Almanac Music: Dylan Cover Songs – Every Song Vol. 2: March – December 1962

In this second article in the ‘Every Song’ series, we begin in mid-March 1962 (the release of Dylan’s 1^st studio album Bob Dylan) and chronicle the original songs written up to mid-December 1962 (the release of Dylan’s 1^st single).

 

Warning: This nine month period in Dylan’s songwriting career is one of his most prolific, producing 23 original songs at an average rate of 2.5 songs per month. It is also quite ‘messy’ as Dylan continues to master his trade, borrow from and explore different musical genres, and decide on which songs to keep for his second (as yet unnamed) studio album and which songs to leave behind as outtakes or ‘demos for hire’.

 

Of the 23 songs written during this period:

 

• 4 were recorded as demos only;
• 5 were recorded for Broadside Records using the Blind Boy Grunt pseudonym and never intended for official release under Dylan’s name;
• 2 were recorded for the 2^nd album but subsequently became outtakes;
• 1 was recorded as a stand-alone single;
• 7 were recorded and eventually released on Dylan’s 2^nd studio album, the May 1963 The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan;
• 3 were earmarked for a potential Bob Dylan In Concert album (that never eventuated); and
• 1 was recorded but held back for Dylan’s 3^rd studio album, the February 1964 The Times They Are A-Changin’.

 

Second warning: The 12 songs to be fully featured in this article are those listed against the first four dot points above. These demos, unofficial recordings, outtakes and first single, were buried deep in the recording archives and studio vaults and only saw the light with the release of:

 

• the November 1985 Biograph box set;
• the March 1991 The Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3: Rare & Unreleased 1961-1991 box set; or
• the October 2010 The Bootleg Series Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos 1962-1964 compilation.

 

As such, most of these twelve songs have been rarely covered and in a number of cases, the covers are not of the finest quality. However, the overarching aim of this Every Song series is to reveal every song penned by Dylan that has been covered by ‘someone’ and in that spirit the articles will not hold back from the good, the bad or the ugly of Dylan covers.

 

Final warning (for now): The ‘Track’ numbering that will be used throughout this entire series is based on numbering each of Dylan’s 600+ original compositions chronologically from when the song was written (and not when it was released). To give the best sense of Dylan’s growth as a songwriter, all songs written between March-December 1962 will be listed, in order of composition. However, the eleven songs referenced in the last three dot points above will be listed in italics and held back from further discussion until the article on that specific album is published later in the year.

 

So, let’s begin Every Song Vol.2 where Every Song Vol.1 concludes.

 

Dylan’s debut self-titled album was released on 19 March 1962, some five months after he first entered Columbia Studios to record the albums’ eleven songs (nine covers and two originals). It would be fair to say that Dylan felt annoyed by the delay and had moved so far beyond what the album offered, that he felt embarrassed by the album once it finally arrived. Although the album received some positive reviews, the overall impact of the album can be summed up in two words: ‘nothing happened’.

 

Dylan was in no mood to promote his debut album. In fact, apart from ‘Song To Woody’ (which found sentimental favour in concert performances between 1988-2002), the other songs on the debut album quickly and permanently faded from Dylan’s repertoire.

 

Dylan did, however, return to Minneapolis to visit family and friends in late March, armed with his brand-new debut album. This hometown visit served two main purposes:

 

• firstly, Dylan’s debut album would not have found its way onto the local regional record store shelves and Dylan would have been keen to share his album and his emerging success with his high school and Dinkytown friends (most of whom doubted Dylan’s ability to make it in New York); and
• secondly, it is important to realise that Dylan’s financial position was always tenuous during this formative period in New York. Dylan’s coffeehouse performances around Greenwich Village rarely generated any income beyond audience tips; the Columbia Studio recording contract and debut album sales were unlikely to generate any significant sustainable income stream (it has been reported that Dylan’s first royalty payment for the debut album was barely enough to pay his electricity bill); and, it was far too early for Dylan’s song demo/publishing deal with Leeds Music to generate any income at all. Dylan still required financial support from his family to enable him to maintain his very basic living conditions in New York and to continue to pursue his dream of becoming an independent and self-funded singer/songwriter.

 

 

April 1962

 

Returning back to New York, Dylan and 18-year old girlfriend Suze Rotolo settled into an increasingly uneasy domestic situation in the West 4^th Street apartment. Plans were beginning to take shape for Suze to accompany her mum and stepfather to Italy from early June, where Suze would immerse herself in an artists’ retreat for several months. Dylan preferred that Suze stay in New York and support him.

 

Amidst this bubbling conflict, Dylan still needed to maintain a self-directed momentum on his career and this required a multi-pronged approach.

 

At the reputational level, Dylan had a recently completed song ‘I Will Not Go Under The Ground’ (aka ‘Let Me Die In My Footsteps’) published in the April 1962 Broadside Magazine #3. The magazine also mentioned the recent release of Dylan’s debut album.

 

On the songwriting level, Dylan composed:

 

Track 15 – Blowin’ In The Wind

 

This is clearly a career defining moment for Dylan – who is still one month away from celebrating his 21^st birthday. Discussion of this song will be deferred until the article devoted specifically to The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album is published.

 

On the recording level, Dylan entered Columbia Studios on 24 and 25 April to begin laying down tracks for his second studio album. The new album was tentatively called Bob Dylan Blues and was (again) being produced by John Hammond. Of the eight songs recorded at these sessions, none made it onto the final album (eventually titled The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan). Half of the tracks recorded were covers of blues songs by Big Joe Williams, Robert Johnson, Brownie McGhee – which perhaps reveals a cautiousness on Dylan’s and Hammond’s part towards Dylan’s songwriting prowess.

 

May 1962

 

Dylan invested significant energy in getting better known by associating more closely with those involved with Broadside Magazine and the Broadside Show on WBAI-FM Radio, most notably Gil Turner, Pete Seeger and Sis Cunningham. ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ (lyrics and music notation) was featured on the front 2 pages of the late May 1962 Broadside Magazine #6 along with the following commentary: ‘only 20 years old, some consider Bob Dylan to be the nearest composer we have had to Woody Guthrie for many years…’

 

Two further songs composed by Dylan around this time were:

 

Track 16 – Quit Your Lowdown Ways

 

This song is based, melodically, on Sleepy John Estes’ ‘Milk Cow Blues’. Lyrically, the song chastises a woman for her loose morals – which was a typical 1930’s blues theme.

 

Dylan recorded ‘Quit Your Lowdown Ways’ at Columbia Studios on 9 July for inclusion on his second studio album, however it soon became a studio outtake. The song was eventually released on the March 1991 The Bootleg Series Volume 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991 box set.

 

There have been less than ten covers of ‘Quit Your Lowdown Ways’, including a 1966 cover by Australian Doug Ashdown and a 1969 cover by The Hollies. The preferred cover for this article dates from October 1963 and is the first ever cover of this song – courtesy of Peter, Paul & Mary, an internationally successful group that was individually hand-picked, manufactured and managed by Albert Grossman:

 

 

 

Track 17 – Baby I’m In The Mood For You

 

This song was influenced by a Jesse Fuller tune and significantly (from Dylan’s songwriting perspective), is the first song Dylan wrote that was dedicated to Suze. Lyrically, it rattles off a list of lightweight images that creates a fun, throwaway song.

 

The song was recorded at Columbia Studios on 9 July, although it was quickly set aside as a studio outtake. The song was eventually released on the November 1985 Biograph box set.

 

There have only been seven recorded covers of ‘Baby, I’m In The Mood For You’ – the first from Odetta (another Grossman ‘stable artist’) – however, I couldn’t go past sharing this Myley Cyrus cover from the Jimmy Fallon show in 2016.

 

 

 

 

On 24 May 1962, Dylan turned 21. Importantly, he was now able to legally sign contacts in his own name.

 

 

June 1962

 

On 8 June, Suze set sail for the eight day voyage to Italy with her mother and stepfather. Suze planned to do a summer course at University of Perugia and then an intensive period studying art at the Academia in Florence. Initially, Suze was expected to remain overseas for around three to four months.

 

The information on what Dylan did in the first month of Suze’s absence seems to consistently convey a person in perpetual grieving mode and not looking after himself – e.g. drinking too much, neglecting his personal appearance and hygiene; most likely getting into drugs – and this reflected in lacklustre coffeehouse performances. Despite this, Dylan still seemed to maintain space for his songwriting – and Suze’s absence presented the previously untapped reservoir of ‘lover’s grief’ as a source of inspiration for Dylan to explore.

 

The first songs to emerge from Dylan’s ’grief-stricken’ period were:

 

Track 18 – Down The Highway

 

Written using a standard traditional blues melody, this song has Dylan reflecting upon the loss of Suze to the call of ‘Italy, Italy’.

 

Track 19 – Bob Dylan’s Blues

 

In this basic blues tune, Dylan seems to be pulling unrelated images together and having as bit of fun with the lyrics..

 

Discussion on these two songs will be deferred until the article devoted specifically to The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album is published.

 

 

July 1962

 

On 9 July, Dylan re-entered Columbia Studios to lay down eight tracks for his second studio album – including five original songs: ‘Baby I’m In The Mood For You’; ‘Quit Your Lowdown Ways’; ‘The Death of Emmett Till’; ‘Blowin’ In the Wind’; and ‘Down The Highway’. Only the latter two tracks were retained for the album.

 

Elsewhere, in early July, some mysterious activity was working its way through Dylan’s (up to now) naïve and innocent world of becoming a successful singer/songwriter. Albert Grossman had been monitoring Dylan’s progress for the past year and having heard ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ was now making moves to establish a formal management relationship.

 

Before that though, Grossman was keen to have Dylan’s publishing contract moved from Leeds Music to Witmark & Sons. Unbeknownst to Dylan, Grossman had an arrangement with Witmark to split the royalties from artists referred to Witmark by Grossman as follows: 50% to the artist, 25% to Witmark and 25% to Grossman. In real terms this meant that the artist (e.g. Dylan) would receive 2 cents per record sold when another artist (e.g. Peter, Paul & Mary) released one of the referred artists’ original songs, while Witmark (the company) and Grossman (the referer) would each receive 1 cent per record sold.

 

Dylan agreed that a move to the more prestigious Witmark & Sons would be better for him in the long run. Accordingly, Artie Mogul (an associate of Grossman) gave Dylan $1000 to buy back his contract from Leeds Music. Industry scuttlebutt has it that on 13 July, Dylan duly went to the offices of Leeds Music. Although Dylan had submitted nine songs as demos in January, there had been no interest shown in Dylan’s songs and his Leeds Music account balance stood at $0. As Dylan had been paid a $500 advance when he initially entered the Leeds Music contract, it was agreed that the contract would cease on Dylan reimbursing the $500 advance. Dylan did so, and then went to Witmark & Sons where he signed a new publishing contract.

 

Shortly thereafter, Dylan entered the Witmark Studio and began recording demos of the nine original songs he had written between February – June 1962 (including ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’).

 

Dylan would return multiple times to the Witmark Studio as new original songs emerged, including the following two songs that flowed from Dylan’s pen during late July:

 

Track 20 – Tomorrow Is A Long Time

 

This is clearly a delicate and heart-felt love song dedicated to Suze. Discussion on this song will be deferred until the article devoted specifically to the proposed (but abandoned) Bob Dylan In Concert album is published.

 

Track 21 – Ain’t A-Gonna Grieve

 

This song is based on the traditional spiritual ‘Aint Gonna Grieve My Lord No More’ but lyrically altered to reflect a contemporary civil rights perspective. The only known Dylan recording is a Witmark demo and this was eventually released on the October 2010 The Bootleg Series Vol.9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964 compilation album.

 

The lyrics and music for the song were also published in Broadside Magazine #11-12 (August 1962). There are, however, no known cover versions of this song.

 

August 1962

 

With Dylan’s music publishing contract issue resolved, there were a few other ‘admin’ type issues to tidy up as Grossman cast his managerial shadow over Dylan’s career.

 

In early August, Dylan returned to his home town of Hibbing. On 9 August, Robert Zimmerman entered the St Louis County Court in Hibbing and officially changed his name to Bob Dylan. Dylan’s father Abraham Zimmerman was witness.

 

Back in New York, on 20 August, Dylan signed the contract that made Albert Grossman his manager for the next seven years. For his management services, Grossman would be entitled to 20% of Dylan’s earnings in addition to any other arrangements in place (e.g. the Witmark & Sons song royalty split).

 

The final piece of the Dylan puzzle for Grossman to unscramble was the recording contract that Dylan had signed with Columbia Records in September 1961 – a contract that was non-binding as Dylan was a minor at the time of signing. When Dylan approached John Hammond about the matter, Dylan decided to show faith in Hammond by re-affirming the original contract, now that he was a person of age. While Grossman was displeased with this turn of events, he would bide his time to extract a better recording deal for his client (Dylan) and himself.

 

For Dylan, the months of July and August must have felt like a whirlwind. Amidst his pining for Suze, he now had not only the financial and entrepreneurial backing of Grossman but also an extensive safety net – hospitality and access to Grossman’s Woodstock House; greater access to high profile executives in the music industry such as music promoter Hal Leventhal.

 

As such, Dylan no longer needed to do the regular Greenwich Village scene to earn a few extra dollars – in fact, Grossman discouraged Dylan from performing coffeehouse gigs (like Scuffy the Tugboat, Dylan was meant for bigger things). Instead, Dylan could devote more time and energy to songwriting – with the promise of a future income stream if he could manage to write a few more songs like ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ – a song that remained unknown but to a select few, and to Grossman’s ear and entrepreneurial antennae was bound to set the folk music world alight and the cash registers a-ringin’.

 

Three songs flowed from Dylan’s typewriter during the month:

 

Track 22 – Whatcha Gonna Do

 

This song could be regarded as ‘filler’, with Dylan exploring the feel of a Robert Johnson blues with a set of repeated lyrics that are simple gospel-based scene setters.

 

Dylan recorded the song at Columbia Studios on 26 October as well as making a less bluesy Witmark demo. The song however was left to collect dust in the studio vaults until released on the October 2010 The Bootleg Series Vol.9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964 compilation album.

 

There are no album-based covers of ‘Whatcha Gonna Do’, but I have discovered this inspired charity-related video featuring Tim Easton and the McCrary Sisters:

 

 

 

 

Track 23 – Long Ago, Far Away

 

This song sees Dylan adjusting his sights on the themes of slavery/inequality/warmongering. He has some way to go before he masters the genre but the songwriting potential is evident.

 

The only recorded version of this song by Dylan is a Witmark demo and the only official release is to be found on the October 2010 The Bootleg Series Vol.9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964 compilation album.

 

It is fortunate to have several covers of this (at the time) unreleased Dylan song available. The three covers released between 1964-1966 have taken advantage of the Dylan demo tapes at Witmark & Sons. For this article, I have chosen the first such cover of ‘Long Ago, Far Away’, released in April 1964 by Brothers Four – a folk group that had commercial success in the early 60’s, including a #2 Billboard hit with ‘Greenfields’:

 

 

 

 

Track 24 – Long Time Gone

 

This song has Dylan re-working the traditional ‘Maggie Walkers Blues’ – but while the melody remains intact, the lyrics deviate into Dylan’s own mythology.

 

Dylan recorded the song as a Witmark demo only. An official release of the song can be found on the October 2010 The Bootleg Series Vol.9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964 compilation album.

 

There have been five recorded covers of ‘Long Time Gone’. Of the four covers released between 1964-1965, two were from the Grossman ‘stable of artists’ (i.e. Odetta and Hamilton Camp). Rich Lerner subsequently released a cover in 1995. However, I have been most taken by this live YouTube only version from Peter Case and am pleased to share it in this article.

 

 

 

 

September 1962

 

Socially & politically, the USA was in a period of serious turmoil and unrest. There was plenty of debate, argument and unknown answers fluttering around in the wind to feed Dylan’s tapping typewriter fingers. Within this turmoil, Dylan was free to sharpen his focus and songwriting skills, which resulted in one song that is firmly embedded in the top echelons of Dylan’s anthology along with two other songs that are highly regarded:

 

Track 25 – A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (released on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan)

 

Track 26 – Ballad Of Hollis Brown (released on The Times They Are A-Changin’)

 

Track 27 – John Brown (recorded live for Dylan In Concert)

 

Personally, Suze’s absence had dragged on. Dylan and Suze had been in fairly regular communication – by phone and by post. Over the months the communication became less frequent. When news arrived that Suze’s initial plan to return by October had changed and that there was no actual definite return date, Dylan’s attitude to this closest of personal relationships took a distinct and somewhat vicious turn. These new sentiments found expression for the first time in a new song that ranks as one of Dylan’s finest:

 

Track 28 – Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (released on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan)

 

All four of these ‘September songs’ were recorded for future albums and discussion on these songs will be deferred until the articles devoted specifically to the relevant albums are published.

 

Reputationally, Dylan’s status in New York folk circles was given a boost as a result of being inside Grossman’s ‘stable of artists’. Dylan was invited to be part of the Sing Out! magazine sponsored and ticketed Carnegie Hall Hootenanny on 22 September. Headlined by Pete Seeger, Dylan was listed second on the bill (despite his debut album being a non-event and ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ being unreleased and largely unknown). Dylan’s performance on the night included covers of Woody Guthrie and Curtis Jones songs before launching into three original songs, including his freshly composed ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ and ‘Ballad Of Hollis Brown’.  Curiously, ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ was not included on the set list and I am wondering if this is a strategic ploy from Grossman?

 

October 1962

 

Unencumbered by what Maslow would define as ‘basic needs’, Dylan was freer to feast upon the events reverberating around the USA, beginning with: James Meredith being the first African-American student admitted to the racially segregated University of Mississippi in Oxford following the mobilization of 30,000 troops to quell white supremacist led race riots; and ending with: the Cuban missile crisis that transfixed the world between the 16^th to the 28^th. But before Dylan tackled those specific events (refer tracks 33 & 34 below), he dug into his kit bag of traditional and blues songs and composed four songs that canvassed a number of themes with a fairly broad brush:

 

Track 29 – I’d Hate To Be Your On That Dreadful Day

 

In this song Dylan explores ‘Judgement Day’ when it is too late to repent. It is an underdeveloped song, but for those versed in the songwriting principles of Berklee College of Music Professor Pat Pattison: ‘write crap. Lots of it; all the time; the more the better. Remember: crap makes the best fertilizer’ – it seems to have worked as evidenced by Dylan’s complete anthology.

 

The only original version of this song was recorded by Blind Boy Grunt (aka Bob Dylan) in November 1962 for Broadside Records, and was released some ten years later on the 1972 Broadside Reunion, Folkways album. The song was never intended to be released on a Dylan album, however it did see the light on the October 2010 The Bootleg Series Vol.9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964 compilation album.

 

In a rewarding search through YouTube, I was delighted to discover an overlooked 1975 album by Bettina Jonic titled The Bitter Mirror – Songs By Dylan And Brecht. This 22-song double album contains nine Dylan covers, including two rarely covered songs from 1961/62 and ‘I’d Hate To Be You On That Dreadful Day’, which has only been covered once – by Bettina Jonic…..and here it is:

 

 

 

 

Track 30 – Paths Of Victory

 

This song is based on the late 18^th Century hymn ‘Deliverance Will Come’, which morphed into the Carter Family’s 1920’s ‘The Wayworn Traveller’. To put it simply, Bob took ‘The Wayworn Traveller’, changed the words and published the result in Broadside Magazine #17 (December 1962 edition).

 

Much like other lesser-quality songs written at this time, Dylan recorded a version for Broadside Records under the Blind Boy Grunt pseudonym and then later, as a Witmark demo. The song was officially released on the October 2010 The Bootleg Series Vol.9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964 compilation album.

 

There have been eight covers of this song and not surprisingly, the first two came for the Grossman ‘stable of artists’ (Odetta and Hamilton Camp).  Pete Seeger did a cover in 1965 followed by Anne Murray (1968), The Byrds (Mark II) (1990) and Cat Power (2000).

 

Despite the quality of covers on offer, I have opted for a unique cover of ‘Paths Of Victory’ by jazz singer, composer and arranger Kaylé Brecher from her 2012 Spirals And Lines album. Connoisseurs of the sousaphone will be delighted…….

 

 

 

 

Track 31 – Train A-Travelin’

 

In terms of Dylan’s development as a songwriter, this long forgotten song has an added degree of merit.   Where track 29 (‘I’d Hate To Be You On That Dreadful Day’) simply states that ‘when Judgement Day comes along, sinners will go to hell’, and track 30 (‘Paths Of Victory’) tells us that ‘life is tough but there is a shining light ahead’, track 31 (‘Train A-Travelin’’) observes that the world is rotten to its core and that we have to rely on ourselves (rather than political or religious leaders) to make the world a better place.

 

The only known Dylan recording of this song is under the Blind Boy Grunt pseudonym for Broadside Records around early December 1962. That recording surfaced on the 1972 Broadside Reunion, Folkways album. Unusually, there is no Witmark demo and as such, the song has not been released on any subsequent Dylan compilation or Bootleg Series album.

 

What is perhaps more intriguing is that, for a song that ranks amongst the most forgotten in Dylan’s anthology, it did get a front page spread in Broadside Magazine #23 (late March 1963) along with an accompanying illustration by Suze Rotolo.

 

 

 

 

Websites devoted to Dylan’s anthology concur that there have been no covers of ‘Train A-Travelin’’, however the aforementioned Bettina Jonic’s 1975 The Bitter Mirror – Songs By Dylan And Brecht album does, in fact, include a cover of the song – but at 7m:17s in length, it may be best to leave it to anyone interested to follow up via YouTube.  Instead, allow me to introduce you to Blind Boy Grunt and his original version of ‘Train A-Travelin’’.

 

 

 

 

Track 32 – Walking Down The Line

 

This song adopts a folky singalong style using a series of fairly basic repeated scenarios (e.g. ‘my money comes and goes’) and as such would not have rated as album material.

 

Accordingly, the song followed the well-trodden path of being recorded under the Blind Boy Grunt pseudonym for Broadside Records around early December 1962 as well as being recorded as a Witmark demo in March 1963. The only official release was on the 1991 The Bootleg Series Vol 1-3: Rare & Unreleased 1961-91 box set.

 

Despite its low ‘recording’ status and not being in the public arena until 1991, the song has surprisingly been covered by over 30 artists – ranking it in the top 80 most covered Dylan songs (which is more than classic songs such as ‘Vision Of Johanna’ or ‘Hurricane’).  The reason for the song’s popularity stems from early covers by the Grossman ‘stable of artists’ & friends (e.g. Odetta, Hamilton Camp, Joan Baez and Pete Seeger/Arlo Guthrie).

 

It is, however, interesting and intriguing that the first cover of ‘Walking Down The Line’ was released by Jackie DeShannon on her August 1963 debut self-titled album.  Despite not being a member of Grossman’s ‘stable of artists’, her debut album included eight songs that belongs to artists managed by Grossman:

 

 

 

 

Track 33 – Oxford Town

 

This song is a direct Dylan response to the James Meredith incident mentioned earlier. Further discussion on this song will be deferred until the article devoted specifically to The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album is published.

 

 

Track 34 – Ye Playboys & Playgirls

 

This song responds to the events confronting the USA at this time (racism and war mongering), but does so with a defiant attitude and a melody line reminiscent of ‘Walking Down The Line’ – à la traditional folk singalong style.

 

Like other songs written at this time, the only known Dylan studio recording of this song is under the Blind Boy Grunt pseudonym for Broadside Records around early December 1962. That recording surfaced on the 1972 Broadside Reunion, Folkways album. There is no Witmark demo and as such, the song has not been released on any subsequent Dylan compilation or Bootleg Series album.

 

Interestingly, Dylan did perform this song at his first Newport Folk Festival appearance in July 1963, with Pete Seeger accompanying him on guitar and vocal. A recording of that rare duet was made available on an album titled Newport Broadside (1964) and is available on YouTube.

 

For this article, I offer one of only three other known covers of Ye Playboys & Playgirls – by UK folksinger Jon Betmead from a 1971 album titled The Mushroom Folk Sampler. This version has some poetic licence with Jon adding additional verses that refer to LBJ and Richard Nixon as well as a good old-fashioned folk-style singalong.

 

 

 

 

On 26 October, another curious twist took place in the Dylan story. Dylan re-entered Columbia Studios, with John Hammond in the producer chair but with a jazz-based backing band in place. The band included: Dick Wellstood (piano); Leonard Gaskin (bass guitar); Bruce Langhorne (guitar); Howie Collins (guitar); and Herb Lovelle (drums).  The recording session included four cover songs and the earlier mentioned original song, (track #22) ‘Whatcha Gonna Do’.  Only the cover version of Corinna Corinna was retained and released on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album.

 

The use of a backing band appears to have been initiated by Albert Grossman as several of the backing players had recently been associated with recordings by other members of Grossman’s ‘stable of artists’. Given Grossman’s invested interest in Dylan’s career, he also arranged to have an associate (John Court) keep an eye on proceedings in the Columbia recording studio. For now, an uneasy truce radiated between Hammond (the Producer) and Court (the Manager’s observer).

 

November 1962

 

An even more curious twist took place on 14 November, when Dylan (once again) entered Columbia Studios. John Hammond remained as producer and John Court was hanging around on behalf of Grossman. Band members Wellstood, Langhorne & Lovelle returned along with George Barnes (guitar) and Gene Ramey (bass).

 

 

During the recording session, the jazz-based band supported Dylan on an original song (‘Mixed Up Confusion’) plus five cover songs, including Corrina Corrina (again). Dylan also recorded several songs solo, including ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’, which was the version released on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album.

 

Track 35 – Mixed Up Confusion

 

The story goes that Dylan was aware that his 14 November recording session at Columbia Studios would involve a ‘jazz-based’ backing band. On the cab trip to the studio, Dylan wrote out the lyrics to a new song titled ‘Mixed Up Confusion’. Dylan and band did four takes of the song.

 

The first take of ‘Mixed Up Confusion’ along with ‘Corinna Corinna’ became side ‘A’ and side ‘B’ of Dylan’s first single, which was released on 14 December 1962.

 

‘Mixed Up Confusion’ was subsequently ‘re-released’ on the November 1985 Biograph box set. There have been no covers of this unique/unusual first Dylan single. It is, however, worth having a listen to the original.

 

 

 

 

Other songs written during November were:

 

Track 36 – I Shall Be Free (released on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan)

 

Track 37 – Hero Blues (recorded live for Dylan In Concert)

 

Discussion on these two songs will be deferred until the articles devoted specifically to the relevant albums are published.

 

 

December 1962

 

Dylan returned to Columbia Studios on 6 December for what he considered would be the final recording session for his upcoming 2^nd album, The Freewheelin Bob Dylan. With John Hammond producing, John Court observing and no ‘jazz-band’ distractions, Dylan laid down four original songs: ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’; ‘Oxford Town’; ‘Bob Dylan’s Blues’ and ‘I Shall Be Free’ – all of which were included on the album.

 

As mentioned above, in mid-December Dylan’s first single ‘Mixed Up Confusion’ was released. What wasn’t mentioned was that, for one reason or another, the single was quickly and quietly withdrawn from the market and no-one was the wiser.

 

 

Looking Back

 

Suze Rotolo’s decision to pursue her own artistic interests and not become simply ‘Dylan’s chick’, created an emotional chasm in Dylan that led to an untapped reservoir of poetic introspection and, in due course, some of the finest love/heartbreak songs of the twentieth century.

 

Equally, Grossman’s faith in Dylan (and Dylan’s faith in Grossman) provided the safety net that Dylan needed to not have to worry about the basics (e.g. where the next $$’s would come from to eat, pay the electricity bill, or pay the rent).

 

These changes in fortune (negative & positive) worked in tandem – in the four months following Grossman’s contract (i.e. August – December 1962), Dylan was composing songs at the rate of one per week – and these weren’t just any old songs…..they included greatest hits songs: ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ and ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’ as well as studio-quality album songs: ‘Oxford Town’ and ‘The Ballad Of Hollis Brown’.

 

In my first ‘Every Song’ article I contended that during his first 14 months in New York, Dylan had progressed from a ‘complete unknown’ to a ‘somewhat known’. Where is Dylan after a further nine months in New York (i.e. by December 1962)?  I would still contend that Dylan remains a ‘somewhat known’. His reputation remains housed inside the New York folk scene centred around Greenwich Village and publicised via Broadside and Sing Out! magazines. Dylan’s debut album remained a commercial failure, his debut single was withdrawn before the vinyl tracks had time to set, and his demo recording had not generated any interest, let alone an income stream.

 

Overall, the period March-December 1962 could be regarded as one of Dylan mastering the craft of songwriting and the accumulation of a body of songs that would eventually resonate with the emerging baby boomer generation. Clearly, Grossman is biding his time with Dylan – allowing the pieces to fall into place with a timing and a master plan known only to himself.

 

 

Looking forward

 

With Suze onboard her ship and due to arrive back in New York on 18 December after her 6-month artist retreat, Grossman had arranged for Dylan to fly out of New York on 17 December to perform a minor paid role in a BBC play and to absorb the folk music scene of a pre-Beatles London. Is this timing a deliberate act of interference by Grossman or simple coincidence?

 

The three major events that hang over Dylan as he takes flight over the Atlantic Ocean for the first time are:

 

• the impact of London’s folk music scene on his career;
• releasing his 2^nd album and becoming ‘known’; and
• the status of his relationship with Suze and how she fits into the increasingly complex Dylan jigsaw puzzle, now that Albert Grossman is a strategic stakeholder.

 

These events will be the headline acts when Dylan Covers Songs – Every Song Vol.3: December 1962 – May 1963 is published around mid-year 2025.

 

 

More from Karl Dubravs can be read Here.

 

 

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