''Bob Dylan'' is the eponymous debut studio album by American singer-songwriter
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
, released on March 19, 1962 by
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
. The album was produced by Columbia talent scout
John H. Hammond, who had earlier signed Dylan to the label, a decision which was at the time controversial. The album primarily features folk standards, but also includes two original compositions, "
Talkin' New York
"Talkin' New York" is the second song on Bob Dylan's eponymous first album, released in 1962. A talking blues, the song describes his feelings on arriving in New York City from Minnesota, his time playing coffee houses in Greenwich Village, and h ...
" and "
Song to Woody
"Song to Woody" was written by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and released on his debut album, ''Bob Dylan,'' in 1962. The song conveys Dylan's appreciation of American folk legend Woody Guthrie. The song is one of two original compositions ...
". The latter was an ode to
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...
, a major influence in Dylan's early career.
The album did not initially receive much attention, but it achieved some popularity following the growth of Dylan's career, charting in the UK three years after its release, reaching #13.
Recording
Dylan met John Hammond at a rehearsal session for
Carolyn Hester
Carolyn Sue Hester (born January 28, 1937) is an American folk singer and songwriter. She was a figure in the early 1960s folk music revival.
Biography
Hester's first album was produced by Norman Petty in 1957. She made her second album for Tr ...
on September 14, 1961, at the apartment shared by Hester and her then-husband,
Richard Fariña
Richard George Fariña (Spanish IPA: ) (March 8, 1937 – April 30, 1966) was an American folksinger, songwriter, poet and novelist.
Early years and education
Fariña was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of an Irish mother, T ...
. Hester had invited Dylan to the session as a harmonica player, and Hammond approved him as a session player after hearing him rehearse, with recommendations from his son, musician
John P. Hammond
John Paul Hammond (born November 13, 1942 in New York City) is an American singer and musician. The son of record producer John H. Hammond, he is sometimes referred to as John Hammond Jr.
Background
Hammond is a son of record producer and ta ...
, and from
Liam Clancy
Liam Clancy ( ga, Liam Mac Fhlannchadha; 2 September 1935 – 4 December 2009) was an Irish folk singer from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest member of the influential folk group the Clancy Brothers, regarded as Ireland's ...
.
Hammond later told
Robert Shelton that he decided to sign Dylan "on the spot", and invited him to the Columbia offices for a more formal audition recording. No record of that recording has turned up in Columbia's files, but Hammond, Dylan, and Columbia's A&R director
Mitch Miller
Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...
have all confirmed that an audition took place.
On September 26, Dylan began a two-week run at
Gerde's Folk City
Gerdes Folk City, sometimes spelled Gerde's Folk City, was a music venue in the West Village, part of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, in New York City. Initially opened by owner Mike Porco as a restaurant called Gerdes, it eventually began to presen ...
, second on the bill to
The Greenbriar Boys
The Greenbriar Boys were an American northern bluegrass music group. who first got together in jam sessions in New York's Washington Square Park.
Biography
In 1958, guitarist and vocalist John Herald formed The Greenbriar Boys, along with Bob ...
. On September 29, an exceptionally favorable review of Dylan's performance appeared in the ''New York Times''. The same day, Dylan played harmonica at Hester's recording session at Columbia's Manhattan studio. After the session, Hammond brought Dylan to his offices and presented him with Columbia's standard five-year contract for previously unrecorded artists, and Dylan signed immediately.
That night at Gerdes, Dylan told Shelton about Hammond's offer, but asked him to "keep it quiet" until the contract's final approval had worked its way through the Columbia hierarchy. The label's official approvals came quickly.
Studio time was scheduled for late November, and during the weeks leading up to those sessions, Dylan began searching for new material even though he was already familiar with a number of songs. According to Dylan's friend Carla Rotolo (sister of his girlfriend
Suze Rotolo), "He spent most of his time listening to my records, days and nights. He studied the
Folkways ''
Anthology of American Folk Music
''Anthology of American Folk Music'' is a three-album compilation, released in 1952 by Folkways Records, of eighty-four recordings of American folk, blues and country music made and issued from 1926 to 1933 by a variety of performers. The album wa ...
'', the singing of
Ewan MacColl
James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...
and
A. L. Lloyd,
Rabbit Brown
Richard "Rabbit" Brown (c. 1880 – 1937) was an American blues guitarist and composer. His music has been characterized as a mixture of blues, pop songs, and original topical ballads. He recorded six sides for Victor Records on March 11, 1 ...
's guitar,
Guthrie, of course, and blues … his record was in the planning stages. We were all concerned about what songs Dylan was going to do. I remember clearly talking about it."
The album was ultimately recorded in three short afternoon sessions on November 20 and 22 at
Columbia's 7th Avenue studio. Hammond later joked that Columbia spent "about $402" to record it, and the figure has entered the Dylan legend as its actual cost. Despite the low cost and short amount of time, Dylan was still difficult to record, according to Hammond. "Bobby popped every ''p'', hissed every ''s'', and habitually wandered off mike," recalls Hammond. "Even more frustrating, he refused to learn from his mistakes. It occurred to me at the time that I'd never worked with anyone so undisciplined before."
Seventeen songs were recorded, and five of the album's chosen tracks were actually cut in single takes ("Baby Let Me Follow You Down", "
In My Time of Dyin'
"In My Time of Dying" (also called "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed" or a variation thereof) is a gospel music song by Blind Willie Johnson. The title line, closing each stanza of the song, refers to a deathbed and was inspired by a passage in th ...
", "
Gospel Plow", "
Highway 51 Blues", and "Freight Train Blues") while the master take of "Song to Woody" was recorded after one false start. The album's four outtakes were also cut in single takes. During the sessions, Dylan refused requests to do second takes. "I said no. I can't see myself singing the same song twice in a row. That's terrible."
The album cover features a reversed photo of Dylan holding his acoustic guitar. This was done to prevent the neck of the guitar from obscuring Columbia's logo.
Music
By the time sessions were held for his debut album, Dylan was absorbing an enormous amount of folk material from sitting and listening to contemporaries performing in New York's clubs and coffeehouses. Many of these individuals were also close friends who performed with Dylan, often inviting him to their apartments where they would introduce him to more folk songs. At the same time, Dylan was borrowing and listening to a large number of folk, blues, and country records, many of which were hard to find at the time. Dylan claimed in the documentary ''
No Direction Home
''No Direction Home: Bob Dylan'' is a 2005 documentary film by Martin Scorsese that traces the life of Bob Dylan, and his impact on 20th-century American popular music and culture. The film focuses on the period between Dylan's arrival in New ...
'' that he needed to hear a song only once or twice to learn it.
The final album sequence of ''Bob Dylan'' features only two original compositions; the other eleven tracks are folk standards and traditional songs. Few of these were staples of his club/coffeehouse repertoire. Only two of the covers and both originals were in his club set in September 1961. Dylan stated in a 2000 interview that he was hesitant to reveal too much of himself at first.
Of the two original songs, "Song to Woody" is the best known. According to
Clinton Heylin
Clinton Heylin (born 8 April 1960) is an English author who has written extensively about popular music and the work of Bob Dylan.
Education
Heylin attended Manchester Grammar School. He read history at Bedford College, University of London, ...
, the original handwritten manuscript to "Song to Woody" bears the following inscription at the bottom of the sheet: "Written by Bob Dylan in Mills Bar on Bleecker Street in New York City on the 14th day of February, for
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...
." Melodically, the song is based on one of Guthrie's own compositions, "
1913 Massacre", but it is possible Guthrie fashioned "1913 Massacre" from an even earlier melody; like many folk singers, including Dylan, Guthrie would often adapt familiar folk melodies into new compositions. Guthrie was Dylan's main musical influence at the time of ''Bob Dylan''s release, and indeed on several of the songs, Dylan is apparently imitating Guthrie's vocal mannerisms. "Talkin' New York" is closely based on Guthrie's song "Talking Dustbowl Blues" and also references "The Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd".
Dylan takes an arranger's credit on many of the traditional songs, but a number of them can be traced to his contemporaries. For example, the arrangement of "
House of the Rising Sun
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
" was developed by
Dave Van Ronk
David Kenneth Ritz Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City's Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of Mac ...
, who was a close friend at the time. Van Ronk had intended to record this arrangement himself and was upset that Dylan had recorded it. During his recording of "Baby Let Me Follow You Down", Dylan mentions the arranger,
Eric Von Schmidt
Eric Von Schmidt (May 28, 1931 – February 2, 2007) was an American singer and guitarist, songwriter, painter and illustrator, and Grammy Award recipient. He was associated with the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s and a key part o ...
, whom he met in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Von Schmidt introduced the arrangement to Dylan as well as an arrangement for "
He Was a Friend of Mine
"He Was a Friend of Mine" is a traditional folk song in which the singer laments the death of a friend. Ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax was the first to collect the song, in 1939, describing it as a "blues" that was "a dirge for a dead comrade."
T ...
", which was also recorded for but omitted from Dylan's first album.
Dylan would leave most of these songs behind when he moved to the concert stage in 1962, but he performed "Man of Constant Sorrow" during his first national television appearance in mid-1963 (a performance included on the 2005 retrospective ''
No Direction Home
''No Direction Home: Bob Dylan'' is a 2005 documentary film by Martin Scorsese that traces the life of Bob Dylan, and his impact on 20th-century American popular music and culture. The film focuses on the period between Dylan's arrival in New ...
''). "Baby Let Me Follow You Down" would later return in a driving electric arrangement during his 1965 and 1966 tours with
the Hawks; a live recording was included on ''
Live 1966''.
After 1966, Dylan performed only five songs from his debut album in concert, and only "Song to Woody" and "Pretty Peggy-O" would be heard with any frequency.
Outtakes
Three additional songs recorded during the ''Bob Dylan'' sessions were included on ''
Volume 1'' of
the Bootleg Series
American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan has released 39 studio albums, 95 singles, 18 notable extended plays, 54 music videos, 15 live albums, 17 volumes comprising '' The Bootleg Series'', 29 compilation albums, 22 box sets, seven soundtracks as m ...
: "
House Carpenter
"The Daemon Lover" (Roud 14, Child 243) – also known as "James Harris", "A Warning for Married Women", "The Distressed Ship Carpenter", "James Herries", "The Carpenter’s Wife", "The Banks of Italy", or "The House-Carpenter" – is a popular bal ...
", "
He Was a Friend of Mine
"He Was a Friend of Mine" is a traditional folk song in which the singer laments the death of a friend. Ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax was the first to collect the song, in 1939, describing it as a "blues" that was "a dirge for a dead comrade."
T ...
" and another original composition, "Man on the Street". A fourth outtake, "Ramblin' Blues" written by
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...
, remains unreleased.
Of these four, the most celebrated is perhaps "House Carpenter", a new rendition of the 16th-century Scottish ballad "The Daemon Lover" and the final song recorded for ''Bob Dylan''. Biographer
Clinton Heylin
Clinton Heylin (born 8 April 1960) is an English author who has written extensively about popular music and the work of Bob Dylan.
Education
Heylin attended Manchester Grammar School. He read history at Bedford College, University of London, ...
described the song as "the most extraordinary performance of the sessions, as demonically driven as anything
Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...
put out in his name". Though it was a favorite at the time in folk circles, Dylan apparently never played "House Carpenter" in any documented performance.
An alternate (shortened) version of "House of the Rising Sun", heavily overdubbed with electric instruments in 1964 (produced by Tom Wilson), was later included on the ''
Highway 61 Interactive
''Highway 61 Interactive'' is an interactive CD-ROM released in 1995, based on the musician Bob Dylan and his music career. It was developed and published by Graphix Zone, with Sony Music Entertainment as co-publisher.
Overview
The game opens wi ...
''
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
.
Critical reception
''Bob Dylan'' did not receive acclaim until years later. "These debut songs are essayed with differing degrees of conviction," writes music critic
Tim Riley in 1999, "
uteven when his reach exceeds his grasp, he never sounds like he knows he's in over his head, or gushily patronizing … Like
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
, what Dylan can sing, he quickly masters; what he can't, he twists to his own devices. And as with the Presley Sun sessions, the voice that leaps from Dylan's first album is its most striking feature, a determined, iconoclastic baying that chews up influences, and spits out the odd mixed signal without half trying."
At the time of its release, however, ''Bob Dylan'' received little notice, and both Hammond and Dylan were soon dismissive of the first album's results. In the April 14, 1962 issue of ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine it was highlighted as a 'special merit' release, saying; "(Dylan) is one of the most interesting, and most disciplined youngsters to appear on the pop-folk scene in a long time" with "moving readings of originals such as "Song to Woody" and "Talkin' New York." Dylan when he finds his own style, could win a big following." Despite this positive notice, the album also did not initially sell well and Dylan was for a time known as "Hammond's Folly" in record company circles.
Mitch Miller
Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...
, Columbia's chief of
A&R at the time, said U.S. sales totaled about 2,500 copies. ''Bob Dylan'' remains Dylan's only release not to chart whatsoever in the U.S., although it eventually reached in the UK charts in 1965.
Despite the album's poor sales, it was not a financial disaster because it was very cheap to record.
On December 22, 1961, a month to the day after ''Bob Dylan''s final session, Dylan was in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, where he and his friend Tony Glover paid a visit to their friend Bonnie Beecher. Dylan held an informal session at her apartment, performing 26 songs which were recorded by Glover on a reel-to-reel tape recorder. Often known by a misnomer, the ''
Minneapolis Hotel Tape'' soon entered private circulation, providing a thorough look at Dylan's musical potential only a month after recording his debut album. A larger and far more diverse selection of songs, it was all recorded the night of the 22nd in roughly two and a half hours.
Among the songs recorded that night were the harrowing, racially charged morality tale "
Black Cross", Big Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go" (in which Dylan displays his growing skills at bottleneck guitar), the Pentecostal "
Wade in the Water
"Wade in the Water" (Roud 5439) is an African American jubilee song, a spiritual—in reference to a genre of music "created and first sung by African Americans in slavery." The lyrics to "Wade in the Water" were first co-published in 1901 in ...
", Dylan's own reinterpretation of the traditional "Nine Hundred Miles" (retitled "I Was Young When I Left Home" and later issued on ''
The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack''), the traditional "Poor Lazarus", a Memphis Jug Band arrangement of the traditional "Stealin'", another rewritten folk song called "
Hard Times in New York Town" (based on the traditional "Hard Times in the Country Working on Ketty's Farm" and subsequently released on ''
The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991
''The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3'' is a box set by Bob Dylan issued on Columbia Records. It is the first installment in Dylan's Bootleg Series, comprising material spanning the first three decades of his career, from 1961 to 1989. It has been c ...
''), and the
John Lomax
John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 – January 26, 1948) was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist, and a folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk music. He was the father of Alan Lomax, John Lomax Jr. and Bess Lo ...
discovery "
Dink's Song
"Dink's Song" (sometimes known as "Fare Thee Well") is an American folk song played by many folk revival musicians such as Pete Seeger, Fred Neil, Bob Dylan and Dave Van Ronk, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, and Cisco Houston as well as more recent musicia ...
". (According to
Clinton Heylin
Clinton Heylin (born 8 April 1960) is an English author who has written extensively about popular music and the work of Bob Dylan.
Education
Heylin attended Manchester Grammar School. He read history at Bedford College, University of London, ...
, Lomax first heard the song "in 1908 when, across the Brazos river from Texas A&M College, he heard a lady called Dink sing her song.") First published in ''Folksong USA'', Dylan's "hotel" recording would later be included on ''
The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack''.
Though only a few selections from the Minneapolis hotel tape were ever officially released, all twenty-six songs have been heavily bootlegged and celebrated by
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics.
Biography
Marcus wa ...
, a music critic who wrote about the recordings in ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine. As Heylin writes, some of these songs gave Dylan "an all-important clue as to how he might mold traditional melodies and sensibility to his own worldview". This would come to fruition when Dylan began work on his next album, ''
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his self-titled debut album ''Bob Dylan'' had contained only two original songs, this album ...
'', a year later, by which time both Dylan's reputation and his stockpile of original compositions had grown considerably.
''Bob Dylan'' was re-released in 2010 as the first of a 9 CD boxset titled ''The Original Mono Recordings'', with new liner notes by
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics.
Biography
Marcus wa ...
on a 60 pages booklet.
Because its copyright expired in Europe in 2012, several editions have appeared in the EU from competing oldies labels. One edition, from Hoodoo Records, includes 12 bonus tracks (1 single and 11 live radio recordings from 1961 to 1962) and a 16-page booklet.
Track listing
Personnel
*
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
–
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
,
acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
,
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
*
John H. Hammond –
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
Charts
Album
Certifications
References
Bibliography
* Dylan, Bob. ''Chronicles: Volume 1''. Simon and Schuster, October 5, 2004, hardcover, 208 pages.
* Hammond, John. ''John Hammond On Record'', Ridge Press, 1977, 416 pages. . Title sometimes reported as ''On The Record''.
* Heylin, Clinton. ''Bob Dylan: A Life In Stolen Moments'', Schirmer Books, 1986, 403 pages. . Also known as ''Bob Dylan: Day By Day''
* Heylin, Clinton. ''Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited''. Perennial Currents, 2003, 800 pages.
*
Shelton, Robert, ''No Direction Home'', Da Capo Press, 2003 reprint of 1986 original, 576 pages.
* Greene, Andy. ''50 Years Ago Today: Bob Dylan Released His Debut Album''. Rolling Stone, 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bob Dylan (Album)
1962 debut albums
Albums produced by John Hammond (producer)
Bob Dylan albums
Columbia Records albums
Country blues albums