WASHINGTON – The Smithsonian will soon have a new jacket on display — a very famous coat worn by Bob Dylan during a controversial performance of his career.
Dylan was known as a folk music superstar in 1965 when he took the stage at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island with an electric guitar in his hands.
He played one short set with the electric instrument, including the songs “Maggie’s Farm” and “Like a Rolling Stone.”
The audience booed Dylan for going electric and many folk purists felt betrayed.
On that night, Dylan wore a jacket that will now be loaned to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, according to the museum.
The jacket will be part of the exhibit, American Stories, which opens April 5. It will join Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the “Wizard of Oz,” a walking stick used by Benjamin Franklin, Lincoln’s gold pocket watch and Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves.
Follow David and WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
