Music Parodies from the 60’s-70's, Part 1

5 Bob Dylan spoofs (“She seemed to be a rutabaga…”)

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Song parodies were popular in the 30’s-50’s (see my previous article), but the 1960's-70's’ were the golden age of musical satire (including two most serious funny groups of all time, The Mothers of Invention and The Bonzo Dog Band). The “Question Everything” generation had no qualms about lambasting even their most respected musicians. In some cases, the strengths of a respected artist or band were targeted, and Bob Dylan was no exception. Here are five songs that turned Dylan’s prodigious talents against him (including one by the master himself).

Simon and Garfunkel, “A Simple Desultory Philippic” (1966)
One of the most biting satires in this list, thanks to Paul Simon’s clever replication of Dylan’s wordplay (“I’ve been nearly branded, Ayn Randed, a communist ’cause I’m left handed, that’s the hand to use — well, never mind”), talking style, nasal inflection, erudite vocabulary, serial namedropping, and parallel phrasing. And you thought S&G were sweet.