Folk music is often seen as a cultural mouthpiece for a particular era. The simple instrumentation and focus on lyrics make folk the ideal genre for a powerful message. However, it will never have the same visceral grit that rock & roll does. Even Bob Dylan–one of folk’s greatest purveyors–knew that.
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After making his name in the folk scene, Dylan shocked everyone by going electric in 1965. It tipped the world on its axis, forever changing the landscape of modern music. For many at the time, Dylan’s sudden move into rock was a shock. In hindsight, it makes all the sense in the world.
Like many others in his generation, Dylan fell in love with early rock. He found influences that he would later wear on his sleeve, post Newport. Many artists contributed to Dylan’s electric sound, but there is one that Dylan felt particularly fond of. In fact, he once likened this artist’s talent to an otherworldly force.
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Bob Dylan Praise for Jerry Lee Lewis
Rock was just starting to solidify in the late ’50s. Many artists had already been playing what we would come to know as rock, but the world hadn’t connected the dots fully yet. Among the rock trailblazers of this era was Jerry Lee Lewis. The piano playing, rockabilly giant earned many listeners with his infectious sound. Through covers of blues staples–like Big Maybelle’s “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”–Lewis was able to set the ground rules for a burgeoning genre. This genre, according to Dylan, was a much-needed reprieve from the fears of the world.
“Rock and roll made you oblivious to the fear, busted down the barriers that race and religion, ideologies put up,” Dylan once said. “We lived under a death cloud; the air was radioactive. There was no tomorrow, any day it could all be over, life was cheap. That was the feeling at the time and I’m not exaggerating.”
Jerry Lee Lewis—”From Some Faraway Galaxy”
In the same conversation, Dylan heralded Lewis and his era-defining talents. He said Lewis’ style came from some other planet, hurdling down to earth when we needed it most.
“Jerry Lee Lewis came in like a streaking comet from some faraway galaxy,” Dylan added. “Rock and roll was atomic-powered, all zoom and doom. It didn’t seem like an extension of anything, but it probably was.”
You can hear a little of Lewis in some of Dylan’s rock-forward compositions. Moreover, it’s fairly impossible to escape Lewis’ influence in music as a whole. The title of a “once-in-a-generation artist” gets thrown around a lot. However, it rings true for Lewis.
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(Photo by Everett/Shutterstock)
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