 Within three months " Mr. Tambourine Man " had become the first folk rock smash hit , reaching number 1 on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart . The single 's success initiated the folk rock boom of 1965 and 1966 , during which a number of Byrds @-@ influenced acts had hits on the American and British charts . The term " folk rock " was itself coined by the American music press to describe the band 's sound in June 1965 , at roughly the same time as " Mr. Tambourine Man " peaked at number 1 in the U.S. 
