"Gotta Serve Somebody" is a song written and performed 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 as the opening track on his 1979 studio album ''

Slow Train Coming ''Slow Train Coming'' is the 19th studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 20, 1979, by Columbia Records. It was Dylan's first album following his conversion to Christianity, and the songs either express personal ...

''. It won the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Male in 1980. It was later anthologized on the compilation albums ''Biograph'' (1985), ''

Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3 ''Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3'' is a compilation LP album by Bob Dylan, released on Columbia Records on compact disc and cassette tape in 1994, Columbia catalogue number 66783. It peaked at on ''Billboard'' 200. Content It encompasses ...

'' (1994), ''

The Essential Bob Dylan ''The Essential Bob Dylan'' is a compilation by Bob Dylan, released in 2000 as the inaugural entry in Sony Music's "The Essential" double-disc compilation series. ''The Essential Bob Dylan'' spans from 1963's " Blowin' in the Wind" (from '' The ...

'' (2000), ''

The Best of Bob Dylan ''The Best of Bob Dylan'' is a single-disc compilation album containing songs by Bob Dylan, released on November 15, 2005. ''The Best of Bob Dylan'' is available in a digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVD ...

'' and ''Dylan'' (2007).

Background

The song was recorded in May 1979 at

Muscle Shoals Sound Studios Muscle Shoals Sound Studio is an American recording studio in Sheffield, Alabama, formed in 1969 by four session musicians known as The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. They had left nearby FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals to create their own rec ...

Sheffield, Alabama Sheffield is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Shoals metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 9,039. Sheffield is the birthplace of "country-soul pioneer" and songwriter Arth ...

and produced by

Jerry Wexler Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

. The title never appears as such in the lyrics, though numerous mentions of "You're ''gonna'' have to serve somebody" come close. The B-side, "Trouble in Mind", was a Dylan original that was recorded for ''Slow Train Coming'' but was ultimately left off it. In the final verse, Dylan makes a then-current but now obscure reference ("You may call me RJ, you may call me Ray"), paraphrasing the act of comedian Bill Saluga, who performed as "Raymond J. Johnson Jr."

Reception

As Dylan's first release during his "gospel" period, "Gotta Serve Somebody" was met with divisive reviews;

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

famously criticized the song and wrote a parody titled "Serve Yourself" in response. Nevertheless, the single won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Male in 1980. The effort is still Dylan's latest top 40 hit on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, peaking at No. 24 and remaining on the chart for 12 weeks. The song did best in Canada, where it spent two weeks at No. 23. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' said that the "bluesy instrumentals" were the song's highlight and that "Dylan avoids a preachy tone with humorous asides." In 2016, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine featured the song as No. 43 on its list of "100 Greatest Bob Dylan Songs". A 2021 ''Guardian'' article included it on a list of "80 Bob Dylan songs everyone should know".

Covers

Shortly after the song's release,

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American Rock music, rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark Mothersbaugh, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh, Bob) and the Casales (Gerald ...

, in disguise as a Christian-based cover band, Dove, performed "Gotta Serve Somebody" regularly on the last leg of their Duty Now for the Future tour, featuring Devo mascot

Booji Boy Booji Boy is a character created in the early 1970s by the American new wave band Devo. The name is pronounced "Boogie Boy"—the strange spelling "Booji" resulted when the band was using Letraset to produce captions for a film, and ran out of ...

on vocals, stating "We used to do devil music like that band Devo, but then Jerry (...) sat on a Bob Dylan record", parodying Dylan's recent conversion. The song has been covered by over 50 additional artists. Among the most notable versions are those by

Shirley Caesar Shirley Ann Caesar-Williams (born October 13, 1938), known professionally as Shirley Caesar, is an American gospel singer whose career has spanned seven decades. She has won 11 Grammys in addition to Dove Awards and Stellar Awards; Caesar is k ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

, Pops Staples,

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is a retired American R&B and soul singer. He has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. ...

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). Duri ...

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...

and

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

. A 2011 live recording from

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

and

appears on the 2022 album '' Carry Me Home''.

Live performances

Dylan has performed the song over 500 times in concert between 1979 and 2021. The live versions he has performed in more recent years feature almost entirely new lyrics, as seen in his "Mondo Scripto" art exhibition in 2018. A live version performed with the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...

in 1987 was included on the officially released live album '' Dylan and the Dead''. An additional seven versions of the song (five live performances from 1979-1980, a studio outtake and a tour rehearsal) were included on the box set '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 13: Trouble No More 1979–1981'' in 2017. The song was performed on Saturday Night Live, Oct. 20th 1979. Eric Idle was the host that night.

In popular culture

The song was prominently featured in the

Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

' episode "House Arrest" in the year 2000, and Mountain's version was used for 2021 Sopranos prequel movie ''

The Many Saints of Newark ''The Many Saints of Newark'' (marketed with the subtitle ''A Sopranos Story'') is a 2021 American crime drama film directed by Alan Taylor and written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner. A prequel to Chase's HBO crime drama series ''The So ...

''.

Charts

References

External links

Lyrics
at Bob Dylan's official site
Chords
at Dylanchords {{authority control 1979 singles Songs written by Bob Dylan Bob Dylan songs Grateful Dead songs 1979 songs List songs Christian rock songs Funk songs Song recordings produced by Barry Beckett Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Etta James songs Song recordings produced by Jerry Wexler Columbia Records singles Gospel songs