FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
According to Robert Shelton, an audio recording took place on October 30, 1961, in the presence of John Hammond, which was designed to test the young Bob before the meeting on November 20. Up to this day, no recording has turned up.
You’re No Good
Jesse Fuller / 1:40
Musician
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, harmonica
Recording Studio
Columbia Recording Studios / Studio A, New York: November 20, 1961
Technical Team
Producer: John Hammond
Sound Engineers: George Knuerr and Pete Dauria
Genesis and Lyrics
“You’re No Good” is a song by bluesman Jesse Fuller, born in Jonesboro, Georgia, in 1896. Fuller went to the West Coast in the 1920s, where he made a name for himself as a street musician. He was a true one-man-band musician, playing several instruments simultaneously, including a 12-string guitar, harmonica and/or kazoo, cymbals, hi-hat with the left foot and right foot, and the fotdella, a kind of six-string bass of his own creation. He took on the nickname “The Lone Cat,” under which he made his first recording in 1958, a compilation called Jazz, Folk Songs, Spirituals & Blues. The following year, he released Brother Lowdown, including two of his most famous songs: “You’re No Good,” which Dylan covered in this album, and “San Francisco Bay Blues,” which resulted in countless versions (from Janis Joplin to Eric Clapton). In 1960, Dylan attended a concert by Jesse Fuller in a coffeehouse in Denver called the Exodus. Jesse Fuller died from heart disease on January 29, 1976, in Oakland, California.
Production
With the first song on his first album, Dylan’s interpretation of “You’re No Good” feels nervous, which contrasts with Jesse Fuller’s more serene version. The words themselves are freely adapted from the original text, and Dylan does not hesitate to push his voice to give it a “blues” patina, a gravelly vocal style surprising for him. This would be the only time in his career where he adopted this vocal style.
He played his Gibson J-50 and delivered a harmonica part (in C) with a high pitch and at great speed. The famous harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson later told him: “Boy, you play too fast.”1
The song was recorded in one take, without any recourse to the technique of “drop,” which soon became standard in all studios. In 1961, it was customary to avoid any mounting, and the artist had to control his performance as a whole. Dylan is his own one-man band at the vocals, guitar, and harmonica; there was little left to the sound engineer to make a proper connection. Eight takes were necessary for “You’re No Good,” the fifth being retained as the final one.
Note that, among the first American pressings, the song was sometimes inaccurately listed as “She’s No Good.” Only a good thing for collectors…
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
Dylan tried to add an introduction talking about a cowboy from Connecticut, but the idea was not retained.
Talkin’ New York
Bob Dylan / 3:20
Musician
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, harmonica
Recording Studio
Columbia Recording Studios / Studio A, New York: November 20, 1961
Technical Team
Producers: John Hammond
Sound Engineers: George Knuerr and Pete Dauria
Genesis and Lyrics
“Talkin’ New York” is a bluesy track over which a story is told in a style closer to narrative than to song. Even though the creation of the style is attributed to Christopher Allen Bouchillon, a musician from South Carolina to whom we owe “Talking Blues” (1926) and “Born in Hard Luck” (1927), Woody Guthrie popularized it in the early 1940s.
In this talking blues, Bob Dylan took inspiration from three songs by his mentor: “Talking Subway,” “New York Town,” and “Pretty Boy Floyd.” It traces his discovery of New York with a kind of derision, even cynicism. He speaks of “people [who] going down to the ground” and “buildings [that] going up to the sky,” then he comes back to his own experience: “I landed up on the North side: Greenwich Village / I walked down there and I ended up in one of them coffeehouses on the block / Got on the stage to sing and play / Man there said, Come back some other day, You sound like a hillbilly / We want folksingers here.” Dylan concludes “Talkin’ New York” with a farewell to New York and a welcome to East Orange. East Orange is the New Jersey town where Bob and Sid Gleason lived at the time. During Woody Guthrie’s hospitalization at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris County, the Gleasons hosted the folksinger every weekend, along with Dylan and many other songwriters. Bob Dylan confessed that he wrote “Talkin’ New York” in May 1961, during a trip that took him away from the Big Apple for some time.
Production
“Talkin’ New York” is the first original song recorded by Dylan for his first album. Although the song does not reach the length of some of his future titles, like “Hurricane” or “Desolation Row,” the lyrics are no less substantive. Dylan also says he had no trouble memorizing long texts: “I didn’t find it troubling at all to remember or sing the story lines.”9 In a style reminiscent of Merle Travis and harmonically based on Woody Guthrie’s “Talking Subway,” Dylan provides the rhythm on his Gibson J-50, playing with three chords on fast tempo, and for the solo parts playing harmonica (in G). It is the only song on the album with a fade-out effect at the end. “Talkin’ New York” required two takes to be immortalized, the second take being the one chosen for the album.
In My Time Of Dyin’
Traditional / Arrangement Bob Dylan / 2:39
Musician
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar
Recording Studio
Columbia Recording Studios / Studio A, New York: November 20, 1961
Technical Team
Producer: John Hammond
Sound Engineers: George Knuerr and Pete Dauria
Genesis and Lyrics
“In My Time of Dyin’” is a spiritual and a blues number. Performed in 1920 by Louisiana street performers, sometimes under the title of “Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed,” this song was recorded by the Reverend J. C. Burnett (the recording was never released); by Texas bluesman Blind Willie Johnson on December 3, 1927, for Columbia; and by bluesmen Charley Patton, Josh White (under the pseudonym of the “Singing Christian”), and Dock Reed, who adapted this gospel blues (or holy blues) song by changing the lyrics.
After Dylan, John Sebastian (under the title “Well Well Well” on the album The Four of Us, 1971) and Martin Gore (on the album Counterfeit, 2003) included “In My Time of Dyin’” in their repertoire. However, Led Zeppelin, on their legendary sixth album Physical Graffiti (1975), provides the most widely known rendition of the song.
Production
Bob Dylan said that before entering the studio, he had never played “In My Time of Dyin’” and could not remember when and where he had heard the song for the first time. Nevertheless, he performed it precisely on the guitar in an open tuning on D (D-AD-F#-A-D), placing the capo d’astro on the fourth fret. In this first song on the album without a harmonica part, he provides the rhythm with perfect timing, almost like a metronome. Playing in an open tuning allows him to use a bottleneck in a pure blues tradition. But the famous Stacey Williams wrote in the album notes that Bob used his devoted girlfriend Suze Rotolo’s metal lipstick holder as a bottleneck. However, Suze reveals in her book, A Freewheelin’ Time, published in 2008, that she did not wear lipstick and “how typical of a guy to translate my reaction to being in a recording studio for the first time as devotion.”2
The interpretation is once again nervous, his guitar part slightly out of tune. When you know that Dylan said, “My big fear was that my guitar would go out of tune,”11 he must have had some chills upon hearing his performance. This version of “In My Time of Dyin’” perhaps inspired John Lennon for his song “Well Well Well” on the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band in 1970.
“In My Time of Dyin’” was the last
song recorded on the first day at the studio. Dylan only needed one take to record it.
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
By listening carefully, you hear Bob hitting his guitar two times with the metal lipstick cap used as a bottleneck, at 1:45 and at 2:30.
Man Of Constant Sorrow
Traditional / Arrangement Bob Dylan / 3:06
Musician
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, harmonica
Recording Studio
Columbia Recording Studios / Studio A, New York: November 20 and 22, 1961
Technical Team
Producer: John Hammond
Sound Engineers: George Knuerr and Pete Dauria
Genesis and Lyrics
Like many American folk songs, there is some uncertainty as to the exact origin of “Man of Constant Sorrow.” In 1913, a partially blind violinist from Kentucky named Dick Burnett had printed the song in a collection titled Farewell Song. During his two trips in the Appalachian mountains (1916 and 1918) to do a thorough analysis of the evolution of the Celtic ballad, the musicologist Cecil Sharp identified nearly seventeen hundred songs, including “Man of Constant Sorrow” (then called “In Old Virginny”). An earlier version was recorded by Emry Arthur in 1928. Then the song was recorded by Delta Blind Billy in the 1930s, the Stanley Brothers in 1951, and Joan Baez in 1960.
Bob Dylan’s version, while respecting the folk tradition, reflects his own personal concerns. Thus, the phrase “Maybe your friends think I’m just a stranger” was replaced by “Your mother says I’m a stranger,” which hints at the difficult relationship between Bob Dylan and Suze Rotolo’s mother. “Man of Constant Sorrow” has continued to inspire artists since the 1960s. The Soggy Bottom Boys’ version contributed to the worldwide success of the Coen brothers’ original soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000).
Production
This song was worked on during two sessions, on November 20 and 22. It took Dylan four takes, including a false start, to record the song. “Man of Constant Sorrow” is one of the three songs that Dylan performed during his first national television appearance in March 1963 on WBC-TV New York (broadcast in May), with “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Ballad of Hollis Brown.” Dylan is more introspective; his voice is softer than in the previous titles; the influence of Woody Guthrie is obvious. Guitar and harmonica (in G) provide an outstanding accompaniment.
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
Despite a very good rhythmic interpretation, one can hear Bob at 2:39 miss a string on his guitar!
Fixin’ To Die
Bukka White / 2:23
Musician
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar
Recording Studios Columbia Recording Studios / Studio A, New York: November 20, 1961
Technical Team
Producers: John Hammond
Sound Engineers: George Knuerr and Pete Dauria
Genesis and Lyrics
“Fixin’ to Die” is a blues song by Bukka White, reflecting the sinister and deadly atmosphere of the Mississippi State Penitentiary known as Parchman Farm, where the bluesman was held in the late 1930s. Bob Dylan was obviously impressed by White’s recording, dating from 1940, as well as by the feelings it inspired. In the African-American idiom, death (obviously premature) follows a difficult life of work on the plantations, violence, and racism. In “Fixin’ to Die,” death is quite another thing. The narrator says he is ready to die; however, he does not accept the fact that his children are left to their fate. The folk-rock singer Country Joe McDonald took up the title three years later for his anti–Vietnam War song “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die.”
Bukka White
Bukka White—his real name was Booker T. Washington White—learned to play guitar and piano after having abandoned a boxing career. Discovered by talent scouts from the Victor recording label playing in juke joints down South, he recorded his first sides in 1930, “The New Frisco Train” and “The Panama Limited.” Incarcerated in 1937 after a fight, he spent two years at Parchman Farm. John Lomax decided to record him in this penitentiary, thus opening a second career. Rediscovered in 1962, after the release of “Fixin’ to Die” by Bob Dylan, Bukka White was one of the leading figures of the folk revival. He died on February 26, 1977, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was the cousin of famous bluesman B. B. King’s mother.
Production
Dylan’s version is rather far from Bukka White’s guitar and washboard. It was closer to his friend Dave Van Ronk, a folksinger who inspired Dylan to make his voice sound hoarse, highly “bluesy,” an effect he abandoned after the first album. It was recorded second that day, after “You’re No Good,” presumably to inject energy into the interpretation. The lyrics are freely adapted and it is quite surprising to hear Dylan, just twenty years old, singing a text as dark as this with so much conviction. Dylan interprets the blues in open D tuning, without bottleneck or capo (see “In My Time of Dyin’”). Three takes were needed, the last one being the best.
Pretty Peggy-O
Traditional / Arrangement Bob Dylan / 3:24
Musician
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, harmonica
Recording Studio
Columbia Recording Studios / Studio A, New York: November 20 and 22, 1961
Technical Team
Producer: John Hammond
Sound Engineers: George Knuerr and Pete Dauria
Genesis and Lyrics
Originally a Scottish ballad called “The Bonnie Lass o’ Fyvie” and “Pretty Peggy of Derby” in England, it tells of the thwarted love between a soldier and a young girl. “The Bonnie Lass o’ Fyvie” is one of those little treasures unveiled by Cecil Sharp during his travels in the Appalachian mountains in 1916 and 1918. Meanwhile, this traditional song has evolved: the lyrics were changed and the title changed to “Pretty Peggy-O.”
Bob Dylan’s version is different from the original spirit of the song. He seems to want to tell pretty Peggy that the time has come for her to have some fun, insofar as both contenders are gone: the lieutenant who went to the rodeo in Texas, and the captain who died and was buried in Louisiana. The best later renditions include those of Simon & Garfunkel, Joan Baez, and the Grateful Dead.
Production
Dylan sings this “Pretty Peggy-O” in a country style. The influence of Woody Guthrie is still present, with the guitar and harmonica (in G) to remind us. Dylan opened a concert on November 4, 1961, at Carnegie Chapter Hall in New York with “Pretty Peggy-O” before an audience of fifty-three people, eighteen days before entering the studio. On November 22, during his second recording session, “Pretty Peggy-O” was recorded in just two takes, the second being the best. Note that at 0:37 you can hear a plosive on the word pretty, which confirms Hammond’s judgment about Dylan’s lack of technical expertise at the microphone. In Dylan’s defense, “Pretty Peggy-O” is the worst nightmare for sound engineers: two successive plosives!
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
Dylan loved this song. It is one of the few songs from his debut album he performed in concert, especially during the Never Ending Tour in 1992 and 1998.
Highway 51
Curtis Jones / 2:52
Musician
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar
Recording Studio
Columbia Recording Studios / Studio A, New York: November 22, 1961
Technical Team
Producer: John Hammond
Sound Engineers: George Knuerr and Pete Dauria
Genesis and Lyrics
“Highway 51” has a special place in the history of American popular music. The song starts in the suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, and ends up in Hurley, Wisconsin, after passing through the states of Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois. In other words, this was the route taken by African-Americans during their great migration to the North.
This folk blues song is credited to Curtis Jones, best known for “Lonesome in My Bedroom Blues” and “Tin Pan Alley.” Jones began recording in 1937 but released his first album, Trouble Blues, in
1960 on Bluesville Records. He left the United States in 1962 for Europe, where he died in 1971.
Production
Bob Dylan’s version is the first real piece of folk rock. It demonstrates Dylan’s willingness to reject his categorization as a folksinger and to show that he was raised to the sound of rock ’n’ roll.
Dylan adapts the version of bluesman Tommy McClennan, renamed “New Highway No. 51.” He revisits the words and seeks accuracy in the interpretation. His guitar is tuned once again in an open D to give the blues his aggressive, defiant sound. He demonstrates with this song that he can handle the six strings brilliantly. He pushes his voice, sounding close to Elvis’s intonation in the pure tradition of “Hound Dog.” Only one take was necessary.
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
At about 2:03 we notice a few wrong notes on the guitar played accidentally by an unleashed Bob.
Gospel Plow
Traditional / Arrangement Bob Dylan / 1:44
Bob Dylan All the Songs Page 3