Dylan Cover Songs: Every Song Vol.10 ~ Outtakes, Demos, Singles Only & Co-Writes (May 1964 – November 1965)

 

In ‘Every Song Vol.5’ published on this site on 17 September 2025, I showcased the various songs Dylan had written and recorded between July 1962 and September 1963 but had not featured on a contemporaneous studio album (i.e. ‘outtakes and demoes’). This article will do likewise, although the timeframe will shift forward to May 1964 – November 1965.

 

This article will conclude with a look at the treacherous issue of publishing rights for Dylan’s compositions.

 

 

‘I’ll Keep It With Mine’

 

Song #73 in Dylan’s anthology, written around May 1964.

 

There are some mixed messages relating to the origins of this song. The first story, and my preferred version, is that the song was written for the emerging German actress Nico after Ben Carruthers* introduced Dylan to her in Berlin in May 1964 ~ and Dylan spent the next week, including his 23^rd birthday, in her company. The alternate story is that Judy Collins, who was the first to record a cover version of the song (a non-charting single released on 18 March 1966), says that Dylan wrote the song for her. It is equally plausible that Dylan was able to make both stories true.

 

*How Ben Carruthers fits into Dylan’s world in 1964/65 was explored in some detail in the ‘Every Song Vol.9’ article and will be revisited again when song #94 ‘Jack O’Diamonds’ is discussed below.

 

Ultimately, Dylan did three different version of ‘I’ll Keep It With Mine’ and each was eventually and officially released on a Dylan compilation/bootleg series album. The three versions were:

 

• a simple piano-based demo version, recorded in June 1964 for Witmark & Sons, and this was officially released on the 2010 Bootleg Series Vol.9 – The Witmark Demos 1962-1964 compilation album. It is the timing of this first version which suggests the authenticity of Nico being the inspiration for the song;

• a Columbia studio version, with Dylan playing piano and harmonica, recorded on 14 January 1965 during the Bringing It All Back Home sessions. This version was released on the 1985 Biograph box set^; and

• a second Columbia studio version, with full band backing, recorded in late January 1966 during the Blonde On Blonde sessions. This third and final version was released on the 1991 The Bootleg Series Vols 1- 3: Rare & Unreleased 1961 – 1991 boxset.

 

The chosen cover of ‘I’ll Keep It With Mine’ is by none other that Nico from her debut solo October 1967 Chelsea Girl album:

 

 

 

 

‘I’ll Keep It With Mine’ has been covered by 34 artists and is ranked as Dylan’s 63^rd most covered song.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: Judy Collins, Fairport Convention, Nico, Marianne Faithfull, Richard & Linda Thompson.

 

No Australian artist has covered the song.

 

Dylan has never performed the song in concert.

 

Trivia: Nico’s first introduction into the modern music scene was in April 1966, when she began a one-off Andy Warhol inspired collaboration with the Velvet Underground resulting in the unimaginatively titled March 1967 Velvet Underground and Nico album. This album, along with Nico’s subsequent Chelsea Girl album, were produced by Dylan’s former producer Tom Wilson.

 

^The Biograph box set was released in November 1985. It originally comprised a five-vinyl LP set or three-cassette tape set. The box set featured 53 tracks, spanning Dylan’s career between 1962 – 1981, including eighteen previously unreleased studio outtakes/live performances. Despite the inclusion of unreleased material, the box set failed to ‘light up’ the charts – peaking only in NZ #8; Norway 29; and US #33.

 

 

‘Mama You Been On My Mind’

 

Song #74 in Dylan’s anthology, written around June 1964 while Dylan was in songwriting retreat mode in Vouliagmeni (a small seaside village just outside Athens).

 

Dylan recorded this song during the 9 June 1964 sessions for the Another Side Of Bob Dylan album but decided to place it in the ‘outtake’ bin.

 

Coming immediately after ‘I’ll Keep It With Mine’, it is feasible that this was another song inspired by Nico but then again it could have been inspired by any or all or none of Dylan’s former/current love interests.

 

The chosen cover of ‘Mama You Been On My Mind’ is by Washington State alt-folk singer-songwriter Laura Veirs from the 2010 Subterranean Home Sick Blues – A Tribute To Bob Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home compilation album:

 

 

 

 

‘Mama You Been On My Mind’ has been covered by 52 artists and is ranked as Dylan’s 42^nd most covered song.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, Judy Collins. Linda Ronstadt, Rod Stewart, Rick Nelson, Jeff Buckley, Betty LaVette, Jack Johnson.

 

Australian artists who have covered this song are: Doug Ashdown, Andrew Kidman.

 

In terms of Dylan concerts, it has been performed on 201 occasions ~ making it his 96^th most performed song ~ which is not bad for a song relegated to the ‘outtakes’ pile. The song debuted at the Philharmonic Hall, New York City on 31 October 1964 (in duet with Joan Baez) and its last outing was at The Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA on 10 October 2009.

 

Trivia: Joan Baez has performed her version of this song ~ ‘Daddy You Been On My Mind’ ~ on ten occasions, including three occasions when she sang with Dylan: Forest Hills Tennis Stadium (8 August 1964); NY Philharmonic Hall (31 October 1964); and Madison Square Gardens (8 December 1975).

 

 

‘Denise’

 

Song #79 in the Dylan anthology, recorded on 9 June 1964 during the Another Side Of Bob Dylan sessions.

 

The song, at least musically, is an alternate take on ‘Black Crow Blues’. It was quickly and quietly deposited in the ‘outtakes’ pile.

 

Here is Dylan’s original version:

 

 

 

 

For the record, serial Dylan cover artist Michel Montecrossa is the only artist who is known to have recorded a version of this song but his recordings are not readily available.

 

And of course, Dylan has never performed the song in concert.

 

 

‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now’

 

In July/August 1964, shortly after the recording of the Another Side Of Bob Dylan album, Dylan began crafting multi-dimensional songs such as ‘Gates Of Eden’ and ‘It’s Alright Ma, (I’m Only Bleeding)’. It is also around this time that he penned the one-dimensional ‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now’ ~ song #84 in his anthology.

 

Dylan premiered the song in concert at the New York Philharmonic on 31 October 1964. Several studio versions were recorded in mid January 1965 (during the Bringing It All Back Home sessions) however they were placed in the ‘outtake’ pile only to resurface some twenty-seven years later, beginning with the 1991 Bootleg Series Vol.1-3.

 

Manfred Mann gained access to the song, which they would have heard in the Royal Albert Hall during Dylan’s 9 May 1965 performance, and turned it into a UK #1 hit in September 1965. From there, the song took on a new lease of life, and Dylan (and Grossman) gratefully accepted royalty payments.

 

The chosen cover of ‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now’ is by Candy Zappa (Frank’s younger sister) from her 2011 ..To Be Perfectly Frank.. album:

 

 

 

 

‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now’ has been covered by 42 artists and is ranked as Dylan’s 54^th most covered song.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: Manfred Mann (hit song); Mae West*, Rick Nelson, Flying Burrito Brothers; Cowboy Junkies; Lloyd Cole; Fairport Convention (French version).

 

The only Australian artist to have covered the song is Weddings, Parties, Anything.

 

In terms of Dylan concerts, it has been performed on only 19 occasions in a one-year window that included the eight concerts that made up his England tour in May 1965. The song debuted at the Boston Symphony Hall on 24 October 1964 and had its last outing at the Newport Folk Festival on 24 July 1965.

 

Trivia: *Mae West’s version of ‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now’ was featured in my ‘Thespians Do Dylan’ article published on this site on 14 March 2025.

 

 

‘Farewell Angelina’

 

Song #86 in the Dylan anthology, written somewhere between December 1964 – early January 1965. It is most likely that this song, based on the melody to the Scottish folk song ‘Farewell To Tarwathie’, was written for Joan Baez.

 

The Joan Baez link is based on several factors:

 

• Dylan had spent a fair proportion of time with Baez, on and off stage, for four-five months prior to this song being written;

• around December 1964, Dylan and Baez had a significant falling out in terms of the role of ‘song and the singer’ in bringing people together and being a positive agent of change in relation to social and political issues in the US; and

• despite continuing to share a stage with Baez up to late April 1965, Dylan’s affections had secretly shifted towards Sara Lownds and he had concluded that he no longer needed Baez’s patronage to advance his own career nor her affections in matters of the heart.

 

Dylan recorded one take only of ‘Farewell Angelina’ on 13 January 1965, during the Bringing It All Back Home sessions. This take was put in the ‘outtakes’ pile and not released until the 1991 Bootleg Series Vol.1-3.

 

Nevertheless, a copy of the outtake was fortuitously provided to Baez (and it seems no-one else). Baez premiered her version of the song at Newport Folk Festival on 22 July 1965 as well as recording her own studio version for release as a single and, as if to make some grand statement, as the title track to her October 1965 Farewell Angelina album.

 

By December 1965, Baez’s single had reached #26 on the UK charts. Interestingly, the single had ‘Queen Of Hearts’ on the ‘b’ side, a traditional song that Baez had been performing in concert for several years. If ‘Farewell Angelina’ was a ‘farewell’ song from Dylan to Baez, then the lyrics to ‘Queen Of Hearts’ are the perfect response. Read them Here.

 

The chosen cover of ‘Farewell Angelina’ is by the traditional Irish folk band Danu from their 2005 When All Is Said And Done album:

 

 

 

 

Most covers of the song have been based on Joan Baez’s 1965 version – which was the first time the song was commercially available.

 

‘Farewell Angelina’ has been covered by 44 artists and is ranked as Dylan’s 52^nd most covered song (which isn’t too bad for a discarded outtake).

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: Joan Baez, Jeff Buckley, John Mellencamp.

 

No Australian artist has covered the song.

 

Dylan has never performed the song in concert.

 

Trivia: Baez has performed ‘Farewell Angelina’ in concert on 154 occasions ~ making it her 7^th most performed song and her most performed Dylan cover. It seems that Baez certainly claimed the song as her own ~ and I believe that Dylan would have been most comfortable with that outcome, as if it were his farewell gift to her.

 

 

‘Sitting On A Barbed-Wire Fence’

 

Song #90 in the Dylan anthology, was written in early January 1965 and first tested out (once only) in the studio on 13 January 1965, during the Bringing It All Back Home recording sessions. Dylan brought the song back to the studio on 15 June 1965, during the Highway 61 Revisited recording sessions. After a further six unsuccessful attempts, the song was abandoned and put into the ‘outtakes’ pile. Eventually, one of the unsuccessful takes was included in the 1991 Bootleg Series Vol 1-3: Rare & Unreleased box set.

 

The chosen cover of ‘Sitting On A Barbed-Wire Fence’ is by Thurston, Kim & Epic* from the 1992 Outlaw Blues Dylan tribute album:

 

 

 

 

*Thurston, Kim & Epic are: Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon (ex-Sonic Youth); and Kevin Godfrey, an experimental British musician (alias Epic Soundtracks ~ ex-Crime & City Solution 1985/86).

 

‘Sitting On A Barbed-Wire Fence’ has only been covered by three artists, including serial Dylan cover artist Michel Montecrossa (of course).

 

Dylan has never performed the song in concert.

 

 

‘Jack O’Diamonds’

 

Ben Carruthers took it upon himself to create a song based upon some poetry/prose that Dylan had penned for the sleeve notes of his 1964 Another Side Of Bob Dylan album.

 

Carruthers (as well as being an actor) had worked as a secretary for Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman during 1964 and it is this connection that made the whole thing possible ~ and resulted in the first co-write in Dylan’s anthology: song #94 – ‘Jack O Diamonds’ – lyrics by Dylan/music by Carruthers.

 

Around May 1965, producer Shel Talmy cobbled together musicians to support Carruthers in the recording of ‘Jack O’Diamonds’ at IBC Studios in Portland Place, London. The ‘backing group’ dubbed ‘The Deep’ included 21-year-old session musicians Jimmy Page (guitar) and Nicky Hopkins (piano). The song was released in the UK on the Parlophone label in June 1965.

 

The chosen cover of ‘Jack O’Diamonds’ is by Richard Thompson from his 2004 The Chrono Show live album:

 

 

 

 

Taking Ben Carruthers & The Deep’s June 1965 recording as the original, the song has been covered by four artists.

 

No Australian artist has covered this song, and (of course) Dylan has never performed the song in concert.

 

Trivia: Fairport Convention covered ‘Jack O’Diamonds’ on their 1968 debut self-titled album. Richard Thompson was an original member of Fairport Convention, hence his initial connection to the song.

 

More Trivia: Given the musical DNA and longevity of Richard Thompson’s career, some may be surprised to know that he has only very very rarely ventured into the Dylan songbook. Apart from ‘Jack O’Diamonds’ (which some may argue only rates as a Dylan song on a technicality), Thompson has only (barely) covered two other Dylan songs:

 

• ‘I’ll Keep It With Mine’ (a Dylan outtake that opened this article) ~ recorded ‘live’ in 1982 while Richard was touring with his (then) wife Linda. The recording has Linda on lead vocals and was released as a bonus track on the 2010 re-issue of their Shoot Out The Lights album;

• ‘This Wheel’s On Fire’ (a song co-written by Dylan and Rick Danko during their 1967 Woodstock/Basement Tapes era). Richard recorded this song as a contribution to a Dylan tribute album titled Dylan …Revisited – 14 Of His Greatest Songs Reinterpreted For Uncut. The Dylan tribute CD was included in the June 2021 edition of Uncut to celebrate Dylan’s 80^th birthday.

 

 

‘Love Is Just A Four Letter Word’

 

Song #95 in Dylan’s anthology, ‘Love Is Just A Four Letter Word’ first became ‘known’ during the filming of the ‘Don’t Look Back’ documentary in England in May 1965.

 

Joan Baez is captured on film in a hotel room singing a few verses and asking Dylan if he has finished the song. This suggests that Dylan had started writing the song and shared what he had so far with Baez well before the start of the England tour in late April 1965.

 

When Dylan said that he hadn’t finished it and that he was not ever likely to finish it, Baez adopted the song ~ although it took her until December 1968 to record and release the song on her Any Day Now double album ~ which consisted of sixteen Dylan cover songs.

 

The chosen cover of ‘Love Is Just A Four Letter Word’ is by Joan Baez and Earl Scruggs from the 1971 Earl Scruggs – His Family And Friends album:

 

 

 

 

Taking Baez’s December 1968 recording as the original, the song has been covered by five ‘no name’ artists.

 

No Australian artist has covered this song, and (once again, of course) Dylan has never performed the song in concert.

 

Trivia: The first verified time that Baez performed ‘Love Is Just A Four Letter Word’ in concert is in Montreal, Canada on 17 July 1969. She has subsequently performed the song in concert a further sixty-three times, with its last outing in Portland, Oregon on 5 November 2018 during her Fare Thee Well Tour.

 

 

‘Positively 4^th Street’

 

Song #100 in Dylan’s anthology, written somewhere between June-mid July 1965.

 

Despite Dylan abandoning his West 4^th Street, Greenwich Village apartment around April 1964 and residing (primarily) in Woodstock (some 2 hours drive north of New York City) as well as abandoning the folk music scene that permeated most nooks and crannies of Greenwich Village, Dylan continued to hold court in various Greenwich Village cafes with songwriters/musicians/locals he had befriended along the way whenever he was in the city.

 

Unfortunately (for some), Dylan returned to the USA after his extremely successful May 1965 English tour with a particularly nasty streak flowing through his songwriting veins (maybe the result of the virus he caught in Portugal; or maybe the influence of his closest companion Bobby Neuwirth; or maybe it was always part of Dylan’s DNA). The first victim/s of this nasty streak were encountered in ‘Like A Rolling Stone’.

 

Now whether it was paranoia or something somebody said or did or didn’t do, Dylan felt an urgent need to express his disgust at someone (unspecified) who had at some time definitely wandered 4^th Street and done him wrong.

 

Now it may be that Dylan was simply playing mind games with those who had befriended him since early 1961 or maybe he had a particular individual in mind when his ‘Positively 4^th Street‘ lyrics vented outrage at being treated so badly (as if Dylan was a saint as far as personal relationships go ~ as if), but it certainly caused one almighty stir in the Village as the locals tried, but failed, to work out who the ‘you’ was.

 

Dylan recorded ‘Positively 4^th Street’ during the first afternoon of the Highway 61 Revisited sessions (29 July). For reasons best known to Dylan, the song was not included on the album, but rather issued as a single on 7 September 1965, one week after the release of the Highway 61 Revisited album. The single did particularly well on the singles chart ~ #7 US; #8 UK; #13 Netherlands; #38 Australia.

 

For many who were not Dylan fans at the time as well as everyone born after 1947, the song may have been lost in the mist of time ~ however, the powers that be decided to include ‘Positively 4^th Street’ as the penultimate track on Dylan’s March 1967 Greatest Hits album ~ a vinyl record/cassette/CD that adorned every Dylan fan’s collection, regardless of birth year.

 

The chosen cover of ‘Positively 4^th Street is by Brazilian bassist, singer and songwriter Rodrigo Santos from his 2010 Waiting For A Friend album:

 

 

 

 

‘Positively 4^th Street’ has been covered by 60 artists and is ranked as Dylan’s 36^th most covered song.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: The Byrds, Lucinda Williams, Jerry Garcia, Simply Red, Bryan Ferry.

 

No Australian artist has covered the song.

 

In terms of Dylan concerts, it has been performed on 379 occasions ~ making it his 58^th most performed song. The song debuted at the Carnegie Hall, NY on 1 October 1965 and its last outing was at The Outlaw Music Festival Darien Centre on 8 August 2025.

 

Trivia: Dylan heaped praise on Johnny Rivers’ June 1968 version of ‘Positively 4^th Street’. Johnny’s version, and what Dylan said about it, can be reviewed in my International Style #11: Dylan’s Favourite Dylan Covers published on this site on 24 May 2026.

 

 

‘Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window’

 

On 30 July 1965, during recording of the Bringing It All Back Home album, Dylan introduced song #102 from his anthology ~‘Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window’. The official sheets from the recording session reveal that, despite twenty-one takes of the song, there was no suitable master take.

 

The song re-emerged on 1 October 1965, at Carnegie Hall, New York City, when Dylan backed by The Hawks included ‘Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window’ on the set list for its debut live performance.

 

On 5 October 1965, as Dylan began to record his next album in the Columbia Recording Studio, New York City, he attempted two further takes of ‘Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window’ ~ but failed to get what he was looking for.

 

Dylan returned to the studio on 30 November 1965, with several trusted musicians including four members of The Hawks (later to be known as The Band): Robbie Robertson, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson. They did a further ten takes of ‘Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window’ and achieved a master take. That take would be issued as a stand alone single (rather than be held back for the next album) and was released on 21 December 1965 (just in time for a last minute Xmas stocking gift).

 

The single failed to excite the masses (or fill too many Xmas stockings) and peaked at #17 UK, #58 US, #98 Australia. The song was subsequently included on various compilation albums ~ 1978 Masterpieces, 1985 Biograph and 2015 Bootleg Series Vol.12 – The Cutting Edge 1965-1966.

 

The chosen cover of ‘Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window’ is by Jimi Hendrix Experience from the October 1967 vaults of the BBC Sessions ~ an album which was posthumously compiled and released in June 1998:

 

 

 

 

‘Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window’ has been covered by 22 artists and sits outside Dylan’s top 100 most covered song.

 

Major artists who have covered the song include: Jimi Hendrix Experience, Transvision Vamp, The Hold Steady, Wilko Johnson/Roger Daltrey.

 

No Australian artist has covered the song.

 

The 1 October 1965 – Carnegie Hall performance of ‘Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window’ mentioned at the beginning of this entry, ended up being the one and only occasion that Dylan performed the song in concert.

 

Trivia: All up, apart from Dylan, there have been ten artists who have performed live versions of ‘Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window’ for a collective total of 48 times. The most performances have been done by Wilko Johnson (ex-Dr. Feelgood) (17 times) and Jimi Hendrix (10).

 

 

‘Jet Pilot’

 

On 5 October 1965, in Columbia Recording Studios, Dylan introduced song #108 in his anthology ~ ‘Jet Pilot’. After seven unsuccessful takes, the song (all 1min:26sec of it) was shelved and never revisited.

 

For posterity, one of the unsuccessful studio takes was eventually released on the 1985 Biograph compilation box set.

 

The chosen cover of ‘Jet Pilot’ is by US Dylan tribute band Nob Dylan And His Nobsoletes from their 2005 Positively 12 Stiff Dylans! album:

 

 

 

 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, apart from serial Dylan cover artist Michel Montecrossa and the tribute band Nob Dylan And His Nobsoletes, no-one else has bothered to cover this song or to perform the song live ~ and that also includes Dylan.

 

 

‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’

 

At the same recording session as immediately above (i.e. 5 October 1965), Dylan also introduced song #109 in his anthology ~ ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’. In an identical fate to ‘Jet Pilot’ above, after seven unsuccessful takes, the song was shelved and never revisited.

 

And once again, for posterity, one of the unsuccessful takes was eventually released on the 1985 Biograph compilation box set.

 

The chosen cover of ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ is by Peter Keene from his 2002 Milton Street album:

 

 

 

 

‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ has been covered by six artists, although none of them are household names.

 

And no surprise, Dylan has never performed the song in concert.

 

 

‘Tell Me, Momma’

 

Song #110 in Dylan’s anthology, made its first appearance in concert at The Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Columbus, OH on 19 November 1965*.

 

The song seems to have been written specifically to open the electric second set of Dylan’s concerts and occupied this pivotal role for every one of the forty-eight concerts on Dylan’s 1966 World Tour ~ which included Dylan’s first ever concerts in Australia.

 

In late July 1966, some two months after concluding his World Tour, Dylan was involved in a motorcycle incident and withdrew from all commercially-orientated music commitments ‘until further notice’. Amidst all the uncertainty that shrouded Dylan’s withdrawal, ‘Tell Me, Momma’ was never to be heard of again ~ other than in the emerging world of unofficial bootleg recordings.

 

The first official release of ‘Tell Me, Momma’ was on the 1998 The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966. The ‘Royal Albert Hall’ Concert.

 

Given this unique backstory, it is perhaps appropriate to showcase this song with Dylan and The Hawks’ live performance from Paris 1966:

 

 

 

 

‘Tell Me, Momma’ has only been covered by three artists. One of those artists is Cat Power, who in late 2022 decided to re-create the entire fifteen-song performance that Dylan and The Hawks took on the 1966 World Tour. Cat Power subsequently travelled the world performing the entire fifteen song set on seventy-five occasions between November 2022 – June 2025 (this compares to Dylan’s original forty-eight concert World Tour from February – May 1966.

 

Trivia: *There are differing details about the first performance of ‘Tell Me, Momma’. The Setlist wiki page records the 19 November 1965 Columbus, Ohio concert as the first occasion (as per commentary above). Other reference sites, including bobdylan.com and the ‘Tell Me, Momma’ wikipedia page, suggests that the song was first performed by Dylan and The Hawks in concert on 5 February 1966 at Westchester County Center, White Plains, NY at the start of the 1966 World Tour. My view is that Dylan and The Hawks would have wanted to ‘trial’ the previously unknown song in its critical pivotal spot (i.e. opening the electric set) in advance of the official launch of the World Tour and a ‘trial’ in late 1965 makes sense.

 

 

This concludes the review of Dylan ‘outtakes, demoes, singles and co-writes’ between May 1964 to November 1965. The Dylan anthology is up to date and stands at 110 songs.

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Introducing ‘Dwarf Music’

 

Note of warning: We are entering murky waters, full of greed, deceit and incomplete historical detail and, as such, the absolute accuracy of what follows cannot be guaranteed. However, I have tried to make sense of it all as best I can.

 

Publishing rights and royalty payments were a hotly contentious issue during Dylan’s early career. Multitudes of similar stories fill many other talented songwriters’ biographies.

 

Initially (around December 1961), John Hammond Snr. (the producer of Dylan’s first studio album) suggested that Dylan sign on with Leeds Music as a potential source of additional income. Although, as a ‘virtual unknown’, the dozen or so songs that Dylan logged with Leeds Music failed to generate any interest or income by the time Albert Grossman entered Dylan’s world in July 1962.

 

Once Albert Grossman realised the potential for royalty income (specifically with stable artists like Peter, Paul & Mary and Dylan originals like ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’), he arranged for Dylan to transfer publishing rights from Leeds Music to Witmark & Sons. For a token payment of $500, Leeds Music was quite pleased to release Dylan from his publishing contract that, at that point in time, had generated $0 in sales income.

 

Unknown to Dylan, Grossman had a convenient financial arrangement with Witmark & Sons whereby he received 25% of any income generated by any artists/songs referred by him. So, for any Dylan composition, Dylan received 50% of royalty payments; Witmark & Sons received 25% and Grossman received 25%.

 

But that is not the end of the story re: Grossman’s ‘return on investment’. Under his management contract, Grossman was entitled to 25% of all Dylan’s earnings, which included album sales, concert income and royalty payments.

 

The nett effect of Grossman’s financial arrangement with Witmark & Sons PLUS Grossman’s management contract with Dylan meant that for every $1 of royalty payment generated by a Dylan composition, Dylan would receive 50c minus Grossman’s 25% management fee ~ i.e. 37.50c. Grossman, on the other hand, would receive 25c from Witmark for ‘spotting fees’ plus his 25% fee of Dylan’s 50c for managing Dylan’s affairs ~ i.e 37.50c.

 

In mid 1965, ever mindful of the earning potential by his number one client, Grossman proposed to Dylan that they cut out the middle-man (i.e. Witmark & Sons) and create a joint venture publishing company ‘Dwarf Music’. Dylan believed that this would result in 100% of the royalties belonging to him as the ‘composer’ less Grossman’s 25% management fee.

 

Given the exploding degree of interest in Dylan’s anthology, the new arrangement made commercial sense. However, Grossman relied heavily (and correctly) on knowing that Dylan would not be reading the fine print whereby Dylan retained his 50% royalty share that had operated under the superceded Witmark & Sons deal, but Grossman would now also receive 50%, (instead of his previous 25% ‘spotter fee’) under the joint venture arrangement.

 

However, and it is a big ‘however’, Grossman continued to receive his 25% management fee of all and any income generated by Dylan. In effect, for all income generated on original Dylan songs published by Dwarf Music, Dylan would end up with 50% less Grossman’s fee of 25% of 50% (i.e. 37.5% ~ the exact same amount as under the Witmark & Sons contract) and Grossman would end up with 50% plus 25% of Dylan’s 50% (i.e. 62.5%). The only winner from this new deal, other than greed, was Grossman.

 

Is it any wonder that once Dylan tweaked to the reality of the financial arrangements (around late 1968 while he was biding his time away from touring and enjoying his rustic family life in Woodstock) that it all ended up in court and the contractual manager/client relationship was dissolved in July 1970.

 

In latter years, Dylan would create new publishing company entities, but these will be discussed in more detail when the ‘Every Song’ series coincides with those events.

 

For the records, the last song in Dylan’s anthology to be registered with Witmark & Sons was song #107 ~ ‘Desolation Row’. The first song to be registered with Dwarf Music was song #108 ~ ‘Jet Pilot’.

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

 

Final comment:

 

When the ‘Every Song’ series resumes in mid-August 2026, we will turn the clock back to the turbulent life and times of Dylan from August 1965 to June 1966 – including, his ‘electric’ 1966 world tour and the recording of the first-ever modern music double album Blonde On Blonde (not that such a concept was on anyone’s agenda at the time).

 

 

More from Karl Dubravs can be read HERE.

 

 

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