "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 #5 on the U.S. Billboard pop singles chart the week of Memorial Day 1967. It made #9 on the UK charts, and #4 on the Australian and #1 on the Canadian charts.
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.
In the Wind is the third album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, released in October 1963, a few months before the arrival of the Beatles heralded the British Invasion. It was reissued on audio CD in 1990.
"Jennifer Juniper" is a song and single by the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, released in 1968. It peaked at number 5 in the UK Singles Chart, and at number 26 in the Billboard Hot 100. AllMusic journalist Matthew Greenwald noted that "capturing all of the innocence of the era perfectly, it's one of his finest singles".
"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.
Wings was a psychedelic folk rock band from the late sixties. The band members were veterans from an assortment of other sixties bands. Initially, the band was made up of Oz Bach of Spanky and Our Gang on bass, Pam Robins of Serendipity Singers sang, and on guitar Eddie Simon, younger brother of Paul Simon of Simon & Garfunkel. Before their first and only album was recorded, Eddie Simon was replaced with Jim Mason who co-wrote the Peter, Paul and Mary song "I Dig Rock and Roll Music". Also playing in the band were keyboardist Steve Knight, who later joined Mountain, Jefferson Airplane drummer Jerry Peloquin, and guitarist Jack McNichol.
"Twelve Thirty" a.k.a. "Twelve-Thirty ", the song's main refrain, is a song by The Mamas & the Papas.
"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 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."
