TALKIN’ GREENWICH VILLAGE: The Heady Rise and Slow Fall of America’s Bohemian Music Capital
By David Browne
In March 1961, Newbold Morris, the newly appointed parks commissioner of New York City, expressed his dismay in a memo regarding the scene he encountered during a Sunday visit to Washington Square Park, which lies at the very heart of Greenwich Village. This park had long served as a vibrant gathering space for folk singers, and the city had routinely approved permits for such gatherings. However, Morris articulated his concerns about “these fellows that come from miles away to display the most terrible costumes, haircuts, etc., and who play bongo drums and other weird instruments attracting a weird public.”
A few days later, another city official noted that there had been “written complaints from citizens or organizations regarding these folk singing groups.” By April, a permit request from the Social Folk Singing Group—led by Izzy Young, who had transformed the Folklore Center on MacDougal Street into a hub of the burgeoning folk revival—was denied. This denial sparked an organized protest in the park, culminating in arrests. The New York Times would later headline the event as “Folk Singers Riot in Washington Sq.”
Beyond the confines of the park, Greenwich Village, already a sanctuary for misfits and outsiders of every kind (Newbold Morris certainly hadn’t seen the full picture), was rapidly gaining recognition as a destination for folk music. The opening of Folk City just a year prior and the emergence of a thriving coffeehouse scene added to its allure. The Village had long been celebrated for its jazz scene, but as David Browne skillfully illustrates, the music landscape in the Village was fraught with challenges—political, economic, and social—and yet it has remained resilient.
Browne meticulously chronicles this story, beginning in 1957 and concluding in 1986, the year Folk City departed from its West Third Street location amidst a planned move that ultimately never materialized. As a comprehensive history of folk, rock, and blues in the West Village throughout the latter half of the 20th century, “Talkin’ Greenwich Village” is not only impeccably researched but also elegantly penned and consistently captivating. However, it is regrettably missing a crucial element: a thorough exploration of jazz.
By 1958, Browne notes, jazz “was becoming the dominant genre in the neighborhood.” He later reflects on the opening of the jazz club Seventh Avenue South in 1977, acknowledging that “jazz had played a prominent role in the scene for decades.” Yet, in a work that aims to provide a grand narrative, these references feel somewhat superficial. Notable jazz venues like the now-closed Bradley’s and Sweet Basil, as well as the iconic Blue Note, receive scant attention.
Even the Village Vanguard, a legendary establishment still thriving after nearly 90 years and recognized as one of the most prestigious jazz venues worldwide, is given only a cursory mention. While Browne does credit the Vanguard for hosting celebrated live albums by jazz luminaries such as John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Bill Evans, his treatment of this iconic venue is unfortunately limited. In contrast, the rich history of Folk City—a once-ordinary Italian restaurant that evolved into a nightclub and quickly became a stage for many, including a young Bob Dylan—is recounted with heartfelt detail.
