Dylan returning to Newport 37 years after offending purists

NEWPORT, R.I. -- It was a watershed event in popular music: Bob Dylan, folk music's young minstrel, taking the stage with an electric guitar slung over his shoulder.

To the die-hard folkies at Newport on July 25, 1965, it was an outrage.

Thirty-seven years later, Dylan is coming back, headlining Saturday's program at the Apple & Eve Newport Folk Festival.

His long-awaited return stirs memories of the day when he "plugged in," was booed mercilessly, by most accounts, and in the process knocked down barriers between folk and rock.

"There was an element of extreme Puritanism and tradition in the folk crowd, who really did feel that rock 'n' roll was just one big sellout," says music historian Tim Riley, author of "Hard Rain: A Dylan Commentary."

"It was like Dylan showed up at Newport and announced he was joining the other side."

At 24, the skinny, wild-haired singer from Minnesota had been embraced as the spiritual and artistic leader of the American Folk Revival, which flourished on college campuses in the early '60s and was championed by artists like Pete Seeger and Joan Baez.

Newport was the movement's Mecca.

No one seemed prepared for Dylan to walk onstage toting a Fender guitar, accompanied by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. They tore into a raucous version of "Maggie's Farm," and the crowd was stunned.

Dylan played just three songs and left the stage to an avalanche of catcalls.

A few minutes later, he returned, this time alone with an acoustic guitar and harmonica. He played two songs: "Mr. Tambourine Man," and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," the latter a fitting requiem for his career as a folksinger.