Almanac Music: Dylan Cover Songs – Every Song Vol.8 : August 1964 – January 1965 PLUS ‘Bringing It All Back Home’ album

 

 

This eighth article in the ‘Every Song’ series will spotlight key events and characters in Dylan’s life plus the original songs written by Dylan between August 1964 and January 1965. The article will culminate in a re-creation of Dylan’s 5^th studio album ~ Bringing It All Back Home ~ in cover song style.

 

But first ~ an opening and final comment about borrowed tunes/melodies.

 

In the early part of his career as a songwriter, Dylan is quoted as saying:

 

‘I’m using the old melodies because they are there. I like the melodies. Besides, if they can hear the old melodies in my new songs, they’ll accept the songs more. It ain’t the melodies that’re important, man, it’s the words. I don’t give a damn ‘bout melodies.’

 

Throughout the first seven volumes of this ‘Every Song’ series, I have (wherever possible and credible) noted the source of the tune and/or melody that Dylan borrowed or stole to accompany his lyrics. In this context, I have often wondered ‘what was the first song Dylan wrote that included an original melody and music?’. Despite my efforts, I can’t quite put my finger on the answer. My best guess is that every one of the eighty-one ‘original’ songs penned by Dylan to date has been moulded around a borrowed traditional folk or blues tune or stolen from a tune Dylan had picked up along the way.

 

There is even a Wikipedia page titled: ‘List of Bob Dylan songs based on earlier tunes’ ~ although it is far from complete.

 

While borrowing traditional tunes has long been established practice in folk circles, Dylan went well beyond that practice ~ in effect, stealing other’s tunes without crediting the legitimate owner or creator of the tune, including ‘stealing’ from some of his closest musician friends. One long term Dylan commentator has stated – ‘the borrowing doesn’t really matter. It is the transformation that counts’ ~ and while there is merit in that view, not giving ‘credit’ where ‘credit’ is rightfully and knowingly due is definitely ‘unprofessional and mean spirited’.

 

When we concluded ‘Every Song: Vol. 7’, Dylan reflected that his recent songwriting was too ‘one-dimensional’ and that he would seek to find a ‘multi-dimensional’ future. In this new world order of songwriting, the ‘old melodies’ would prove inadequate to be moulded to fit the ‘new multi-dimensional’ lyrics. Furthermore, as Dylan begins to surround himself with accomplished musicians, the task of creating original music to accompany his original lyrics would become a lot easier and much more exciting.

 

 

Now, back to Dylan’s ongoing story and songwriting output:

 

‘Every Song: Vol. 7’ concluded on 8 August 1964 with the release of Dylan’s fourth studio album ~ Another Side Of Bob Dylan. The story continues……

 

 

August (1964)

 

Songwriting wise: Dylan’s 81^st original song ~ ‘I Shall Be Free #10’ ~ had been completed in early June and was the last song to make it onto his Another Side Of Bob Dylan album. It is highly unlikely that Dylan’s pen had lay dormant in the two months since that album was recorded.

 

As if Dylan deliberately set out to test his powers of writing lyrics in a multi-dimensional level, and perhaps assisted by French surrealist poetry and illicit substances, the 82^nd song to be added to Dylan’s ever-expanding songbook is ‘Gates Of Eden’.

 

And, to prove that this new songwriting mode was not an aberration, Dylan immediately penned his 83^rd song, ‘It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)’ ~ a song that many regard as a masterpiece of this genre. There is no doubt that Dylan was now boldly constructing lyrics in a dimension where no lyricist had gone before.

 

And, to show that the one-dimensional Dylan was still having some fun on the sidelines of the main show, Dylan also wrote his 84^th song ~ ‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now’.

 

On a personal level: Dylan had well and truly abandoned the rental apartment that he had previously shared with ex-girlfriend Suze Rotolo at 161 West 4^th Street, Greenwich Village and settled into a special room with a private entrance at Albert Grossman’s 70-acre Bearsville Estate on the outskirts of Woodstock (about 2 hours drive north of New York City).

 

Between mid-July and mid-August, Dylan invited Joan Baez, her sister Mimi and Richard Farina (Mimi’s husband and fellow Greenwich Village musician) to hang out at the Bearsville Estate. This holiday ‘house-sitting’ get-together meandered between concert commitments for Dylan and Baez at the Newport Folk Festival (24-26 July) and Forest Hills Stadium, New York (8 August). There is even evidence that Dylan and Baez each performed at the local Café Espresso in Woodstock on 20 July.

 

It seems that Dylan and Baez were still romantically close despite the infrequent opportunities to be together when their career commitments crossed paths (i.e. on only four known occasions between May 1963 – March 1964). On this fifth occasion, it was more than likely that Dylan was continuing to juggle female relationships ~ except that where Baez was fully aware of, and opening mocked, Dylan’s previous relationship with Suze, she had no idea of any post-Suze female relationship that had Dylan’s serious interest. The evidence, however, strongly suggests that Dylan, following his breakup with Suze in mid-March, had been quietly and secretly enjoying the company of another.

 

 

Introducing Sara Lownds

 

Sara, a close friend of Albert Grossman’s fiancé Sally Buelher, had been a frequent visitor to the Bearsville Estate and it seemed ‘practical’ that once Dylan was no longer in a relationship with Suze, that Grossman would welcome Sara into the broader entrepreneurial ‘family’. Sara, a divorcee and former fashion model, two years older than Dylan, with a four year old daughter Maria, and little or no interest in the music industry was viewed as an ideal partner/future wife for Dylan. When not visiting the Bearsville Estate, Sara and her daughter lived at the iconic Chelsea Hotel at West 23^rd Street, New York. In time, Dylan would acquire room 211 at the hotel so that his deepening relationship with Sara could be kept secret ~ a plan that worked perfectly.

 

The best ‘evidence’ of a timeline for Dylan and Sara ‘getting together’ around mid-1964 comes from Baez’s 1987 And A Voice To Sing With: A Memoir, where she recalls her stay at the Bearsville Estate in July/August 1964. During this period, Dylan gave her a blue nightgown, which many years later she discovered belonged to Sara.

 

 

Introducing Daniel Kramar

 

For several months, professional photographer Daniel Kramar had been pestering Grossman’s office, wishing to do a photo session with Dylan. Although being told several times that Dylan was not available, for reasons best known to Grossman and Dylan, it was agreed that Kramar could have a ‘trial’ day with Dylan at the Bearsville Estate on the 27^th.

 

Over the course of five hours, Dylan is photographed doing ordinary everyday things ~ reading the newspaper, playing chess with road manager Victor Maymudes at the Café Espresso. At first, Dylan refused to be stage managed and simply allowed Kramar to photograph the day as it unfolded. Towards the end of the day, Dylan felt more comfortable to pose ~ and did so in various outdoor settings.

 

 

The Beatles return to the USA

 

Between 19 August – 20 September 1964, The Beatles performed a series of concerts across the USA and Canada. On the 27^th and 28^th of August, the band performed at Forest Hills Stadium and stayed at the Delmonico Hotel, New York City.

 

There is no doubt that Dylan and The Beatles had been secretly admiring each other’s creative talents for the past six months. While on tour in Paris in January 1964, The Beatles had acquired a copy of Dylan’s Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album and it was on continuous repeat. George Harrison described listening to the album as ‘the highlight of the trip to Paris’. One month later, Dylan became instantly intrigued and interested when he first heard ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ on the car radio during his cross-US road trip. And so it came to pass that New York Post writer Al Aronowitz introduced Dylan to The Beatles at The Delmonico on 28 August.

 

Despite the possibilities, the most notable reported event from this encounter was Dylan rejecting an offer of amphetamine pills and suggesting this ‘gathering of creative talent’ smoke marijuana instead ~ which they did, resulting unsurprisingly in uncontrollable laughter and Paul McCartney’s temporary discovery of the ‘meaning of life’.

 

September

 

This month has a relatively easy schedule for Dylan, with only two concert commitments:

 

• 5^th – Monterey County Fairground, California: Dylan was invited by Baez to be her surprise guest at a benefit concert to support an interracial nursey school. It seems odd that Dylan would travel all the way across the USA to perform a few songs in duet with Baez at this insignificant event ~ unless there were some other tantalizing benefits to be enjoyed;

• 19^th – Ann Arbor High School, Michigan (1,700 seat): this concert is notable as it is the first time Dylan performed ‘It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)’. This small, out of the way, venue was probably an ideal location for Dylan to test out new material before he embarked on a fully-fledged seventeen city concert tour.

 

The Animals – The House of The Rising Sun

 

The Animal’s version of the song was recorded in one 15-minute take on 18 May 1964. The single was released on 19 June 1964. A radio friendly version, cutting the running time from 4m:29s to 2m:59s, resulted in extensive airplay that helped propel the single to #1 in the UK in July and #1 in the US on 5 September. The single also peaked at either #1 or #2 in Australia, Canada, Finland, New Zealand and Spain and elsewhere around the world in the top 10.

 

It is important to recognise the role that Dylan unknowingly played in ‘The House Of The Rising Sun’ being an international hit and perhaps the first song of the folk-rock genre. Well before Dylan performed his one-off Royal Albert Hall, London concert on 17 May 1964, the British music establishment was paying significant attention to Dylan’s back catalogue – Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan and The Times They Are A-Changin’. Some musicians, such as those belonging to The Animals, ventured even deeper and checked out Dylan’s debut 1962 Bob Dylan album ~ an album that contained only two original songs, sold less than 5000 units in the USA and never got close to entering the Billboard album charts.

 

It is on this largely forgotten Bob Dylan album that Hilton Valentine (The Animals guitarist) discovered the chord sequence used by Dylan on his own cover version of ‘The House Of The Rising Sun’ ~ a traditional song that dates back to the 1920’s but with antecedents that could date back to the 17^th century. From Dylan’s chord sequence, Hilton created his now-famous and universally distinctive electric guitar Am chord arpeggio introduction.

 

What was unknown at the time, but has since been rectified in the annals of modern music, is that the unique chord sequence used by Dylan was, in fact, stolen from his friend and fellow Greenwich Village folksinger Dave Van Ronk. Dylan did not ask for permission to use Van Ronk’s arrangement and merely informed Van Ronk that he had done so after the event. While it was not in Van Ronk’s nature to pursue the matter, the fact that Dylan’s debut album failed to turn a profit meant there was no point taking it any further. Little did Van Ronk know that some three years later, his chord arrangement would help launch a hit single that would knock The Beatles off the #1 singles spot across the planet and turn a very hefty profit.

 

Meanwhile, on 19 September, Dylan’s Another Side Of Bob Dylan album (released six weeks earlier) finally entered the US Billboard Top 200 charts. This would be the third consecutive Dylan album that would slowly snake its way into the charts ~ perhaps best demonstrating that Dylan was still a niche player in the US music market.

 

In late September, Daniel Kramar showed the photos he had taken of Dylan on 27 August to Grossman and Dylan. The photos received a positive response and it was agreed that Kramar could accompany Dylan to his next concert as a ‘work situation’ might yield some more interesting pictures. Clearly, both Grossman and Dylan could see the value of Dylan’s career being professionally documented from now on ~ and Kramar seemed to be a good fit (for now).

 

October

 

During October, Dylan was more purposefully focused on his performance schedule than at any other time in his career to date. In a sign that his reputation was beginning to emerge from the folk/Greenwich Village/student campus cocoon, Dylan had four concerts scheduled on four consecutive Saturday evenings in four major cities.

 

The 18-song set list was built around showcasing four songs from each of Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Another Side Of Bob Dylan, plus two early outtakes and four brand new songs (the ‘live’ premiere of ‘Gates Of Eden’ and ‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now’, as well as ‘It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)’ and ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’).

 

The four major concerts and one minor concert were held on/at:

 

• 10^th – Philadelphia Town Hall, PA (seating up to 10,000);

• 16^th – Trenton State College, Ewing, NJ (1000 seats);

• 17^th – Masonic Temple Theatre, Detroit, IL (4000 seats);

• 24^th – Symphony Hall, Boston, MA (2500 seats);

• 31^st – Philharmonic Hall/Lincoln Centre, New York, NY (2500 seats).

 

The New York concert is affectionately known as The Halloween Concert. Bootleg recordings of the concert have been circulating since the early 1970’s and then, in March 2004, the entire concert was officially released as The Bootleg Series Vol.6: Bob Dylan Live 1964.

 

Apart from Dylan’s commanding performance, the concert was notable for several reasons:

 

• First, Dylan is in fine form ~ conversational, in good humour. At one point he makes this comment ‘It’s Halloween, I’m wearing my Bob Dylan mask, I’m masquerading!’. Unfortunately, the YouTube clips of the concert dispense with the banter between songs, so the early career intimacy of Dylan’s engagement with the audience is lost unless one plays the officially released 2004 CD or the unofficial bootleg recording;

• Second, prior to the encore, Dylan invited Joan Baez on stage and they performed a four-song duet ~ ‘Mama You Been On My Mind’; ‘Silver Dagger’; ‘With God On Our Side’; and ‘It Ain’t Me Babe’. The booklet that accompanies the official CD release captures the vocal collaboration as ‘his nasal harshness mingling wonderfully with her silken coloratura’.

 

And for these and subsequent major 1964-65 concerts, photographer Daniel Kramar was present to capture Dylan on stage and in the spotlight, plus Baez whenever she was invited on stage.

 

November

 

Dylan forged ahead, almost relentlessly, performing twelve more concerts during November, although his US remit never extended beyond the north-eastern states and coastal California.

 

The night after the Halloween Concert (i.e. 1 November), Dylan performed at Kleinhan’s Music Hall in Buffalo, NY (seating 2400). Once again, Baez was invited on stage to duet for several songs before the solo encore, which had comfortably settled into ‘All I Really Want To Do’.

 

For Dylan, the rest of the month was largely devoted to solo performances – Ohio (6^th), New Jersey (7^th), Maine (8^th), Toronto (13^th), Connecticut (14^th), Wisconsin (19^th & 21^st), Chicago (20^th), San Jose (25^th), San Francisco (27^th) and Sacramento (28^th). There is no record that Baez was invited on stage for any of these concerts but given that Dylan spent the final week of November, including Thanksgiving, in the general vicinity of her hometown (Carmel, California), it is more than likely that they shared time together (on and off the stage).

 

Albert’s wedding

 

The only known diversion from this touring schedule was on the 12^th, when Dylan attended the very private wedding of his manager Albert Grossman to long-term fiancé Sally Buelher. The ceremony was conducted on the grounds of the Bearsville Estate with Grossman’s business associate John Court acting as ‘best man’, Sara Lownds as ‘maid of honour’ and Sara’s daughter Maria as ‘flower girl’. The only other attendees were the local Justice of the Peace, father of the bride (Coleman Buelher) and Dylan. It has been widely reported that Dylan and Sara were a ‘couple’ at this stage, although Dylan’s continuing relationship with Baez suggests that he was still uncommitted one way or the other.

 

Meanwhile, on 21 November, Another Side Of Bob Dylan reached #14 on the UK album charts (although it would re-enter the charts and peak at #8 in early May 1965 when Dylanmania in the UK reached fever pitch).

 

December

 

Dylan remained in California for the first week of December, performing his final five concerts of the year at San Mateo (1^st), San Diego (4^th), Long Beach (5^th), Los Angeles (6^th) and Santa Barbara (7^th).

 

On the 5^th, some four months after being released, Another Side Of Bob Dylan peaked at #43 on the US Billboard Top 200 chart. There is no doubt that Dylan, Grossman and CBS executives would have been disappointed by this result, especially considering Dylan’s UK chart success.

 

On the 6^th, while in Los Angeles, Dylan was invited to World Pacific Studios to hear an early ‘in progress’ electric version of ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ by the Jet Set (soon to be renamed The Byrds). It is claimed that Dylan was ‘astounded’ by what he heard.

 

Following his final concert for the year, Dylan bid a temporary farewell to Baez on the West Coast and retired to the Bearsville Estate, some 3000 miles to the east, to concentrate on writing songs for his upcoming Columbia studio recording session. Dylan was also renting a room at the Chelsea Hotel to secretly be close to Sara ~ and, as it turned out, to find further inspiration for his songwriting.

 

The Bob Landy cameo appearance:

 

The British invasion, with electric guitars blazing, had seriously disturbed the conservative folk traditions within the Greenwich Village precinct. Many Dylan contemporaries (e.g. Bruce Langhorne, Danny Kalb, Al Kooper, Dave Van Ronk. Geof Muldaur, Eric von Schmidt) were exploring the new possibilities.

 

A series of recording sessions by the above-mentioned artists resulted in an album titled The Blues Project being released to showcase this movement towards a rock beat and electric instrumentation. A cameo appearance is provided by one Bob Landy ~ who is described in the album notes as:

 

‘To musicians, his piano playing is legendary. On ‘Downtown Blues’, we have a rare recording of him playing treble piano with Eric von Schmidt’.

 

While there are no second guesses as to the true identity of ‘Bob Landy’, the critical point is making note of the point in time where Dylan, encouraged by his recent exposure to The Byrds early exploration of an electrified ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’, begins to test out electric rock as a precursor to his own journey into that musical realm.

 

1965

 

January

 

With winter descending heavily upon North America and with no other commitments, Dylan focused his attention on the recording sessions for his next studio album.

 

Recording Sessions for Bringing It All Back Home (13 – 15 January)

 

These sessions were held at Columbia Studios in New York City, with Tom Wilson retained as producer. The studios, located on 7^th Avenue, were a handy two mile walk from Dylan’s newly acquired room 211 at the Chelsea Hotel on 23^rd Street.

 

The recording sheets for these sessions reveal that Dylan entered the studio with fifteen songs ~ five of these song have been documented earlier in this and the ‘Every Song Vol.7’ article: ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ (song #68, written April ’64); ‘I’ll Keep It With Mine’ (song #73, May ‘64); ‘Gates Of Eden’ (song #82, August ’64); ‘It’s Alright Ma, (I’m Only Bleeding)’ (song #83, August, ’64) and ‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now’ (song #84, August ’64).

 

The remaining ten songs were written from September 1964 on, and most likely in the six weeks leading into the recording session ~ however there are no clear events to put a precise date on when each song was completed. As such, the ten new songs will be allocated a chronological song/anthology number based on when they were first recorded during these sessions:

 

• Love Minus Zero/No Limit (song #85);

• It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (song #86);

• Bob Dylan’s 115^th Dream (song #87);

• She Belongs To Me (song #88);

• Subterranean Homesick Blues (song #89);

• Sitting On A Barbed Wire Fence (song #90);

• On The Road Again (song #91);

• Farewell Angelina (song #92);

• Outlaw Blues (song #93); and

• Maggie’s Farm (song #94).

 

Wednesday 13 January 7pm

 

Dylan entered the studio accompanied only by producer Tom Wilson and two recording personnel (Roy Hallie – sound desk engineer and Fred Catero – tape machine operator). Over three hours, Dylan laid down acoustic only tracks of: ‘Love Minus Zero/No Limit’; ‘I’ll Keep It With Mine’; ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’; ‘Bob Dylan’s 115^th Dream’; ‘She Belongs To Me’; ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’; ‘Sitting On A Barbed Wire Fence’; ‘On The Road Again’; ‘Farewell Angelina’; ‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now’; and ‘Outlaw Blues’.

 

Outtakes from these recordings with subsequent official release details were:

 

• ‘I’ll Keep It With Mine’ ~ released on the 1985 Biograph boxset;

• ‘Sitting On A Barbed Wire Fence’ ~ released on the 2015 The Bootleg Series Vol, 12: The Cutting Edge 1965-66;

• ‘Farewell Angelina’ ~ released on the 1991 The Bootleg Series Vol.1-3: (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991; and

• ‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now’ ~ released as a single in January 1967.

 

These four outtakes will be revisited, in cover song style, later in the year when the ‘Every Song Vol.10: 1964-65 Outtakes’ article in published.

 

Thursday 14 January 2.30pm.

 

Dylan re-entered the studio, however, on this occasion a number of selected musicians were present, namely: Bobby Gregg (drums), Joe Macho (bass), Bill Lee (bass), Bruce Langhorne (guitar), Al Gorgoni (guitar), Kenneth Rankin (guitar) and Paul Griffin (piano).

 

Apart from personally selecting Bruce Langhorne, a Greenwich Village friend and fellow musician, the other selected musicians were wisely handpicked by producer Tom Wilson. How fortunate Dylan has been (again) by a guiding hand being at the right place at the right time.

 

Over the course of the next three hours, Dylan was supported by the above-mentioned musicians and collectively they recorded a number of takes of various songs resulting in master versions of: ‘Love Minus Zero/No Limit’, ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’, ‘Outlaw Blues’, ‘She Belongs To Me’ and ‘Bob Dylan’s 115^th Dream’. These five songs would be included on the ‘electric’ side one of the Bringing It All Back Home album.

 

A further session between 7-10pm, that involved backing from John Hammond jr. (guitar), Bruce Langhorne (guitar), John Sebastian (bass guitar) and John Boone (bass guitar) failed to produce any further acceptable album tracks.

 

Friday 15 January at 2.30pm

 

Buoyed by the success of the previous afternoon’s collaboration, Dylan re-entered the studio. The musicians in waiting were the same as on the afternoon of the 14^th except that Paul Griffin was not available and was replaced by Frank Owens (piano).

 

Over the next three hours, master versions of: ‘Maggie’s Farm’; ‘On The Road Again’; ‘It’s Alright Ma, (I’m Only Bleeding); ‘Gates Of Eden’; ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’; and ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’ were recorded. Of these six songs, the first two would complete the ‘electric’ side one of the album and the last four songs would make up the entire ‘acoustic’ side two of the album.

 

Over three days, Dylan with Tom Wilson and a small group of selected musicians had collaborated with great success to master the eleven songs that would make up Dylan’s 5^th studio album Bringing It All Back Home.

 

Present during these sessions was Daniel Kramar – capturing all the action in black and white photographs and, occasionally, in words.

 

“It was obvious from the very beginning (of the recording session) that something exciting was happening, and much of it happened spontaneously”; and

“Dylan worked like a painter covering a huge canvas with the colors that the different musicians could supply him, adding depth and dimension to the total work”.

 

Before the month was out, Dylan returned to Woodstock along with Daniel Kramar to set up and shoot the album cover for Bringing It All Back Home. Dylan’s work had been done ~ it was now time to wait for the album to be released.

 

Interlude:

 

24 January 1965 marked exactly four years since a 19 year old Bob Dylan arrived in NY ~ let’s reflect on his career to date:

 

Despite Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (May, 1963) peaking at #22 and The Times They Are A-Changin’ (February 1964) peaking at #20 on the US Billboard charts, by late January 1965 Dylan was still a niche singer/songwriter in the US music market.

 

With a ‘fan base’ dominated by a narrow grouping of followers of folk and college-age students, album sales have remained moderate at best and his released single ~ ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ ~ failed to enter the US Billboard charts.

 

Dylan’s most significant mainstream impact in the US had been via Peter, Paul & Mary’s mid-1963 cover of ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ ~ which sold in excess of one million units. This exposure, however, had not translated into a wider appreciation or acceptance of Dylan’s style of singing or songwriting. On mainstream radio, TV or in printed media, Dylan had been largely overlooked.

 

More broadly speaking, of the 81 original songs published by Dylan since early 1962, only two songs had received interest from other recording artists:

 

• ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ with thirty-three English-speaking and twelve non-English speaking covers; and

• ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’ with twenty-one covers.

 

A further sixteen songs from Dylan’s catalogue had led to single digit covers, however these were primarily from singers within Grossman’s stable of artists or singers associated with music entrepreneurs with close ties to Grossman.

 

Dylan had performed around 40 concerts in both 1963 and 1964 ~ although these were limited to a narrow corridor of north-eastern cities and States – New York, New Jersey, Boston, Newport, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Michigan – or Californian cities in the vicinity of San Francisco and Los Angeles. Dylan’s limited ‘drawing power’ meant that venues were mostly bespoke theatres/concert halls in major cities with maximum 3000 seat capacity; or town halls and campus gymnasiums in minor cities. Only two concerts occurred outside the US – London (Royal Festival Hall, 17 May 1964) and Toronto (Massey Hall, 13 November 1964).

 

In comparison, Joan Baez has performed in most of these US venues, but also has the drawing power to perform at sold-out 15000+ seat venues such as Madison Square Gardens, Forest Hills Stadium and Hollywood Bowl. Dylan’s ability to command such venues would have to wait.

 

In a strange twist of reality, Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Another Side Of Bob Dylan would all peak at #1, #4 and #8 respectively in the UK album charts. Dylan’s reputation in the UK, fuelled in large part by public support from mainstream artists such as The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Animals, was on the ascendancy.

 

Elsewhere in the world, there had only been minor interest in Dylan’s discography to date in Germany and France; otherwise, Dylan’s reputation was largely insignificant and had no commercial or cultural impact. Peter, Paul & Mary’s cover of ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ did have world-wide impact, although this failed to translate into an interest in Dylan himself.

 

Nevertheless, all of this scattered activity ~ album sales, concert income, royalties ~ led Dylan to confide in New York Times journalist Robert Shelton that by September 1964 he had earned his first $1M ~ a figure that no doubt had been passed onto him via his manager (Albert Grossman). What percentage Dylan retained after paying Grossman, Maymudes (road manager) and a host of others, plus taxes is a matter for speculation, although Shelton suggested it would most likely be no more than 20 percent.

 

On the other hand, with his entrepreneurial fingers and favourable financial arrangements in multiple linked ventures, such as publishing companies and commercially successful recording artists (e.g. Peter, Paul & Mary), there is no doubt that Albert Grossman had well and truly earned his own first $1M from Dylan’s creative output at this point in time.

 

To summarise: As at the end of January 1965, within the US, Dylan was ‘quite well known’ within a niche marketplace dominated by older traditional ‘folkies’ or campus-age students in the major north-east and west coast cities. Yet, to middle and southern USA, Dylan was either an enigma, a footnote (as the writer of ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’) or ‘a complete unknown’.

 

Fast forward to 22 March 1965

 

Dylan’s 5^th studio album Bringing It All Home was officially released on 22 March 1965….and let’s not forget, Dylan is still two months shy of his 24^th birthday.

 

So, the time has come to sit back, relax and enjoy a complete re-creation of this eleven-track album in cover song style.

 

Side 1 ~ the ‘electric side’:

 

Note: Bobby Gregg (drums), Joe Macho and Bill Lee (bass), Bruce Langhorne, Al Gorgoni and Kenny Rankin (guitars) and Paul Griffin/Frank Owens (piano) provided musical backing to Dylan for all seven tracks on this side of the album.

 

Subterranean Homesick Blues

The opening track to the album, ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ was the second song to be completed during the recording sessions.

 

This is the 89^th song in Dylan’s anthology and was written somewhere between late December 1964 and early January 1965. There is no disguising the fact that the primary inspiration for the way the song ‘grooves’ can be traced to Chuck Berry’s ‘Too Much Monkey Business’.

 

In 2021, this song was ranked 187^th on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time list.

 

The chosen cover of this song comes from Americana/Texas country band ~ Reckless Kelly ~ from their 1997 Live At Stubb’s album:

 

 

 

 

‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ has been covered by 66 artists and is ranked as Dylan’s 30^th most covered song.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: Harry Nilsson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rickie Lee Jones, Willie Nile.

 

No Australian artist has covered the song.

 

In terms of Dylan concerts, it has been performed on 121 occasions. It debuted on 4 November 1965 at Minneapolis Auditorium before being put on ice until a run of 100 performances between 1988-90. The final performance (to date) was at Aspen, Colorado in September 2002.

 

US folk band The Lumineers have performed the song live on 217 occasions and the Red Hot Chili Peppers on 107 occasions.

 

Trivia: Dylan’s lyrics have been quoted in US legal opinions and briefs, more than any other songwriter. And the line topping the list of most often cited quotes is ‘you don’t need a weatherman…’

 

She Belongs To Me

‘She Belongs To Me’ is the 88^th song in Dylan’s anthology, and was most likely written somewhere between late December 1964 and early January 1965. The recording on the album was the fourth song to be completed during the recording sessions.

 

Conjecture about who the ‘She’ is in the song has been wide ranging, although Robert Shelton makes a good point with: “If this song is not partly about Baez, then there must be some unknown woman artist that Dylan gave an Egyptian ring.”

 

The chosen cover for this song comes from California-based folk-rock singer and one-hit wonder Barry McGuire ~ from his 1965 Eve Of Destruction album:

 

 

 

 

‘She Belongs To Me’ has been covered by 96 artists and is ranked as Dylan’s 23^rd most covered song.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: Billy Preston, Rick Nelson, Tina Turner, Flying Burrito Brothers, Leon Russell, Grateful Dead, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

 

Australasian artists who have covered this song are: Doug Ashdown, Ross Wilson, Kisschasy, Brewster Brothers, Chris Wilson, Neil Finn.

 

In terms of Dylan concerts, it has been performed on a credible 529 occasions ~ debuting at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 27 March 1965 and remaining on the set list for all of 1965 and 1966. The song was performed sporadically between 1988 – 2008, before being embedded into the set list at over 290 concerts between 2013-2016. The final performance (to date) was in New Hampshire on 17 July 2016.? ?

 

Trivia: Bob Weir (who passed away on 10 January 2026 ~ as this article was being written) has performed the song live on over 140 occasions ~ primarily via Ratdog ~ the band he formed after the demise of The Grateful Dead.

 

Maggie’s Farm

‘Maggie’s Farm’ is the 94^th and final song from Dylan’s anthology at the time to make the cut for the album and was most likely written for the album in early January.

 

The song seems to have a meandering lineage to an earlier folk song called ‘Penny’s Farm’.

 

Daniel Kramar observed at the time of the studio recording:

 

“When the playback of ‘Maggie’s Farm’ was heard over the studio speakers, we were all elated. There was no question about it ~ it swung, it was happy, it was good music, and, most of all, it was Dylan.”

 

The chosen cover for this song comes from Nashville-based Americana/outlaw country singer/songwriter Margo Price ~ released as a single in October 2025:

 

 

 

 

‘Maggie’s Farm’ has been covered by 65 artists and is ranked as Dylan’s 31^st most covered song.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: Richie Havens, U2, Rage Against the Machine, Grateful Dead.

 

Australian artists who have covered this song are: Ray Brown, Dave Tice.

 

In terms of Dylan concerts, it has been performed on an amazing 1062 occasions ~ making it Dylan’s 10^th most played song in concert. Debuting at Newport on 25 July 1965 and performed a further ten times during the year ~ it was then left off the set list until the latter part of the Rolling Thunder Revue concerts in 1976. The vast majority of performances (i.e. 770 of them) took place between 1989 – 2007. The final performance (to date) was at Farm Aid in September 2023.? ? ?

 

Trivia: David Bowie, via his Tin Machine project, performed the song on 8 consecutive occasions between 22 June to 3 July 1989.

 

Love Minus Zero/No Limit

‘Love Minus Zero/No Limit’ is the 85^th song in Dylan’s anthology and was most likely written somewhere between late December 1964 and early January 1965. This song was the first song to be completed during the recording sessions.

 

The Zen-like characteristics of this ‘lover’ seem unlike those of known woman in Dylan’s life up to this point. It is thus likely that Dylan had been inspired to write, at least in part, his first love song for Sara Lownds ~ his secret lover for the past six months or so (and, who was within eight months of secretly becoming his wife).

 

The chosen cover for this song comes from English folk singer/songwriter Steve Tilston ~ from the 2011 Younger Than That Now compilation album.

 

 

 

 

‘Love Mins Zero/No Limit’ has been covered by 88 artists and is ranked as Dylan’s 25^th most covered song.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: The Turtles, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Leon Russell, Steve Harley, Fleetwood Mac, Ralph McTell, Jackson Browne, Chrissie Hynde.

 

Australian artists who have covered this song are: The Sharades. Lionel Long, Lee Conway, Brewster Brothers.

 

In terms of Dylan concerts, it has been performed on 382 occasions ~ debuting at the Troy Armory, New York on 12 February 1965 (i.e. ten days before the album was released) and having its latest outing in Broomfield, Colorado on 30 October 2012.

 

Trivia: Although Al Stewart has never recorded this song in the studio or released it on a live album, he has performed the song more than any other artist (except Dylan). Al’s interest in this song is quite recent with 57 of his 60 performances occurring between 2019 – 2025 ~ and his most recent performance happening on his ‘Farewell Tour’, shortly after his 80^th birthday, in the National Concert Hall, Dublin on 20 October 2025.? ?

 

 

Outlaw Blues

‘Outlaw Blues’ is the 93^rd song in Dylan’s anthology and was most likely one of the last songs written before Dylan entered the recording studio on 13 January. Despite this, the song was the third to be completed during the recording session ~ due in large part to its standard R&B beat and relatively straight forward chord structure and lyrics.

 

This is the only song in Dylan’s anthology to mention ‘Australia’. The line in question is in verse 3 and goes: ‘Well, I wish I was on some Australian mountain range.’ {repeated}

 

At the time that Dylan wrote those words he had not been to Australia or had any connection to Australia. Interestingly, Australia is not known for its mountain ranges, so a very curious lyrical reference.

 

The chosen cover for this song comes from Mike Hagan & The Distant Conspirators ~ from their 2023 The Outrageous Story Of The Four Bob Job Cover Up EP:

 

 

 

 

It is perhaps no surprise that this song has attracted minimal interest from cover artists and miniscule interest from Dylan himself in a concert setting.

 

‘Outlaw Blues’ has been covered by 16 artists.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: Grace Slick, Dave Edmunds, The Dream Syndicate, Queens Of The Stone Age.

 

The only Australian band who has covered this song is Sacred Cowboys.

 

In terms of Dylan concerts, it has only been performed once, making its debut most belatedly on 20 September 2007 at Ryman Auditorium, Nashville ~ courtesy of a duet with Jack White.

 

Trivia: Jack White and The White Stripes have collectively performed ‘Outlaw Blues’ on ten occasions.

 

On The Road Again

‘On The Road Again’ is the 91^st song from Dylan’s anthology and was, once again, most likely one of the last songs to be written before Dylan entered the recording studio on 13 January. The recording of the song was the last to be completed for the ‘electric’ side one of the album.

 

In some respects, the song feels like 2min:36sec’s of ‘filler’, on an album that needed no ‘filler’.

 

The chosen cover for this song comes from independent Portland, Oregon-based singer Ava Wynne ~ from her self-released 2005 Never-Was album:

 

 

 

 

‘On the Road Again’ has only been covered by 9 artists.

 

There have been no major artists who have covered the song.

 

The only Australian artist who has covered this song is The Missing Links.

 

This song has never been performed by Dylan in concert (not surprisingly) and equally not surprisingly, no other artist has bothered performing the song in concert.

 

Bob Dylan’s 115^th Dream

‘Bob Dylan’s 115^th Dream’ is the 87^th song in Dylan’s anthology and was most likely written somewhere between late December 1964 and early January 1965.

 

Although this song has a touch of folklore attached to it due to the false start that was retained for the released album, the song (after a few ‘listens’) feels like filler ~ and at over six minutes, it becomes an annoying amount of filler ~ especially given the lead up with two shorter ‘filler’ songs.

 

If the intention was to separate the four quality opening songs on side one from the four classic songs that make up side two, then the three filler songs serve the purpose. However unlike ‘Talking World War III Blues’ (for example) with its highly quotable lyric of ‘I’ll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours’, there is nothing lyrically memorable in any of the final three songs on side one of the album.

 

The chosen cover for this song is by Welsh singer/guitarist Mike Peters (ex-Dead Man Walking; The Alarm). This cover first appeared on side ‘B’ side of Mike’s November 1996 Shine On single.

 

 

 

 

As with the previous two songs on this album, the following statistics speak for themselves.

 

‘Bob Dylan’s 115^th Dream’ has only been covered by 5 artists and is the least covered song from the album.

 

The only ‘major’ artist to have covered the song is Taj Mahal on the 2012 Amnesty International Chimes Of Freedom charity album.

 

No Australian artist has covered the song.

 

In an intriguing twist, Dylan performed this song on six occasions ~ some 23 years after the song was released ~ in six consecutive concerts: Tower Theatre, Pennsylvania (13 & 14 October 1988) and Radio City Music Hall, New York (16, 17,18 & 19 October 1988).

 

Maybe more intriguing, Marshall Crenshaw (who most people will have never heard of despite his 1982 ‘Someday, Someway’ song peaking at #57 on the Australian charts) has performed ‘Bob Dylan’s 115^th Dream’ on fifty-two occasions between 2016 and 2025. His most recent performance was as recent as 20 November 2025 at Natick Centre of the Arts in Massachusetts.

 

Trivia: Mary Lee Kortes, who was previously showcased in the July 2025 ‘Complete Albums of Dylan Covers by Female Artists’ article has also created, collected and edited the 2018 publication Dreaming Of Dylan: 115 Dreams About Bob. True to its title, the book reproduces 115 dreams about Bob and is based on Mary Lee’s personal dreams involving Dylan plus those from well-known and completely unknown individuals, including a Lynda from Sydney and an Andrew from New Zealand. I quite like Lynda’s dream where she is having an amicable conversation with Bob before pointing out ‘that my first name is an anagram of his last’.

 

Side 2 ~ the ‘acoustic’ side:

 

Mr Tambourine Man

‘Mr Tambourine Man’ is the 69^th song from Dylan’s anthology and the earliest composed song to be included on the album. As previously documented, the song originated from Dylan’s road trip through New Orleans in early February 1964, taking in the sights and sound of Mardi Gras.

 

The song was completed by May 1964 and originally recorded in August 1964 for possible inclusion on the previous Another Side of Bob Dylan album. The recording was deemed unsuitable for release at that time.

 

The master version of ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ was the 6^th and final take of the song recorded on 15 January ~ with Dylan (acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocals) supported only by Bruce Langhorne’s gentle electric lead guitar.

 

The chosen cover for this song comes from The Mitchell Trio, featuring new singing sensation John Denver ~ from their 1965 That’s The Way It’s Gonna Be album:

 

 

 

 

What I find surprising about The Mitchell Trio’s cover version is that the lyrics are strangely re-arranged ~ verse 1 comprises the latter halves of Dylan’s original verse 3 and verse 1; verse 2 is the same and verse 3 is Dylan’s verse 4. Occasionally, a word is changed or half a line is left out or an additional phrase is inexplicably added in.

 

‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ has been covered by 242 artists and is ranked as Dylan’s 5^th most covered song ~ thanks in large part to the folk-rock abridged radio friendly #1 hit by The Byrds. The majority of covers tend to replicate The Byrds shorter, jingle janglier version.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: The Byrds, Judy Collins, Johnny Rivers, The Four Seasons, Stevie Wonder, Melanie, Cat Power.

 

Australasian artist who have covered this song are Shirley Jacobs, Crowded House, The Brewster Brothers, Russell Morris.

 

In terms of Dylan concerts, it has been performed on 948 occasions, debuting at Royal Festival Hall, London on 17 May 1964 (i.e. almost a year before the official release on this album). The penultimate performance was on 28 June 2010 at the Festival de Carcassonne, France before a final (to date) performance at the Outlaw Music Festival in Phoenix on 13 May 2025. The song ranks as Dylan’s 12^th most performed song in concert.

 

Despite the worldwide success of The Byrds one-verse version of the song, Dylan always performed Mr. Tambourine Man with all four verses intact.? ?

 

It is perhaps no surprise to learn that Roger McGuinn (in various guises) has performed the song (in its one-verse format) over 500 times, including most recently (October 2025) in St. Louis.

 

Trivia: Kevin Costner formed a country-rock band named ‘Kevin Costner & The Modern West’. Kevin has played guitar and sung vocals to live renditions of ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ ~ combining The Byrds melody and music line to Dylan’s entire four verses ~ on seven occasions between 2009 – 2021 ~ and some of these performances are available on YouTube.

 

Gates Of Eden

‘Gates Of Eden’ is the 82^nd song from Dylan’s anthology and was written around August 1964. Accompanying himself with guitar and harmonica, the album version was recorded by Dylan in a single take on 15 January.

 

The chosen cover for this song comes from the Sleepy Hollow, New York City-based folk-rock/americana band Slambovian Circus Of Dreams:

 

 

 

 

‘Gates of Eden’ has only been covered by 15 artists.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: Arlo Guthrie, Ralph McTell, Bryan Ferry.

 

No Australian artist has covered this song.

 

In terms of Dylan concerts, it has been performed on 240 occasions, debuting on 24 October 1964 at the Symphony Hall, Boston. The final performance, to date, was on 31 March 2001 at Kingsford Smith Park, Ballina, Australia.

 

Trivia: The 31 March 2001 Ballina concert was the ninth and final Australian-based concert during the 2001 leg of The Never Ending Tour. Some unexpected songs performed on the night and on this leg of the tour included: ‘The Wicked Messenger’; ‘Country Pie’; and ‘If Dogs Run Free’. The full Ballina concert is available on YouTube.

 

It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)

‘It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)’ is the 83^rd song from Dylan’s anthology and was written around August 1964. Once again, accompanying himself with guitar and harmonica, the album version was recorded by Dylan in a single take on 15 January.

 

While musically, the song owes its foundation to early recordings of ‘Highway 51’ ~ a song Dylan covered on his debut 1962 Bob Dylan album ~ this song contains some of Dylan’s most memorable images and quotable lines and rates highly on most polls of favourite Dylan songs.

 

The chosen cover for this song comes from Los Angeles-based singer/songwriters ~ (and hosts of the annual DylanFest ~ now in its 36^th year) ~ Andy Hill and Renee Safier:

 

 

 

 

‘It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)’ has been covered by 36 artists and is ranked as Dylan’s 61^st most covered song.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: Terence Trent D’Arby, Roger McGuinn ~ on the soundtrack for Easy Rider, Billy Preston.

 

The only Australian artist who has covered this song is Hugo Race & The True Spirit and their excellent cover was featured in the December 2024 ‘Aussie Males Take On Dylan’ article.

 

In terms of Dylan concerts, it has been performed on 797 occasions, including every one of the 110 concerts performed during the 1978 world-wide tour. The song ranks as Dylan’s 23^rd most performed song in concert. The song debuted at Ann Arbor High School on 19 September 1964 (i.e. six months before it was officially released) and had its final performance at Stockholm Waterfront, Sweden on 12 October 2013.

 

Trivia: Lines from the song that have become more common place are:

 

• ‘he not busy being born is busy dying’ ~ used by Jimmy Carter in his 1976 presidential nomination speech;

• ‘money doesn’t talk, it swears’ ~ Oxford Dictionary Of Quotations;

• ‘but even the President Of The United States sometimes must have to stand naked’ ~ Columbia Dictionary of Quotations.

My personal favourite line: ‘and if my thought dreams could be seen, they’d probably put my head in a guillotine’.

 

It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’ is the 86^th song from Dylan’s anthology and was one of the last songs to be written before Dylan entered the recording studio in mid-January 1965. A single take involving the entire backing band was recorded on the afternoon of 14 January but deemed unsuitable.

 

A second and final version of the song was recorded on 15 January. In this instance, the recording was limited to Dylan on vocal, guitar, harmonica and Bill Lee on bass.

 

The chosen cover for this song comes from Them from their 1966 Them Again album:

 

 

 

It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue has been covered by 167 artists and is ranked as Dylan’s 10^th most covered song.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: Them, The Byrds, Dion, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band. Graham Bonnet, Marrianne Faithfull, Echo & The Bunnymen, Bonnie Raitt, Bryan Ferry.

 

Australian artists who have covered this song are: The Groop, Somebody’s Image, Russell Morris, Brewster Brothers.

 

In terms of Dylan concerts, it has been performed on 663 occasions ~ making it his 27^th most performed song. The song debuted at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 27 March 1965 (i.e. just 5 days after its official release on the album). The song has been performed throughout the 2024/25 Rough & Rowdy Tour, with its most recent performance in Dublin on 25 November 2025.

 

Trivia: Van Morrison (who first recorded a studio version with Them in 1966) has performed the song 148 times.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I trust you have enjoyed this journey back through Bringing It All Back Home in cover song style.

 

In 2010, an alternative covers-based ‘Bringing It All Back Home’ album was released in digital format, titled Subterranean Homesick Blues: A Tribute To Bob Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home. This tribute album reproduces the entire eleven track album plus the five songs that were recorded at the same sessions but were relegated to outtake status.

 

Bringing It All Back Home Evaluated:

 

Most critics and fans rate Bringing Ot All Back Home very highly ~ usually in the top four Dylan albums of all time.

 

In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked the album at #31 on their Greatest 500 Albums Of All Time list.

 

In 2006, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame.

 

And here’s an interesting quote from American film director John Hughes, citing Bringing It All Back Home as so influential on him as an artist that upon its release when Hughes was in his mid-teens:

 

“Thursday I was one person, and Friday I was another.”

 

 

Final Comment:

 

How will Bringing Ot All Back Home and related singles rank on the US, UK and other country charts? Will Dylan finally crack through the gypsum drywall, fibreboard and asbestos-containing textured ceilings of middle America?

 

How will Dylan’s new multi-dimensional lyrics, look and attitude play out over England ~ with sold out concerts and movie-style cameras capturing every moment ~ on the stage, but mostly off the stage.

 

Finally, will Dylan be able to maintain momentum ~ will his 6^th studio album stand up to the standards that he is now etching into modern music history?

 

Oh, yes, and what did become of The Byrds’ (aka Jet Set) early attempt to electrify ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’?

 

All will be revealed when ‘Every Song Vol.9’ is published in late April 2026.

 

 

Addendum 1 – Dylan’s status in Australia ~ January 1965

Earlier in this article, I reviewed Dylan’s career as at 24 January 1965 ~ some four years after arriving in New York City. Australia did not rate a mention in that review, and rightfully so. However, as most readers of these articles are Australian, I thought I would have a deeper dive into what impact Dylan’s official albums and songbook were having in the emerging Aussie music scene.

 

May 1963: Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album failed to enter the Australian album charts.

 

June 1963: Australia, like elsewhere in the world including the USA, was introduced (indirectly) to Bob Dylan via Peter, Paul & Mary’s (PP&M) single of ‘Blowin’ In the Wind’ ~ which peaked on the Australian singles chart at a respectable #11. Most of us born around or before the mid-1950’s will be aware of this version. Interestingly, we will also be aware of PP&M’s version of ‘Puff The Magic Dragon’ which peaked at an even more respectable #6 a few months earlier.

 

August 1963: The first cover of Dylan’s ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ had been recorded and released by the short-lived Melbourne-based pop band The Breakaways. The recording was an instrumental only version on the A side of a single (with ‘The Rockin’ Frog’ on the B side).

 

February 1964: The Times They Are A’Changin’ album also failed to enter the Australian album charts.

 

Mid 1964: The first recorded fully sung cover version of ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ and ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’’ appears to be by the short-lived Melbourne-based folk group Idler’s Five on their The Idler’s Five Sing Folk And Gospel Songs album. For Footy Almanac readers, this may be of even more interest when one realises that Dr. John Tickell was a founding member of the band. Apart from being a doctor, author, businessman and motivational speaker, John also played Aussie Rules football ~ initially with University Blues, followed by The Hawthorn Football Club in the VFL. His brief footy career spanned 1965-66, and involved 18 games and resulted in 2 goals. Although there is no audio of the Idler’s Five version of the Dylan covers, there is a YouTube clip of a satirical song co-written by John called ‘Melborn and Sideny”.

 

July 1964: Gary Shearston released his Songs Of Our Time album, which included three Dylan covers ~ two from Dylan’s Freewheelin’ album (‘Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right’ and ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’) as well as the unreleased ‘Who Killed Davey Moore?’ ~ although it would be fair to say that despite Gary’s emerging profile, his album was not widely known.

 

August 1964: Another Side Of Bob Dylan similarly failed to enter the Australian album charts.

It was also in August 1964 that the Bee Gees (still teenagers and complete unknowns) performed ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ on Bandstand.

 

September 1964: Folksinger Trevor Lucas (who relocated to London in January 1965 and co-formed Fotheringay in late 1969 and married Sandy Denny in September 1973) released his debut album See That My Grave Is Kept Clean, which included a cover of Dylan’s ‘Talking World War III Blues’ off the Freewheelin’ album. With no-one in Australia to promote the album it quickly disappeared into obscurity.

 

October 1964: The Seekers released their third album Hide And Seekers. The album contained a cover of Dylan’s ‘Blowin’In The Wind’ on side 2, track 3. At this time, The Seekers were still to make their mark and none of their first three albums entered the Australian album charts. Mainstream success finally happened in December 1964 with the non-album single ‘I’ll Never Find Another You’, which peaked at #1 on the charts. Reflecting the lack of interest in Dylan at this time within the Australian music market, The Seekers never released a single featuring a Dylan cover song.

 

And so, we come to January 1965 ~ and the facts speak for themselves – apart from an isolated dorm room on a University campus or the intimate coffee lounges that were just beginning to sprout around the hipper suburbs of Sydney or Melbourne, Dylan was a complete unknown in Australia.

 

 

Addendum 2 ~ Thank You Musicians

 

For those who have made it this far, thank you for hanging in.

 

To me, it seems only right that those who have helped Dylan along the way should receive a bit of acknowledgement and recognition. So, I was curious about the musicians that helped Dylan make Bringing It All Back Home the classic album that it has become. What emerges from a ‘curiosity-driven’ deeper dive, is that these were seasoned session musicians who were willing to listen to and engage with, in all cases, the younger Dylan.

 

So, here are a few fun facts along with some stunningly amazing facts about each of these musicians:

 

Bobby Gregg (drums)

After his work on Bringing It All Back Home, Bobby was invited back into the CBS recording studio on 15-16 June 1965 to add drums to Dylan’s newly crafted song ‘Like A Rolling Stone’. And so it comes to pass that Bobby’s pistol-like snare drum shot opens not only the song but also signals the start to Dylan’s 6^th studio album Highway 61 Revisited.

 

After the first session on 15 June, Tom Wilson (producer for both Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel) invited Bobby to stay back and join a few other musicians to assist in a project to overdub Simon & Garfunkel’s original 1964 acoustic version of ‘The Sounds Of Silence’. The original single and associated album (Wednesday Morning 3AM) failed to generate any commercial interest (e.g. the album only sold an initial 3000 copies) and as a result Simon moved to London to reboot his solo career and Garfunkel resumed studies at Columbia University.

 

The overdub of the original version of ‘The Sounds Of Silence’ involved adding two electric guitars, electric bass and Bobby Gregg on drums. As Simon & Garfunkel were no longer an ‘entity’, they were not advised nor consulted on the overdub, which was released as a single on 12 September 1965. The remix single reached #1 on the US Billboard charts by the beginning of January 1966 (and top 10 elsewhere around the world), resulting in Simon and Garfunkel deciding to reform and hastily recording and releasing their second album, titled (unsurprisingly) Sounds Of Silence.

 

For Bobby Gregg, 15-16 June 1965 was certainly an auspicious couple of days in his career as a drummer ~ contributing to ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ (US #2 hit) and ‘The Sounds Of Silence’ remix (US #1 hit) ~ and what was Bobby’s remuneration for these three sessions of work? ~ most likely somewhere between US$300-$600.

 

Joe Macho (aka Joe Mack) (bass)

Like Bobby Gregg, after contributing to the electric side 1 of Bringing It All Back Home in mid-January 1965, Joe was invited back to play bass on ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ on 15 June 1965.

 

Other interesting gigs include:

 

• supporting The Supremes at their debut live performance at the Copacabana New York in August 1965. This live performance is captured on the November 1965 The Supremes At The Copa album;

• providing backing bass on three consecutive Jim Croce albums: You Don’t Mess Around With Jim (January 1972); Life And Times (January 1973); and I Got A Name (December 1973).

 

Bill Lee (bass)

As well as contributing to all songs on the electric side one of Bringing It All Back Home, Bill’s bass is the only musical accompaniment to Dylan’s side two rendition of ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’.

 

Prior to Dylan’s emergence on the scene, Bill had:

 

• supported Odetta at her 1960 Live at Carnegie Hall concert; and

• been part of the Ray Bryant Combo that backed Aretha Franklin on her debut 1961 Aretha album.

Subsequently, Bill had crossed paths with Dylan on Carolyn Hester’s 1962 self-titled album, where Dylan played harmonica, Bill played bass and Bruce Langhorne (refer below) played guitar and violin.

 

To add another twist in ‘The Sounds Of Silence’ story, Bill’s double bass can be heard on the original ‘acoustic’ version ~ but is somewhat overpowered in the electrified remix.

 

Bill’s eldest child, born in 1957, is Spike Lee.

 

Bruce Langhorne (guitar)

In addition to providing guitar on side one of the Bringing Ot All Back Home album, Bruce can also be heard providing the countermelody to Dylan’s side two rendition of ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’.

 

Bruce’s performing relationship with Dylan began early, providing guitar on Dylan first short-lived single ~ Mixed Up Confusion (A side) and Corrina, Corrina (B side) ~ released in December 1962.

 

Interestingly, Bruce (an early 1960’s Greenwich Village musician) is often referenced as an inspiration for ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ due to his playing of a large Turkish frame drum, with small bells attached, that gave it a tambourine sound. Regardless of the truth or otherwise of that claim, Bruce’s ‘drum’ is now in the collection housed at The Bob Dylan Centre in Tulsa.

 

Perhaps it is no surprise to discover that Bruce contributed tambourine to the 15-16 June 1965 recording of ‘Like A Rolling Stone’,

 

Al Gorgoni (guitar)

With over 700 recording credits, Al’s guitar can be heard on classic songs such as: ‘Walk Like A Man’; ‘Leader Of The Pack’; ‘Chapel Of Love’; ‘Brown Eyed Girl’; ‘I’m A Believer’; ‘At Seventeen’; ‘Sugar Sugar’; and ‘Brand New Key’.

 

As well as Bobby Gregg on drums (refer above), Al was also engaged to provide guitar to the chart-topping 15 June 1965 remix of ‘The Sounds Of Silence’.

 

Seven months before Al was invited to work with Dylan on the Bringing It All Back Home album, he had already, unknowingly, been part of Dylan folklore. Between 15-22 May 1964, Al was one of the session guitarists who supported Linda Mason in her history-making Dylan tribute album How Many Seas Must A White Dove Sail/Linda Mason Sings Bob Dylan. This was the first-ever complete album of Dylan cover songs to be released. I wonder how Al felt after backing Linda on mostly sweet, gentle, acoustic Dylan folk songs in May 1964 and then walking into the CBS Recording studio in January 1965 and belting out ‘Maggie’s Farm’?

 

Kenny Rankin (guitar)

A singer/songwriter in his own right, Kenny released fourteen studio albums between 1967 – 2002, with three of those albums entering the Billboard charts.

 

Kenny’s debut 1967 Mind-Dusters album includes a totally original, jazzy version of ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’.

 

Also from Mind-Dusters was an original song ‘Peaceful’, which Helen Reddy turned into a hit (#2 US; #12 Canada & #36 Australia) in 1973.

 

In 1974, Kenny recorded a cover of The Beatles ‘Blackbird’ on his Silver Morning album. McCartney was so impressed by this cover that he asked Kenny to sing it when ‘Lennon & McCartney’ were inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1987.

 

Paul Griffin (piano)

Paul’s reputation as a keyboard session musician is legendary. To isolate one contribution that substantiates the ‘legendary’ claim: it is Paul who is playing the virtuoso performance of gospel piano on Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’.

 

Along with Gregg, Macho and Langhorn (refer above), Paul was also invited back into CBS studios on 15-16 June 1965 for the recording of ‘Like A Rolling Stone’. In fact, Paul was ‘invited back’ to contribute to Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde On Blonde and Blood On The Tracks.

 

To name drop for a few lines, Paul can also be heard on: Wilson Pickett’s 1965 In The Midnight Hour; Van Morrison’s 1967 Blow Your Mind; John Denver’s 1969 Rhymes & Reasons; Carly Simon’s 1971 Carly Simon; Paul Simon’s 1973 There Goes Rhymin’ Simon; Bonnie Raitt’s 1974 Streetlights; and Steely Dan’s 1977 Aja.

 

Frank Owens (piano)

Frank filled in for Paul Griffin, who was otherwise unavailable, for the final day of recording the Bringing It All Back Home album ~ and Frank’s contribution can be heard on two tracks – ‘Maggie’s Farm’ and ‘On The Road Again’.

 

While Frank has numerous credits as a session musician, it seems his major claim to fame was to be awarded a gold disc for creating the ‘rhythm concept’ to Tony Orlando and Dawn’s ‘Tie A Yellow Ribbon Around The Old Oak Tree’.

 

 

More from Karl Dubravs can be read HERE.

 

 

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