The Moment in 1965 When Rock and Roll Becomes Art

“This is a story about an idea that I have,” Americana legend and self-proclaimed “recovering folk singer” Steve Earle states early in his enthralling Words + Music performance. “This job of mine becomes an artform spontaneously in 1965 - when Bob Dylan wants to be John Lennon, and John Lennon wants to be Bob Dylan, whether either one of them would admit it or not - and in that moment, rock and roll becomes art."

Recorded in 2021 at Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village, New York City, listen to the gravelly voiced consummate storyteller speak and sing from his beloved, adopted neighborhood - the birthplace of a musical revolution. Hear this rambling man map his personal journey through bluegrass, country, folk, and rock and roll alongside new recordings of Steve Earle favorites and never-heard-before renditions of songs by Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and more. Of himself and his heroic influences, he says, “We weren’t there to write hits, though a few of us accidentally did. We were there to create art.”