When Bob Dylan plugged in and performed his first live set of electric music at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he divided his fans, nearly destroyed the folk music community, and gave birth to a language-centric form of rock and roll that would change popular music forever. The guitar that caused all the fuss disappeared—and now, PBS' "History Detectives" have discovered that it's been sitting in an attic in New Jersey for the better part of the last 47 years!
A new episode of the PBS show, which airs next Tuesday July 17th, focuses on a few rock and roll mysteries (including whether a pen-and-ink collage from South Carolina thrift shop actually came from a teen-aged Frank Zappa). They discovered that Dylan left the guitar behind in an airplane, and it was taken home by the pilot. The pilot's daughter eventually brought it to them.
You can watch Dylan's entire 1965 Newport Folk Festival set below—skip to 36 minute mark to see the electric set in all it's fiery glory:
Bob Dylan - Newport Folk Festival 1965 from Miguel Angel on Vimeo.
