Bob Dylan (album)
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''Bob Dylan'' is the debut studio album by the American singer-songwriter
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
, released on March 19, 1962, by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
. The album was produced by Columbia talent scout
John H. Hammond John Henry Hammond Jr. (December 15, 1910 – July 10, 1987) was an American record producer, civil rights activist, and music critic active from the 1930s to the early 1980s. In his service as a talent scout, Hammond became one of the most in ...
, who had earlier signed Dylan to the label, a controversial decision at the time. The album primarily features folk standards but also includes two original compositions, " Talkin' New York" and " Song to Woody". The latter was an ode to
Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...
, a significant influence in Dylan's early career. The album did not receive much attention at first, but it achieved some popularity following the growth of Dylan's career, charting in the UK three years after its release, reaching No. 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 American folk music revival. Biography Hester's first album was produced by Norman Petty in 1957. She made her second a ...
on September 14, 1961, at the apartment shared by Hester and her then-husband,
Richard Fariña Richard George Fariña (; March 8, 1937 – April 30, 1966) was an American Folk music, folksinger, songwriter, poet and novelist. Early years and education Fariña was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of an Irish mother, Ther ...
. 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, and from Liam Clancy. 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 occurred. 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 of Manhattan in New York City. Initially opened by owner Mike Porco as a restaurant called Gerdes, it eventually began to present occasional incidental m ...
, second on the bill to The Greenbriar Boys. On September 29, an exceptionally favorable review of Dylan's performance appeared in the ''New York Times'', written by Robert Shelton. 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 through the Columbia hierarchy. The label's official approvals came quickly. Studio time was scheduled for late November. During the weeks leading up to those sessions, Dylan began searching for new material even though he was already familiar with many 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-volume compilation album released in August 1952 by Folkways Records. The album was compiled by experimental filmmaker Harry Smith from his own personal collection of 78 rpm records. It consists ...
'', the singing of Ewan MacColl and
A. L. Lloyd Albert Lancaster Lloyd (29 February 1908 – 29 September 1982),Eder, Bruce. (29 September 1982A. L. Lloyd – Music Biography, Credits and Discography AllMusic. Retrieved on 2013-02-24. usually known as A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English ...
,
Rabbit Brown Richard "Rabbit" Brown (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, 1927, one of whi ...
'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'", " Gospel Plow", "
Highway 51 Blues "Highway 51 Blues" was the title of a song composed by American blues pianist Curtis Jones (pianist), Curtis Jones, released on a Phonograph_record#78_rpm_disc_developments, 78 record on January 12, 1938, which was popular enough to spawn several ...
", 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 many 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 directed 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 arriva ...
'' 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 better known. According to
Clinton Heylin Clinton Heylin (born 8 April 1960) is an English author. Heylin has written extensively about popular music, especially on the life and work of Bob Dylan. Education Heylin attended Manchester Grammar School. He read history at Bedford College ...
, 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 Bleecker Street is an east–west street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightlife, nightclub district. The street connects a neighborhood popular today for music venues and comedy as well as a ...
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, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...
." Melodically, the song is based on one of Guthrie's own compositions, "
1913 Massacre "1913 Massacre" is a Protest song, topical ballad written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, and recorded and released in 1945 for Moses Asch, Moses Asch's Folkways Records, Folkways Record label, label. The song originally appeared on ''Stru ...
", 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 "The House of the Rising Sun" is an American traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the ...
" was developed by Dave Van Ronk, 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, 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", 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 directed 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 arriva ...
''). "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: " House Carpenter", " He Was a Friend of Mine" 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, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...
, remains unreleased. Of these four, the most celebrated is perhaps "House Carpenter", a new rendition of the 16th-century Scottish ballad "
The Daemon Lover "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 ba ...
" and the final song recorded for ''Bob Dylan''. Biographer
Clinton Heylin Clinton Heylin (born 8 April 1960) is an English author. Heylin has written extensively about popular music, especially on the life and work of Bob Dylan. Education Heylin attended Manchester Grammar School. He read history at Bedford College ...
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 singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...
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''
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 computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...
.


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) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
, 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." However, at the time of its release, ''Bob Dylan'' received little notice, and both Hammond and Dylan were soon dismissive of the album. 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 advertis ...
'' magazine highlighted it as a 'special merit' release, saying, ' ylanis 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 a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, 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 that Glover recorded 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 Joseph Lee Williams (October 16, 1903 – December 17, 1982) was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar. Performing over five decades, he recorded the songs "Baby, Pl ...
' "
Baby Please Don't Go In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of ...
" (in which Dylan displays his growing skills at bottleneck guitar), the Pentecostal " Wade in the Water", Dylan's 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 ...
''), and the John Lomax discovery " Dink's Song". (According to
Clinton Heylin Clinton Heylin (born 8 April 1960) is an English author. Heylin has written extensively about popular music, especially on the life and work of Bob Dylan. Education Heylin attended Manchester Grammar School. He read history at Bedford College ...
, 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 (né Gerstley; 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. Biogra ...
, 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, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' 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 the 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 a ...
'', 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 (né Gerstley; 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. Biogra ...
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 included 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. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
,
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 incl ...
*
John H. Hammond John Henry Hammond Jr. (December 15, 1910 – July 10, 1987) was an American record producer, civil rights activist, and music critic active from the 1930s to the early 1980s. In his service as a talent scout, Hammond became one of the most in ...
production


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