"I Dig Rock and Roll Music" is a song recorded in 1967 by the folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 group Peter, Paul and Mary

Peter, Paul and Mary

Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...

. The writing credits are given as Stookey-Mason-Dixon. Stookey

Noel Stookey

Noel Paul Stookey is a singer-songwriter best known as "Paul" in the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. He took the stage name "Paul" as part of the trio Peter, Paul and Mary, but he has been known as Noel otherwise, throughout his life...

 is the "Paul" of Peter, Paul and Mary. "Mason" is musician and producer Jim Mason. "Dixon" is Dave Dixon, who was later a popular air personality on progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 radio station WABX

WYCD

WYCD is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station is the only country music station in the Detroit area. WYCD's offices and studios are located on Woodward Heights . near Interstate 75 in Ferndale, Michigan...

 in Detroit

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

. The tune peaked at #9 on the Billboard Top 100.
The song is one of the few PP&M singles not to appear on Billboard's Easy Listening survey, although it did make the Record World "Non-Rock" listing.

The song first appeared on the group's 1967 LP Album 1700

Album 1700

Album 1700 is the seventh studio album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary, released in 1967 . It produced the band's most successful and final hit — "Leaving on a Jet Plane" . The album peaked at #15 on Billboard Magazine's Top LP chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the...

, and has appeared on retrospective collections since then. It includes several lyrical and musical references to contemporary "rock" artists, including The Mamas & the Papas

The Mamas & the Papas

The Mamas & the Papas were a Canadian/American vocal group of the 1960s . The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...

, Donovan

Donovan

Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...

, and The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

. For example, the first verse includes backing vocals in the style of "Monday, Monday

Monday, Monday

"Monday, Monday" is a 1966 song written by John Phillips and recorded by The Mamas & the Papas for their 1966 album If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears. It was the group's only number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100....

" (1966) by The Mamas & The Papas while lyrically discussing the band's strengths and weaknesses. The song's final verse suggests that socially conscious messages can be included in rock and roll songs, but they must be hidden "between the lines" in order to make them suitable for commercial radio airplay.

The line about Donovan "his crystal images" refers to the mention of "crystal spectacles" in Epistle to Dippy

Epistle to Dippy

Epistle to Dippy is a song and single by Donovan, released in 1967 only in the USA. It charted in the USA .Musicians featured are Donovan on vocals and acoustic guitar, Jimmy Page on electric guitar, John Cameron on keyboards and arrangement, Danny Thompson on bass and Tony Carr on drums...

. The backing vocal effect in the Beatles impersonation reflects the songs Yellow Submarine

Yellow Submarine (song)

"Yellow Submarine" is a 1966 song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney , with lead vocals by Ringo Starr. It was included on the Revolver album and issued as a single, coupled with "Eleanor Rigby". The single went to number 1 on every major British chart, remained at number 1 for four weeks...

 and All You Need is Love

All You Need Is Love

"All You Need Is Love" is a song written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first live global television link. Watched by 400 million in 26 countries, the programme was broadcast via satellite on 25 June 1967...

.