The Conscience of the Folk Revival

Many fine performers and songwriters flourished in the folk music revival of the 1950s-70s. The general public knows about many of them, but even folk devotees may not know about Izzy Young (b. 1928), a seminal figure in the revival. As a labor of love, Young ran the Greenwich Village store Folklore Center from 1957 to 1973. In addition to offering books, records, and instruments for sale, the Folklore Center became a vital hangout for folk musicians Young encouraged and mentored, for example, Bob Dylan. Young branched out to promote folk concerts, have a radio show, and write articles. This book presents, among other material, all his "Frets and Frails" columns, which ran in the journal Sing Out! from 1959 to 1969. Filled with news of folksingers' lives and creative efforts, the columns offer refreshingly outspoken views of the genre and the music business. Also included in the volume are Young's earlier and later writings and interviews. This material should prove very valuable for researchers of the folk revival and popular culture of the time, and should interest serious fans as well. With this book, Young, who has lived in Sweden since 1973, gets well-deserved recognition. Summing Up: Highly recommended. * CHOICE *
The Conscience of the Folk Revival: The Writings of Israel “Izzy” Young is the definitive account of [Young’s] folk revival experiences and observations. * Living Blues *
The Conscience of the Folk Revival portrays the activities and values of the Folk Revival through the writings of an important figure within it. * Journal of American Folklore *
Scott Barretta’s selections gather together a body of little-known published materials. . . .Some content is newsy, freezeframing points in time. Some insights and observations about Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, part-hero-part-bête noir Alan Lomax, Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger and the New Lost City Ramblers might well blow you away. Some targets remain as pertinent today as the day [Izzy Young] delivered them. . . .A romp of a read which will be over too soon. But it won’t be done with you. * fRoots *
Izzy Young, pioneer, guiding spirit, and legendary force of nature, makes musical things happen. He saw a lot and heard everything from his Folklore Center perch during the MacDougal Street ’60s, and he wrote it all down. This inspired collection, history composed as it happened, tells it like it was, with Izzy’s keen intelligence and his hearty generous soul. -- Sean Wilentz, author of Bob Dylan in America
It is impossible to imagine the Greenwich Village folk scene of the 1960s without Izzy Young—in a world of quirky, talented characters, he provided a forum that was superlatively quirky and nurtured the greatest talents. I got much of my early education by roaming through the writings collected here, alternately thrilled and exasperated, but always envious because he was at the center of it all. -- Elijah Wald, author of How the Beatles Destroyed Rock N Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music