“The idea of blending together country music—usually associated with Nashville, southern life, southern politics and culture—blending that together with rock and roll seemed like the craziest thing in the world,” says John Covach. Celebrating a style of music that dominated the 1970s, the University of Rochester’s Institute for Popular Music features an evening of country rock as part of its “In Performance” concert series on Saturday, October 22.
Formed during tumultuous time in our nation’s history—a fusion of country and rock and roll—was the new style of Americana as it was introduced to a new generation. “Blending country music with rock and roll, at the end of the 1960s, was a bold thing to do because, culturally at that time period in country music— it was the music of the relatively conservative. Those who had no regard for hippies or hippie music and their rock and roll,” says Covach, director of both the University’s Institute for Popular Music (IPM) and Institute for Performing Arts. “So when a rock band like The Byrds went to Nashville to record “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” in 1968, they were really doing something that nobody had done before, the idea of blending together country music and country musicians with rock musicians.”
“Bob Dylan does “Nashville Skyline” in 1969. Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young use a fair amount of country influences from 1969, so we see a very song oriented music and rich in vocals. There are a lot of country touches—you’ll find the banjo popping up, and the steel guitar. It was about going back to acoustic records, acoustic sounds, going back to root sounds, and an embrace of Americana,” says Covach.
Hear the music of country rock at the Institute for Popular Music’s tribute performance, “Take It Easy: A Celebration of Country Rock, at 8 p.m. Saturday, October 22, at Strong Auditorium. Performed live by the League of Extraordinary Uncles, along with faculty members and students of the Department of Music, the concert will feature music by such artists as the Eagles, Crosby Stills, Nash and Young, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, and others.
Admission is free. For more information about the IPM and upcoming events, contact Elaine Stroh at estroh@ur.rochester.edu or call (585) 275.9397.
