The word sacred often comes up in R&T discussions. Sacred places, sacred events, sacred practices, sacred music. If you look up the definition of sacred you’ll find phrases like “state of being holy,” worthy of devotion, reverence,” and “associated with the divine.”

Last week I was once again reminded of the word sacred when I heard about Bob Dylan’s guitar. Not just any guitar but the guitar. An electric Fender Stratocaster with a sunburst finish that not only changed the course of his career but represented a major shift in American culture.

On July 25, 1965 Dylan, up until then a folk musician, showed up at the Newport Folk Festival in a leather jacket. He took the stage, plugged in his Fender Strat, and ripped through a set of 3 loud songs. Today it’s hard for us to understand the significance of his performance but back in 1965, Dylan was a folk music god. Devoted to the protest songs of Woody Guthrie, he was considered to be the voice of the next generation. The Newport Folk Festival was the holy shrine of folk music with a tradition considered sacred by many fans. Anyone who played rock music with its loud, more aggressive style was considered a “sell out.” So when Dylan took the stage with his Fender Strat the shocked audience actually booed him. People behind the scenes say that Pete Seeger was so enraged during the performance that he wanted to cut the cord to Dylan’s power source.

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