Course Description

Beat Generation poets held forth in the parks and coffee houses of New York's Greenwich Village in the 1950s, but by the next decade, a new movement was taking over, a wave of socially conscious, guitar-strumming poets who turned the Bohemian coffeehouses of the Village, like The Gaslight Cafe, Gerde's Folk City, The Bitter End, and Café Wha? into the focal point of the sixties folk revival. Inspired by the Weavers and others, young troubadours like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter Paul & Mary, Judy Collins, Simon & Garfunkel, and others rose to prominence there, making way for folk-rock musicians like the Mamas and the Papas, and The Youngbloods. In a live musical examination of this cultural phenomenon, Joan and Bill retrace the steps of folk to folk-rock legends with slides and commentary that recall the coffeehouses and poignant ballads, sung in rich harmony, for an enjoyable sing-along (lyrics provided) and an educational and nostalgic journey.