Song for Bob Dylan
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"Song for Bob Dylan" is a song written by English singer-songwriter
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
for his 1971 album ''
Hunky Dory ''Hunky Dory'' is the fourth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 17December 1971 through RCA Records. Following the release of his 1970 album, '' The Man Who Sold the World'', Bowie took time off from recording and tourin ...
''. The song references
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 ...
's 1962 homage 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 ...
, " Song to Woody". Yet while Dylan opens with "Hey, hey, Woody Guthrie, I wrote you a song," Bowie addresses Dylan by his birth name saying, "Now, hear this, Robert Zimmerman, I wrote a song for you." In the song, Bowie also describes
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 ...
's voice "like sand and glue" which is similar to how Joyce Carol Oates described it upon first hearing Dylan: "When we first heard this raw, very young, and seemingly untrained voice, frankly nasal, as if sandpaper could sing, the effect was dramatic and electrifying."Hedin (ed.), 2004, ''Studio A: The Bob Dylan Reader'', p. 259. Reproduced online:


History and recording

Bowie premiered "Song for Bob Dylan" on 3 June 1971 during a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
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concert session, with George Underwood (King Bees bandmate and school friend) singing lead vocals. During broadcast, Bowie introduced the song as "Song for Bob Dylan – Here She Comes." The song was first recorded at Trident Studios for ''
Hunky Dory ''Hunky Dory'' is the fourth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 17December 1971 through RCA Records. Following the release of his 1970 album, '' The Man Who Sold the World'', Bowie took time off from recording and tourin ...
'' on 8 June 1971, with Bowie singing lead vocals and the title changed to "Song for Bob Dylan." During the ''Hunky Dory'' sessions the song went through numerous rejected retakes, with the final version recorded on 6 August. When asked about the song at the time of ''Hunky Dory''s release, Bowie said, "This is how some see BD." Bowie later revealed his true intention for writing the song in a 1976 '' Melody Maker'' interview saying, :"There's even a song – Song for Bob Dylan – that laid out what I wanted to do in rock. It was at that period that I said, 'okay (Dylan) if you don't want to do it, I will.' I saw that leadership void. Even though the song isn't one of the most important on the album, it represented for me what the album was all about. If there wasn't someone who was going to use rock 'n' roll, then I'd do it."


Composition and analysis

While there is debate as to whether the tribute to Bob Dylan is a
eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as ...
or a "harangue", Bowie invokes Dylan-esque musical progressions in "Song for Bob Dylan." The song is in A major and the "Dylanesque, though neither passively imitative nor parodistic" coda is described as "attain ngectasy when...electric guitar weaves tipsy arabesques over broken chord pulses on two acoustic guitars." The simple, descending bass line that accompanies the folk-chord progression invokes Dylan circa 1965. Bowie also imitates Dylan's adenoidal voice throughout the song and the lyrics reflect Dylan's style of starkly contrasting narrow range-verse and swelling chorus.


Other releases

*Released on a
picture disc Picture discs are gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics that extend at lea ...
in the
RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
''Life Time'' picture disc set. *Released on ''BBC Pick Of The Pops (349)'', a rare recording produced by the BBC of David Bowie's appearance on the BBC show Pick Of The Pops (Show #349, 1971), hosted by John Peel.


Personnel

*
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
– lead vocals, acoustic guitar *
Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...
– electric guitars, backing vocals *
Trevor Bolder Trevor Bolder (9 June 1950 – 21 May 2013) was an English rock musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with the Spiders from Mars, the backing band for David Bowie, a ...
– bass *
Mick Woodmansey Michael "Woody" Woodmansey (born 4 February 1950) is an English rock drummer best known for his work in the early 1970s as a member of David Bowie's core backing ensemble that became known as the Spiders from Mars in conjunction with the rel ...
– drums * Rick Wakeman – piano


References

{{David Bowie singles David Bowie songs 1971 songs Songs about Bob Dylan Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by Ken Scott Song recordings produced by David Bowie