Did You Know??
Bob Dylan’s first professional appearance was opening for John Lee Hooker in NYC in 1961.
Eric Clapton — “Sign Language”
Taking on the Dylan-penned song. From ’76.
Jerry, Bob & Phil — “She Belongs To Me”
Here are three of San Francisco’s finest performing Dylan’s classic.
“Follow that!”
That’s reportedly what Neil Diamond said to Bob Dylan after exiting the stage during The Band’s Last Waltz performance. A slightly bemused Dylan retorted, “What do I have to do, go on stage and fall asleep?”. Game, set, match, Zimmy.
Million Dollar Bash – Crust BrothersThe Lost Art Of The Mixtape: The College Years
TLAoTMT:
“While going through an old box of cds I found a few mixes that I had made for hanging out with my friends in college. The trickiest thing about these mixes was the balance between a broad range of musical tastes. The song selections were sometimes to teach, and other times to appease. The result was usually a very odd mix, but ultimately a snapshot of that time in my life… 2002.”
Ain’t Life Grand – Widespread Panic
Kidney In A Cooler – Keller Williams
Roses Are Free – Ween
Good Souls – Starsailor
Tangled Up In Blue – Bob Dylan
Changes – David Bowie
Someday – The Strokes
Rock & Roll – Phish
Golden Years – David Bowie
It’s Gonna Be (Alright) – Ween
Ripple – Grateful Dead
The Wind Cries Mary – Jimi Hendrix
Terrapin Station – Phish
I’ll Be Here A While – 311
Push On ‘Til The Day – Trey Anastasio
Castles In The Sky – Ian Van Dahl feat. Marsha
Tell Me Something Good – Chaka Khan
Walk This Way – String Cheese Incident
Roses Are Free – Phish
Werewolves Of London – Warren Zevon
Meatstick – Phish
Underneath It All – No Doubt
At Last – Etta James
Amber – 311
Weekapaug Groove – Phish
“Making Soup With Mom”
Here’s another great mix of nostalgic songs, courtesy of The Lost Art Of The Mixtape.
Meet me In The Morning – Bob Dylan
Hello Old Friends – Eric Clapton
Linus and Lucy – Vince Guaraldi Trio
Rings – Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon
Wondering Where The Lions Are – Bruce Cockburn
It’s All Right – Traveling Wilburys
Tupelo Honey – Van Morrison
Storms – Railroad Earth
Mandolin Rain – Bruce Hornsby
If I Am A Stranger – Ryan Adams
Albuquerque – Neil Young
Down In A Hole – Alice In Chains
Raindance – Railroad Earth
Dreams – Fleetwood Mac
The Old Man & The Land – Railroad Earth
Harder Now That It’s Over – Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
Did You Know??
In Bob Dylan’s professional debut in 1961, he opened for John Lee Hooker.
Bob Dylan — “Shelter From The Storm”
From the Rolling Thunder Revue in Fort Collins, CO (5/23/76). This song perfectly epitomizes “Blood On The Tracks” to me. Gorgeous lyrics, in fact you can’t get more poignant. Beautiful, just beautiful.
‘Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
I’ll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved
Everything up to that point had been left unresolved.
Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail,
Poisoned in the bushes an’ blown out on the trail,
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
Suddenly I turned around and she was standin’ there
With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair.
She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
Now there’s a wall between us, somethin’ there’s been lost
I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed.
Just to think that it all began on a long-forgotten morn.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
But nothing really matters much, it’s doom alone that counts
And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
I’ve heard newborn babies wailin’ like a mournin’ dove
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love.
Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation an’ they gave me a lethal dose.
I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
Well, I’m livin’ in a foreign country but I’m bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razor’s edge, someday I’ll make it mine.
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
Bob Dylan — From The Crash (43 Years ago today)
Something happened on July 29, 1966. The New York Times broke the news a few days later: Dylan had been in a motorcycle accident and would be canceling his concert at the Yale Bowl. If you ever wondered whether rumors spread before the Internet, the answer is yes: fans traded stories that Dylan was horribly scarred, paraplegic, insane, or even dead. These stories proved not to be true, but one thing was certain: he was gone.
Dylan spent the next nine months in seclusion in upstate New York; as he recovered, he and the Band made the much-bootlegged music that would ultimately be released as The Basement Tapes. He didn’t put out a new album until 1968, the deliberately low-key John Wesley Harding. So what actually went down that July day? It’s fuzzy, but the gist appears to be that Dylan visited the home of his manager Albert Grossman in Bearsville, New York. Dylan picked up an old Triumph 55 motorcycle and was planning to ride it to a nearby repair shop.
As he left the property, however, he took a spill. The way he told the story in 1967: “The back wheel locked up, I think. I lost control, swerving from left to right. Next thing I know I was in someplace I never heard of—Middletown, I think—with my face cut up so I got some scars and my neck busted up pretty good.” The official story at the time was that he broke some vertebrae in the neck, was knocked unconscious, and was in critical condition for a week.
Later, however, witnesses—including Albert Grossman’s wife, Sally, famous as the girl on the cover of Bringing It All Back Home—would tell the tale differently. Apparently, Dylan had poor eyesight and was notorious for his lack of skill on the bike; as he left the Grossman property, he just lost his balance and fell off his motorcycle in an undignified fashion. Although he could have been driven to a nearby hospital, he was instead taken to a doctor who was an hour away.
Rumors circulated that he was secretly in rehab for drug addiction, but the accident appears to have been genuine, if not as serious as reported. Afterwards, people spotted Dylan in a neck brace; friends reported that he took up swimming and received ultrasound treatment.
So why did Dylan check out for so long, then? By 1966, Dylan was not just hailed as the voice of a generation, he was expected to lead folk and rock fans in a new direction with every album, and very possibly, redefine contemporary society as a hippie utopia. Plus, Dylan had been going virtually nonstop for a long time: he released five records in just over two years, from 1964 to early 1966. He had a full tour of sixty concerts scheduled, plus a contract renegotiation with Columbia Records. Fans and biographers have long assumed that Dylan seized on his injuries—real, if not as serious as reported—as an opportunity to step away from his white-hot celebrity and the pressure that came along with it.
Dylan said as much himself in 2004, in Volume One of his excellent autobiography, Chronicles: “I had been in a motorcycle accident and I’d been hurt, but I recovered. Truth was that I wanted to get out of the rat race.”
40 Years ago today…
Bob Dylan appeared on the first episode of ABC’s Johnny Cash Show. Here’s “Girl From North Country” from the appearance.
Click here to download outtakes from Dylan’s Nashville Skyline that feature Zimmy and Cash.
Bob Dylan — “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”
Don’t Look Back outtake from 1965.
Happy Birthday — Bob Dylan
Born on this date in 1941 in Duluth, MN, Robert Zimmerman would go on to be one of the most important voices of the second half of the 20th century in America. Click here to check out his pairing with Johnny Cash on outtakes of 1969′s Nashville Skyline. Click here for more Dylan.
Like A Rolling Stone:
With Willie Nelson, performing Townes van Zandt’s Pancho and Lefty:
A 2009 performance of You Gotta Serve Somebody:
Bob Dylan & The Band — “Hwy 61 Revisited”
From the Isle Of Wight, August 31, 1969.
SCI to reunite at Rothbury
Colorado’s String Cheese Incident will perform at the Rothbury Music Festival, their first show since the band split in the summer of ’07.
Initial lineup:
The Dead
Bob Dylan and His Band
The String Cheese Incident
Willie Nelson & Family
The Black Crowes
Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley & Nas
STS9
G. Love & Special Sauce
Gov’t Mule
Broken Social Scene
Yonder Mountain String Band
The Disco Biscuits
Les Claypool
Cold War Kids
John Butler
Chromeo
Ani DiFranco
Matisyahu
40 years ago today…
Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash recorded “Girl From the North Country” for Zim’s Nashville Skyline. The song was written back in 1962 for one of Dylan’s old girlfriends. Click here for an earlier post containing the outtakes from the sessions.
Bob Dylan — “Simple Twist Of Fate”
Rarely performed, second track off of Blood On The Tracks, “Simple Twist Of Fate”, is an intensely personal song with Dylan’s trademark poetic story telling. Here’s Zim performing the song in ’75.
Al Kooper — “Like A Rolling Stone”
From Wiki:
As chronicled in the 2005 Martin Scorsese documentary film, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan for the PBS American Masters Series, Kooper’s most notable playing with Dylan is the striking organ parts on Like a Rolling Stone.
Kooper had been invited to the session as an observer, and hoped to be allowed to sit in on guitar, his primary instrument. Kooper uncased his guitar and began tuning it. After hearing Mike Bloomfield, the hired guitarist for the sessions, warming up in the room, Kooper concluded that Bloomfield was a much better guitarist, so Kooper put his guitar aside, and retreated into the control room.
As the recording sessions for the single Like a Rolling Stone progressed, keyboardist Paul Griffin was moved from the Hammond organ to piano. The young Kooper (being Kooper) saw his opening. Kooper quickly suggested to producer Tom Wilson that he had a “great organ part” for the song (which he later confessed was just a ruse to play in the session), and Wilson responded “Al, you’re not an organ player, you’re a guitar player”, but Kooper didn’t retreat this time. Before Wilson could explicitly reject Kooper’s suggestion, Wilson was interrupted by a phone call in the control room. Kooper immediately went into the studio and sat down at the organ, though he had rarely played organ before the session. Wilson soon returned, and was shocked to find Kooper in the studio. By this time, Kooper had been playing along with Dylan and crew, his organ can be heard coming in an eighth-note just behind the other members of the band, as Kooper followed to make sure he was playing the right chords. During a playback of tracks in the control room, when asked about the organ track, Dylan was emphatic: “Turn the organ up!”, and Kooper’s classic rock organ riff became a part of rock recording history. While the combination of piano and organ was common in gospel church settings, Kooper’s riff was relatively new to rock music and attracted considerable attention.
Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash — Nashville Skyline Outtakes
One Too Many Mornings
Good Ol’ Mountain Dew
I Still Miss Someone
Careless Love
Matchbox
That’s Alright Mama
Big River
Girl Of The North Country
I Walk The Line
You Are My Sunshine
Ring Of Fire
Guess Things Happen That Way
Just A Closer Walk With Thee
Blues Yodel
Blues Yodel #5
I Threw It All Away-Johnny Cash Show
Living The Blues-Johnny Cash Show
Girl Of The North Country-Johnny Cash Show
Nashville Skyline Rag
I Threw It All Away
Peggy Day
Country Pie
Tonight I Will Be Staying Here
Musical Stew Daily’s Best Of 2008
Musical Stew Daily’s Best Of 2008
Best Album: 1.) Charlie Hunter Baboon Strength 2.) My Morning Jacket Evil Urges 3.) Mike Gordon Green Sparrow 4.) Fleet Foxes
Best Archival Release: Bob Dylan Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs
Best DVD: 1.) Phish Walnut Creek (7/22/97) 2.) Keller Williams with Mosely, Droll & Sipe Live 3.) Grateful Dead Rocking The Cradle: Egypt 1978
Best Concert: 1.) My Morning Jacket Bonnaroo 6/13/2008 2.) Matisyahu Atlanta, GA 11/8/2008 3.) Wilco 8/13/08
Best Box Set: Phish At The Roxy
Bob Dylan — “Sara”
Easily possessing Dylan’s most openly personal lyrics, “Sara” is the last song from 1975′s Desire. It was written about Zimmy’s first wife Sara Lownds and their failing marriage, their travels and time together and the rearing of their four children. I could discuss the song and its virtues, but I will just reprint the lyrics and let you be the judge of this truly beautiful song.
I laid on a dune, I looked at the sky,
When the children were babies and played on the beach.
You came up behind me, I saw you go by,
You were always so close and still within reach.
Sara, Sara,
Whatever made you want to change your mind?
Sara, Sara,
So easy to look at, so hard to define.
I can still see them playin’ with their pails in the sand,
They run to the water their buckets to fill.
I can still see the shells fallin’ out of their hands
As they follow each other back up the hill.
Sara, Sara,
Sweet virgin angel, sweet love of my life,
Sara, Sara,
Radiant jewel, mystical wife.
Sleepin’ in the woods by a fire in the night,
Drinkin’ white rum in a Portugal bar,
Them playin’ leapfrog and hearin’ about Snow White,
You in the marketplace in Savanna-la-Mar.
Sara, Sara,
It’s all so clear, I could never forget,
Sara, Sara,
Lovin’ you is the one thing I’ll never regret.
I can still hear the sounds of those Methodist bells,
I’d taken the cure and had just gotten through,
Stayin’ up for days in the Chelsea Hotel,
Writin’ “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” for you.
Sara, Sara,
Wherever we travel we’re never apart.
Sara, oh Sara,
Beautiful lady, so dear to my heart.
How did I meet you? I don’t know.
A messenger sent me in a tropical storm.
You were there in the winter, moonlight on the snow
And on Lily Pond Lane when the weather was warm.
Sara, oh Sara,
Scorpio Sphinx in a calico dress,
Sara, Sara,
You must forgive me my unworthiness.
Now the beach is deserted except for some kelp
And a piece of an old ship that lies on the shore.
You always responded when I needed your help,
You gave me a map and a key to your door.
Sara, oh Sara,
Glamorous nymph with an arrow and bow,
Sara, oh Sara,
Don’t ever leave me, don’t ever go.
Here’s Bob performing the song in ’75:
Bob Dylan’s tribute to Frank Sinatra
At Frank Sinatra’s 80th birthday party bash in November of 1995, an assortment of artists gathered to pay homage to a living legend. The most poignant performance of the evening was from Bob Dylan, who performed “Restless Farewell”. Sinatra’s upcoming birthday, December 12th, would have been his 93rd.
Sinatra had his last public performance following his annual Palm Springs golf tournament in February of 1995. Here’s the setlist:
Intro
I’ve Got The World On A String
You Make Me Feel So Young
Fly Me To The Moon
Where Or When
My Kind Of Town
The Best Is Yet To Come
