The Mayor Of Macdougal Street

( 3 )

Overview


Dave Van Ronk (1936-2002) was one of the founding figures of the 1960s folk revival, but he was far more than that. A pioneer of modern acoustic blues, a fine songwriter and arranger, a powerful singer, and one of the most influential guitarists of the '60s, he was also a marvelous storyteller, a peerless musical historian, and one of the most quotable figures on the Village scene. The Mayor of MacDougal Street is a first-hand account by a major player in the social and musical history of the '50s and '60s. It ...
See more details below
Available through our Marketplace sellers and in stores.
See All Options
Pick Up In Store Near You

Pick Up In Store Near You

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Other sellers (Paperback)
  • All (11) from $11.86   
  • New (3) from $12.38   
  • Used (8) from $11.86   
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 1
Showing All
Note: Marketplace items are not eligible for any BN.com coupons and promotions
$12.38
Natarajbooks
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(557)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

New
030681479X *BRAND NEW* Ships Same Day or Next!

Ships from: Springfield, VA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$13.35
indoo
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(22540)

Condition: New
BRAND NEW

Ships from: Avenel, NJ

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$14.95
southbrooklyntexts
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(285)

Condition: New
030681479X Brand new, perfect condition.

Ships from: Brooklyn, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 1
Showing All
Close
Sort by
The Mayor of MacDougal Street: A Memoir

Available on NOOK devices and apps  
  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK HD/HD+ Tablet
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for Windows 8 Tablet
  • NOOK for iOS
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK for Windows 8
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for Web

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

NOOK Book (eBook)
$10.16
BN.com price
(Save 32%)$14.95 List Price

More About This Book

Overview


Dave Van Ronk (1936-2002) was one of the founding figures of the 1960s folk revival, but he was far more than that. A pioneer of modern acoustic blues, a fine songwriter and arranger, a powerful singer, and one of the most influential guitarists of the '60s, he was also a marvelous storyteller, a peerless musical historian, and one of the most quotable figures on the Village scene. The Mayor of MacDougal Street is a first-hand account by a major player in the social and musical history of the '50s and '60s. It features encounters with young stars-to-be like Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, and Joni Mitchell, as well as older luminaries like Reverend Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, and Odetta. Colorful, hilarious, and engaging, The Mayor of MacDougal Street is a feast for anyone interested in the music, politics, and spirit of a revolutionary period in American culture
Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

Dirty Linen August/September 2005
"[This] book will leave you not merely educated, but enlightened; not merely amused, but delighted. You will want more."
Sing Out! Fall 2005
"This is the best book I've ever read about the folk revival..Engaging and frequently hilarious."
Boston Globe 7/24/05
"[A] wonderful memoir...Mandatory reading for anybody interested in...the "Great Folk Scare" of the 1960s."
Creative Loafing Charlotte 7/6/05
"A fascinating look at a pivotal moment in American popular music...A great read."
New York Post
"A father to the folk movement in Greenwich Village...[Van Ronk] and co-writer Elijah Wald bring that Village scene back to life."
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
"A definitive history of folk's alternate universe...bringing to light the unique voice and story of Dave Van Ronk."
Library Journal
Van Ronk (1936-2002) was one of the most influential guitarists and singer/songwriters in folk music history. A staple of the folk music scene in New York City's Greenwich Village during the late 1950s and early 1960s, he presided over such legendary venues as the Gaslight Cafe and Gerde's Folk City. In this rollicking book that is part memoir and part history of the times, Van Ronk, with the help of coauthor Wald (Josh White: Society Blues), recalls his early fascination with music-he picked up the ukulele at 15 and later graduated to the blues and jazz classics that greatly influenced his music. The narrative is most valuable, however, as a commentary on the folk scene of the early 1960s (the book ends late in the decade). Van Ronk unflinchingly tells the story of this era as he believes it should be told: Beat poets Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso were never accepted into the folk music scene, even though many people think of them as predecessors to the movement; Tom Paxton, not Bob Dylan, was responsible for the new direction that folk took in the early 1960s; and Joni Mitchell was "the best writer of the 1960s, a very playful lyricist in the same way that John Donne was." For an insider's guide to the folk movement, one can hardly do better than Van Ronk's book. Highly recommended for all libraries.-Henry L. Carrigan Jr., Lancaster, PA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Charming, evocative autobiography by one of the key figures in the mid-20th-century folk revival. The charisma, humor and storytelling chops that made Dave Van Ronk (1936-2002) a Greenwich Village legend are abundantly on display in this memoir, assembled after his death by long-time friend and blues historian Wald. A blue-collar boy from the outer boroughs, Van Ronk dropped out of "Our Lady of Perpetual Bingo" at 15 and headed to the Village to hang out with anarchists and Wobblies. He began his musical life as a jazz fanatic convinced that "folk music was irredeemably square." But Harry Smith's paradigm-altering Anthology of American Folk Music in 1951 introduced Van Ronk and a lot of other "neo-ethnics" to the astonishing diversity of traditional American music. They aimed to play it with "authenticity," scorning the bland sounds of pop-folk acts like the Kingston Trio. Nor did they initially have much interest in writing their own material; among Van Ronk's many shrewd observations is the reminder that what we now think of as folk music-a singer-songwriter performing self-penned compositions accompanied by an acoustic guitar-is what it was changed into during the '60s by artists like Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan. Big names like Dylan's enter late in Van Ronk's narrative, which focuses on the fruitful, unpublicized early years when everyone scraped by with occasional jobs while playing for tips in all-night coffee shops, doing a lot of drinking and dope smoking on the side. It sounds like wonderful fun, and Van Ronk bestrews his pages with sharp, intelligent asides on such matters as the divide between the Cambridge, Mass., folk crowd, who viewed themselves as "pure guardians ofthe sacred flame" and the more professional singers of the Village, who viewed them as "upper-middle-class kids cutting a dash on papa's cash." A must for those with an interest in the music, and of great appeal as well for anyone who enjoys a roistering life story recounted in a lively narrative voice.
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780306814792
  • Publisher: Da Capo Press
  • Publication date: 2/14/2006
  • Pages: 276
  • Product dimensions: 0.62 (w) x 6.00 (h) x 9.00 (d)

Meet the Author


Dave Van Ronk (1936-2002) was one of the founding figures of the 1960s folk revival, but he was far more than that. A pioneer of modern acoustic blues, a fine songwriter and arranger, a powerful singer, and one of the most influential guitarists of the '60s, he was also a marvelous storyteller, a peerless musical historian, and one of the most quotable figures on the Village scene. The Mayor of MacDougal Street is a first-hand account by a major player in the social and musical history of the '50s and '60s. It features encounters with young stars-to-be like Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, and Joni Mitchell, as well as older luminaries like Reverend Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, and Odetta. Elijah Wald wrote the acclaimed study of blues legend Robert Johnson, Escaping the Delta. He also wrote the biography Josh White: Society Blues and Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas. He lives in Los Angeles.
Read More Show Less

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix
Foreword: Back in the Day xi
1 Prehistory: Youth in the Outer Boroughs 1
2 Jazz Days 13
3 Folk Roots and Libertarian Anarchy 27
4 Washington Square and Beyond 41
5 The Guild and Caravan 61
6 Where the Real Money Was 77
7 Friends and Recordings 83
8 Lewis and Clark Revisited 99
9 California 113
10 The Commons and Gary Davis 125
11 The Gaslight 141
12 Changing of the Guard 157
13 The Blues Revival 179
14 The New Song Revolution 195
15 The Waning Days of Babylon 211
16 Last Call 225
Afterword 227
Index 233
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 3 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(1)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(1)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Posted February 17, 2011

    Highly recommended for music fans of the "Great Folk Scare" era.

    Very good auto-biography of the performer himself as well as a popular music era.

    I think the cultural equivalent of this pre "Woodstock" era may well be underway during the current internet revolution in the musical scene.

    Artists and material are once again being chosen by the people and not a large recording "industry". Perhaps the people's choice will be suported by the internet and "creativity" may return to that magical time of the "Great Folk Scare" when individual's flocked to picking up guitars, banjos, mandolins, ukes and bongos to make their own music.

    I for one miss Mr. Van Ronk as well as others from that era. This was a very good read!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 7, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 24, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)