150-467: " Mr. Tambourine Man " is a song written by Bob Dylan , released as the first track of the acoustic side of his March 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home . The song's popularity led to Dylan recording it live many times, and it has been included in multiple compilation albums. It has been translated into other languages and has been used or referenced in television shows, films, and books. The song has been performed and recorded by many artists, including
300-495: A Triumph Tiger 100 , near his home in Woodstock, New York . Dylan said he broke several vertebrae in his neck. The circumstances of the accident are unclear since no ambulance was called to the scene and Dylan was not hospitalized. Dylan's biographers have written that the crash offered him the chance to escape the pressures around him. Dylan concurred: "I had been in a motorcycle accident and I'd been hurt, but I recovered. Truth
450-626: A busy number with lots of echo. Lead voice tells the story and has vocal group backing in the attractive chorus. The melody sticks even after one play." Critic William Ruhlmann has argued that in the wake of "Mr. Tambourine Man", the influence of the Byrds could be heard in recordings by a number of other Los Angeles-based acts, including the Turtles , the Leaves , Barry McGuire , and Sonny & Cher . In addition, author and music historian Richie Unterberger sees
600-524: A cross-country road trip with several friends, and completed it sometime between the middle of March and late April of that year after he had returned to New York. Nigel Williamson has suggested in The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan that the influence of Mardi Gras can be heard in the swirling and fanciful imagery of the song's lyrics. Journalist Al Aronowitz has stated that Dylan completed the song at his home, but folk singer Judy Collins , who later recorded
750-620: A damn". By the end of 1963, Dylan felt manipulated and constrained by the folk and protest movements. Accepting the " Tom Paine Award" from the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy , an intoxicated Dylan questioned the role of the committee, characterized the members as old and balding, and claimed to see something of himself and of every man in Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald . Another Side of Bob Dylan , recorded in
900-772: A few film festivals. Secluded from public gaze, Dylan recorded over 100 songs during 1967 at his Woodstock home and in the basement of the Hawks' nearby house, " Big Pink ". These songs were initially offered as demos for other artists to record and were hits for Julie Driscoll , the Byrds, and Manfred Mann. The public heard these recordings when Great White Wonder , the first " bootleg recording ", appeared in West Coast shops in July 1969, containing Dylan material recorded in Minneapolis in 1961 and seven Basement Tapes songs. This record gave birth to
1050-515: A folk artist with his mind wandering towards Elvis Presley and Sun Records ". In May 1963, Dylan's political profile rose when he walked out of The Ed Sullivan Show . During rehearsals, Dylan had been told by CBS television's head of program practices that " Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues " was potentially libelous to the John Birch Society . Rather than comply with censorship, Dylan refused to appear. Dylan and Baez were prominent in
1200-555: A hostile response from the folk music establishment. In the September issue of Sing Out! , Ewan MacColl wrote: "Our traditional songs and ballads are the creations of extraordinarily talented artists working inside disciplines formulated over time ...'But what of Bobby Dylan?' scream the outraged teenagers ... Only a completely non-critical audience, nourished on the watery pap of pop music, could have fallen for such tenth-rate drivel". On July 29, four days after Newport, Dylan
1350-496: A large body of songs with members of the Band , who had previously backed him on tour. These recordings were later released as The Basement Tapes in 1975. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dylan explored country music and rural themes on John Wesley Harding (1967), Nashville Skyline (1969) and New Morning (1970). In 1975, he released Blood on the Tracks , which many saw as
1500-430: A management contract with Albert Grossman . Grossman remained Dylan's manager until 1970, and was known for his sometimes confrontational personality and protective loyalty. Dylan said, "He was kind of like a Colonel Tom Parker figure ... you could smell him coming." Tension between Grossman and John Hammond led to the latter suggesting Dylan work with the jazz producer Tom Wilson , who produced several tracks for
1650-475: A minor industry in the illicit release of recordings by Dylan and other major rock artists. Columbia released a Basement selection in 1975 as The Basement Tapes . In late 1967, Dylan returned to studio recording in Nashville, accompanied by Charlie McCoy on bass, Kenny Buttrey on drums and Pete Drake on steel guitar. The result was John Wesley Harding , a record of short songs thematically drawing on
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#17328845997261800-430: A new label, David Geffen 's Asylum Records , when his contract with Columbia Records expired. His next album, Planet Waves , was recorded in the fall of 1973, using the Band as his backing group as they rehearsed for a major tour. The album included two versions of "Forever Young" , which became one of his most popular songs. As one critic described it, the song projected "something hymnal and heartfelt that spoke of
1950-402: A new prophetic voice that would become his trademark. However, with the political pessimism comes a more poetic vision than in his earlier protest songs, along with a more complex figurative language. Howard Sounes notes that the song features some of Dylan's most memorable images. The opening lines begin the song's torrent of apocalyptic images: Darkness at the break of noon Shadows even
2100-436: A night when the narrator has not slept. Still unable to sleep, though amazed by his weariness, he is available and open to Mr. Tambourine Man's song, and says he will follow him. In the course of four verses studded with internal rhymes, he expounds on this situation, his meaning often heavily embroidered with imagery, though the desire to be freed by the tambourine man's song remains clear." While there has been speculation that
2250-413: A portrait of an "alienated individual identifying the characteristics of the world around him and thus declaring his freedom from its 'rules'." As such, a major target in the song is the old, established concepts which give a false picture of reality and hinder new worldviews from being accepted. Critic Andy Gill considered that the song "shares the same sense of societal entropy" as the previous track on
2400-446: A publisher demo of the song at Witmark Music. More than six months passed before Dylan re-recorded the song, again with Wilson in the producer's chair, during the final Bringing It All Back Home session on January 15, 1965, the same day that " Gates of Eden ", " It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) ", and " It's All Over Now, Baby Blue " were recorded. It was long thought that the four songs were each recorded in one long take. However, in
2550-615: A raucous confrontation between Dylan and his audience at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in England on May 17, 1966. A recording of this concert was released in 1998: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966 . At the climax of the evening, a member of the audience, angered by Dylan's electric backing, shouted: " Judas !" to which Dylan responded, "I don't believe you ... You're a liar!" Dylan turned to his band and said, "Play it fucking loud!" During his 1966 tour, Dylan
2700-416: A result, while Dylan's version is five-and-a-half minutes long, the Byrds' version runs just short of two-and-a-half minutes. The lead vocal on the Byrds' recording of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was sung by McGuinn, who attempted to modify his singing style to fill what he perceived as a gap in the popular music scene of the day, somewhere between the vocal sound of John Lennon and Bob Dylan. The song also took on
2850-478: A return to form. In the late 1970s, he became a born-again Christian and released three albums of contemporary gospel music before returning to his more familiar rock-based idiom in the early 1980s. Dylan's Time Out of Mind (1997) marked the beginning of a career renaissance. He has released five critically acclaimed albums of original material since, most recently Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020). He also recorded
3000-593: A revelation to Dylan and influenced his early performances. He wrote of Guthrie's impact: "The songs themselves had the infinite sweep of humanity in them... [He] was the true voice of the American spirit. I said to myself I was going to be Guthrie's greatest disciple". In addition to visiting Guthrie, Dylan befriended his protégé Ramblin' Jack Elliott . From February 1961, Dylan played at clubs around Greenwich Village , befriending and picking up material from folk singers, including Dave Van Ronk , Fred Neil , Odetta ,
3150-545: A search for transcendence. In particular, biographer John Hinchey has suggested in his book Like a Complete Unknown that the singer is praying to his muse for inspiration; Hinchey notes that ironically the song itself is evidence the muse has already provided the sought-after inspiration. The figure of Mr. Tambourine Man has sometimes been interpreted as a symbol for Jesus or the Pied Piper of Hamelin . The song may also reference gospel music themes, with Mr. Tambourine Man being
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#17328845997263300-600: A sense of awe. Stuff like, 'It's Alright, Ma,' just the alliteration in that blows me away." "It's Alright, Ma" has featured in Dylan's live concerts throughout his long career. Dylan's website reports that, as of March 2015, Dylan performed the song 772 times in concert. Concert performances of the songs have been released on The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall (recorded on October 31, 1964), Live 1962-1966: Rare Performances From The Copyright Collections (recorded on April 30, 1965), Before
3450-458: A similar poll of artists ranked the song number 14. In 2002, Uncut listed it as the number 15 all-time Dylan song. Sources: Books: Websites: Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan ; born Robert Allen Zimmerman , May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his 60-year career. He rose to prominence in
3600-399: A single evening on June 9, 1964, had a lighter mood. The humorous Dylan reemerged on " I Shall Be Free No. 10 " and "Motorpsycho Nightmare". " Spanish Harlem Incident " and " To Ramona " are passionate love songs, while " Black Crow Blues " and " I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) " suggest the rock and roll soon to dominate Dylan's music. " It Ain't Me Babe ", on the surface
3750-431: A single false start. (the false start can be heard on both the 6-disc and 18-disc versions of The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966 , released in 2015). Dylan biographer Howard Sounes described "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" as a "grim masterpiece." The only accompaniment is Dylan's guitar, playing folk-blues riffs and up and down chord progressions. Author Sean Wilentz has noted that
3900-794: A small studio in Greenwich Village. These sessions resulted in " Watching the River Flow " and a new recording of " When I Paint My Masterpiece ". On November 4, 1971, Dylan recorded " George Jackson ", which he released a week later. For many, the single was a surprising return to protest material, mourning the killing of Black Panther George Jackson in San Quentin State Prison . Dylan's surprise appearance at Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh on August 1, 1971, attracted media coverage as his live appearances had become rare. In 1972, Dylan joined Sam Peckinpah 's film Pat Garrett and Billy
4050-608: A small, close-knit Jewish community. They lived in Duluth until Dylan was six, when his father contracted polio and the family returned to his mother's hometown of Hibbing, where they lived for the rest of Dylan's childhood, and his father and paternal uncles ran a furniture and appliance store. In the early 1950s Dylan listened to the Grand Ole Opry radio show and heard the songs of Hank Williams . He later wrote: "The sound of his voice went through me like an electric rod." Dylan
4200-525: A solo acoustic song, and live performances have appeared on various concert albums and DVDs. An early performance, perhaps the song's live debut, recorded at London's Royal Festival Hall on May 17, 1964, appeared on Live 1962-1966: Rare Performances From The Copyright Collections , while another early performance, recorded during a songs workshop at the Newport Folk Festival on July 24, 1964, was included in both Murray Lerner 's film The Other Side of
4350-480: A song about spurned love, has been described as a rejection of the role of political spokesman thrust upon him. His new direction was signaled by two lengthy songs: the impressionistic " Chimes of Freedom ", which sets social commentary against a metaphorical landscape in a style characterized by Allen Ginsberg as "chains of flashing images," and " My Back Pages ", which attacks the simplistic and arch seriousness of his own earlier topical songs and seems to predict
4500-456: A songwriter. Janet Maslin wrote of Freewheelin ' : These were the songs that established [Dylan] as the voice of his generation—someone who implicitly understood how concerned young Americans felt about nuclear disarmament and the growing Civil Rights Movement : his mixture of moral authority and nonconformity was perhaps the most timely of his attributes. Freewheelin ' also included love songs and surreal talking blues . Humor
4650-633: A spiritual aspect for McGuinn during the recording sessions, as he told Rogan in 1997: "I was singing to God and I was saying that God was the Tambourine Man and I was saying to him, 'Hey, God, take me for a trip and I'll follow you.' It was a prayer of submission." The single reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 1 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the first recording of a Dylan song to reach number 1 on any pop music chart. In 2009,
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4800-637: A trilogy of albums covering the Great American Songbook , especially songs sung by Frank Sinatra , and an album smoothing his early rock material into a mellower Americana sensibility, Shadow Kingdom (2023). Dylan has toured continuously since the late 1980s on what has become known as the Never Ending Tour . Since 1994, Dylan has published nine books of paintings and drawings , and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. He has sold more than 125 million records, making him one of
4950-600: Is "he not busy being born is busy dying," from the song's second verse, which was used by Jimmy Carter in his 1976 presidential nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention . During his presidential campaign in 2000 , Al Gore told talk show host Oprah Winfrey that this was his favorite quotation. Writer and journalist Christopher Hitchens quoted from the song's lyrics in his last article for Vanity Fair , written shortly before his death from esophageal cancer . Hitchens posted at
5100-531: Is included in the film Dont Look Back , and a live performance of Dylan playing the song with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on February 25, 1986, is included in the video of the HBO special Hard to Handle . Dylan also sang this song at his October 16, 1992, 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at Madison Square Garden , which was released on The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration album. The studio recording
5250-478: Is one of his songs that means the most to him, and he has played the song often in live concerts. Since its original release on Bringing It All Back Home , live versions of the song have been issued on The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall , Before the Flood , The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings , and Bob Dylan at Budokan . Dylan can also be seen performing
5400-529: Is surprising that neither Billboard or Cashbox magazines reviewed the single, considering the efforts Columbia put into promoting the record. In the UK, Record Mirror described the single as, "A Bob Dylan song of uncommon charm. Group is American, folksy and five-strong. Busy mandolin-style [ sic ] backing. Song is the big selling point, for sure." In his review for Music Echo , critic Brian Harvey described it as "a folksy, guitar twangy, medium tempo swinger. It's
5550-703: The American West and the Bible . The sparse structure and instrumentation, with lyrics that took the Judeo-Christian tradition seriously, was a departure from Dylan's previous work. It included " All Along the Watchtower ", famously covered by Jimi Hendrix . Woody Guthrie died in October 1967, and Dylan made his first live appearance in twenty months at a memorial concert held at Carnegie Hall on January 20, 1968, where he
5700-584: The Brechtian " The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll " the death of Black hotel barmaid Hattie Carroll at the hands of young White socialite William Zantzinger. " Ballad of Hollis Brown " and " North Country Blues " addressed despair engendered by the breakdown of farming and mining communities. The final track on the album contained Dylan's angry response to a hostile profile of the singer that had appeared in Newsweek magazine. As biographer Clinton Heylin puts it,
5850-531: The New Lost City Ramblers and Irish musicians the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem . In September, The New York Times critic Robert Shelton boosted Dylan's career with a very enthusiastic review of his performance at Gerde's Folk City : "Bob Dylan: A Distinctive Folk-Song Stylist". That month, Dylan played harmonica on folk singer Carolyn Hester 's third album, bringing him to the attention of
6000-671: The Newsweek journalist wrote a story about "the way the Bar Mitzvah boy from Hibbing, Minnesota, had reinvented himself as the prince of protest", emphasising his birth name Robert Zimmerman, his attendance at the University of Minnesota and his close relationship with his parents whom he claimed to be estranged from. The day after the article appeared, Dylan returned to the studio to record " Restless Farewell " which ends with his vow to "make my stand/ And remain as I am/ And bid farewell and not give
6150-510: The Woodstock Festival closer to home. In the early 1970s, critics charged that Dylan's output was varied and unpredictable. Greil Marcus asked "What is this shit?" upon first hearing Self Portrait , released in June 1970. It was a double LP including few original songs and was poorly received. In October 1970, Dylan released New Morning , considered a return to form. The title track
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6300-757: The best-selling musicians ever . He has received numerous awards , including the Presidential Medal of Freedom , ten Grammy Awards , a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award . Dylan has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame . In 2008, the Pulitzer Prize Board awarded him a special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." In 2016, Dylan
6450-527: The "accompaniments" as "often so trashy they sound like mere practice takes". In Rolling Stone , Jon Landau wrote that "the record has been made with typical shoddiness". Over the years critics came to see it as one of Dylan's masterpieces. In Salon , journalist Bill Wyman wrote: It%27s Alright, Ma (I%27m Only Bleeding) " It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) " is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and first released on his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home . It
6600-426: The 1960s, when songs such as " The Times They Are a-Changin' " (1964) became anthems for the civil rights and antiwar movements. Initially modeling his style on Woody Guthrie 's folk songs , Robert Johnson 's blues and what he called the "architectural forms" of Hank Williams 's country songs, Dylan added increasingly sophisticated lyrical techniques to the folk music of the early 1960s, infusing it "with
6750-411: The 4-CD deluxe edition of The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971) . Dylan played the song as part of his evening set at the 1971, Concert for Bangladesh , organized by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar , featuring Harrison on electric guitar, Leon Russell on bass, and Ringo Starr on tambourine. That performance was included on The Concert For Bangladesh album, although it
6900-653: The Barbarians , and Chad and Jeremy . Other artists who have recorded the song include Alvin and the Chipmunks (1965), Glen Campbell (1965), the Beau Brummels (1966), the Lettermen (1966), Kenny Rankin (1967), Melanie (1968), Joni Mitchell (1970), Gene Clark (1984) and Crowded House (1989). William Shatner recorded a spoken-word cover of the song for his 1968 album The Transformed Man . A reunited line-up of
7050-560: The Byrds , Judy Collins , Melanie , Odetta , Alvin and the Chipmunks , and Stevie Wonder among others. The Byrds' version was released in April 1965 as their first single on Columbia Records , reaching number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart , as well as being the title track of their debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man . The Byrds' recording of the song
7200-676: The Byrds , Sonny & Cher , the Hollies , the Association , Manfred Mann and the Turtles . " Mixed-Up Confusion ", recorded during the Freewheelin' sessions with a backing band, was released as Dylan's first single in December 1962, but then swiftly withdrawn. In contrast to the mostly solo acoustic performances on the album, the single showed a willingness to experiment with a rockabilly sound. Cameron Crowe described it as "a fascinating look at
7350-523: The Byrds only used the second for their recording. Dylan's and the Byrds' versions have appeared on various lists ranking the greatest songs of all time, including an appearance by both on Rolling Stone ' s list of the 500 best songs ever . Both versions received Grammy Hall of Fame Awards . The song has a bright, expansive melody and has become famous for its surrealistic imagery, influenced by artists as diverse as French poet Arthur Rimbaud and Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini . The lyrics call on
7500-458: The Byrds over Thanksgiving 1964. Band biographer Johnny Rogan has remarked that the two surviving demos of "Mr. Tambourine Man" dating from this period feature an incongruous marching band drum part from Clarke, but overall the arrangement is very close to the later single version. The master take of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was recorded on January 20, 1965, at Columbia Studios in Hollywood, before
7650-471: The Byrds' musicianship, as a result of them not having gelled musically yet, McGuinn was the only Byrd to play on both "Mr. Tambourine Man" and its B-side , " I Knew I'd Want You ". Rather than using band members, Melcher hired the Wrecking Crew , a collection of top L.A. session musicians (listed here ), who (with McGuinn on guitar) provided the backing track over which McGuinn, Crosby, and Clark sang. By
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#17328845997267800-459: The Byrds, but, Unterberger argues, the band's influence could still be heard in the music of Fairport Convention . Since the 1960s, the Byrds' jangly, folk rock sound has continued to influence popular music, with authors such as Chris Smith, Johnny Rogan, and Mark Deming, noting the band's influence on various acts including Big Star , Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers , R.E.M. , the Long Ryders ,
7950-623: The Byrds, featuring Roger McGuinn , Chris Hillman, and David Crosby, performed "Mr. Tambourine Man" with Dylan at a Roy Orbison tribute concert on February 24, 1990. This live performance of the song was included on the 1990 box set The Byrds . At the October 1992 Bob Dylan 30th anniversary tribute concert at Madison Square Garden , McGuinn performed the song, backed by Tom Petty , Mike Campbell , and Benmont Tench , among others. "Mr. Tambourine Man" has been referenced in books and film, including Tom Wolfe 's non-fiction novel The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test , Stephen King 's novel Carrie ,
8100-477: The Flood (recorded on February 14, 1974), The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings (recorded on November 4, 1975), and Bob Dylan at Budokan (recorded on February 28, 1978). In addition to playing the song live regularly in the 1960s and 1970s, Dylan has included it in his Never Ending Tour from the late 1980s up to the present. Footage of Dylan playing "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" in May 1965
8250-423: The Flood , was released on Asylum Records. Soon, according to Clive Davis , Columbia Records sent word they "will spare nothing to bring Dylan back into the fold". Dylan had second thoughts about Asylum, unhappy that Geffen had sold only 600,000 copies of Planet Waves despite millions of unfulfilled ticket requests for the 1974 tour; he returned to Columbia Records, which reissued his two Asylum albums. After
8400-608: The Jewish-centric fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu house, Dylan began to perform at the Ten ;O'Clock Scholar, a coffeehouse a few blocks from campus, and became involved in the Dinkytown folk music circuit. His focus on rock and roll gave way to American folk music , as he explained in a 1985 interview: The thing about rock'n'roll is that for me anyway it wasn't enough ... There were great catch-phrases and driving pulse rhythms ... but
8550-521: The Juniors ' " Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay " at their high school talent show was so loud that the principal cut the microphone. In 1959, Dylan's high school yearbook carried the caption "Robert Zimmerman: to join 'Little Richard ' ". That year, as Elston Gunnn, he performed two dates with Bobby Vee , playing piano and clapping. In September 1959, Dylan enrolled at the University of Minnesota . Living at
8700-695: The Kid , providing the soundtrack and playing "Alias", a member of Billy's gang. Despite the film's failure at the box office, " Knockin' on Heaven's Door " became one of Dylan's most covered songs. That same year, Dylan protested the move to deport John Lennon and Yoko Ono , who had been convicted for marijuana possession, by sending a letter to the US Immigration Service which read in part: "Hurray for John & Yoko. Let them stay and live here and breathe. The country's got plenty of room and space. Let John and Yoko stay!" Dylan began 1973 by signing with
8850-661: The Limeliters , the Chad Mitchell Trio , and Les Baxter's Balladeers . In early 1964, McGuinn, Clark, and Crosby formed the Jet Set and started developing a fusion of folk-based lyrics and melodies, with arrangements in the style of the Beatles. In August 1964, the band's manager Jim Dickson acquired an acetate disc of "Mr. Tambourine Man" from Dylan's publisher , featuring a performance by Dylan and Ramblin' Jack Elliott. Although
9000-767: The Mirror and the DVD release of Martin Scorsese 's documentary No Direction Home . A live performance at New York's Philharmonic Hall dating from October 31, 1964, appeared on The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall . During his appearance at the Newport Folk Festival on July 25, 1965, after he was heckled by acoustic folk music fans during his electric set, Dylan returned to play acoustic versions of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and " It's All Over Now, Baby Blue "; this performance of "Mr. Tambourine Man"
9150-468: The North Country " appeared on the album. The album influenced the nascent genre of country rock . In 1969, Dylan was asked to write songs for Scratch , Archibald MacLeish 's musical adaptation of " The Devil and Daniel Webster ". MacLeish initially praised Dylan's contributions, writing to him "Those songs of yours have been haunting me—and exciting me," but creative differences led to Dylan leaving
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#17328845997269300-647: The Smiths , the Bangles , the Stone Roses , Teenage Fanclub , and the La's . In addition to appearing on the Byrds' debut album, "Mr. Tambourine Man" is included on several Byrds' compilation and live albums, including The Byrds Greatest Hits , Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971 , The Very Best of The Byrds , The Essential Byrds , The Byrds Play Dylan , and the live disc of The Byrds' (Untitled) album. The Byrds' version of
9450-511: The Troubadour , Les Cousins , and Bunjies . He also learned material from UK performers, including Martin Carthy . By the release of Dylan's second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan , in May 1963, he had begun to make his name as a singer-songwriter. Many songs on the album were labeled protest songs , inspired partly by Guthrie and influenced by Pete Seeger 's topical songs. " Oxford Town "
9600-562: The US and Canada for six months, backed by the five musicians from the Hawks who became known as The Band . While Dylan and the Hawks met increasingly receptive audiences, their studio efforts foundered. Producer Bob Johnston persuaded Dylan to record in Nashville in February 1966, and surrounded him with top-notch session men. At Dylan's insistence, Robertson and Kooper came from New York City to play on
9750-399: The US and UK. " It's All Over Now, Baby Blue " and " It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) " were two of Dylan's most important compositions. In 1965, headlining the Newport Folk Festival , Dylan performed his first electric set since high school with a pickup group featuring Mike Bloomfield on guitar and Al Kooper on organ. Dylan had appeared at Newport in 1963 and 1964, but in 1965
9900-487: The United States sometimes must have to stand naked." The lyrics express Dylan's anger at the perceived hypocrisy, commercialism , consumerism , and war mentality in contemporary American culture. Dylan's preoccupations in the lyrics, nevertheless, extend beyond the socio-political, expressing existential concerns, touching on urgent matters of personal experience. Dylan said that "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"
10050-460: The United States, following the pogroms against Jews of 1905. His maternal grandparents, Florence and Ben Stone, were Lithuanian Jews who had arrived in the United States in 1902. Dylan wrote that his paternal grandmother's family was originally from the Kağızman district of Kars Province in northeastern Turkey. Dylan's father Abram Zimmerman and his mother Beatrice "Beatty" Stone were part of
10200-483: The Wind " and " A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall ", which adapted the tunes and phrasing of older folk songs. He released the politically charged The Times They Are a-Changin' and the more lyrically abstract and introspective Another Side of Bob Dylan in 1964. In 1965 and 1966, Dylan drew controversy among folk purists when he adopted electrically amplified rock instrumentation, and in the space of 15 months recorded three of
10350-407: The album ("Mr. Tambourine Man", " Gates of Eden " and " It's All Over Now, Baby Blue ") were recorded, with Tom Wilson producing . It was long thought that the four songs that make up side 2 of Bringing It All Back Home were recorded in one long take . This is not true, but "Gates of Eden" was recorded in a single take and "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" was recorded in one take after
10500-417: The album's producer John Hammond , who signed Dylan to Columbia Records . Dylan's debut album, Bob Dylan , released March 19, 1962, consisted of traditional folk, blues and gospel material with just two original compositions, " Talkin' New York " and " Song to Woody ". The album sold 5,000 copies in its first year, just breaking even. In August 1962, Dylan changed his name to Bob Dylan, and signed
10650-470: The album, "Gates of Eden", but that the critique in "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" is more direct and less allusive. Author Michael Gray has commented that although the vitriol Dylan unleashes towards his targets is similar to his earlier political protest songs, "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" is a transitional song in that it does not express optimism in the possibility of political solutions. Instead, argued author John Hinchey, Dylan sings in
10800-576: The album, Dylan was booked for two US concerts with Al Kooper and Harvey Brooks from his studio crew and Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm , former members of Ronnie Hawkins 's backing band the Hawks . On August 28 at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, the group was heckled by an audience still annoyed by Dylan's electric sound. The band's reception on September 3 at the Hollywood Bowl was more favorable. From September 24, 1965, in Austin, Texas, Dylan toured
10950-403: The backlash he was about to encounter from his former champions. In the latter half of 1964 and into 1965, Dylan moved from folk songwriter to folk-rock pop-music star. His jeans and work shirts were replaced by a Carnaby Street wardrobe, sunglasses day or night, and pointed " Beatle boots ". A London reporter noted "Hair that would set the teeth of a comb on edge. A loud shirt that would dim
11100-424: The band members were initially unimpressed with the song, after McGuinn changed the time signature from Dylan's 4 configuration to 4 time, they began rehearsing and demoing it. In an attempt to make it sound more like the Beatles, the band and Dickson elected to give the song a full, electric rock band treatment, effectively creating the musical subgenre of folk rock. To further bolster
11250-544: The band's bassist Chris Hillman gave Bob Eubanks , a DJ on KRLA and later the host of The Newlywed Game , credit for originally breaking the song on the radio in L.A. Upon release, Record World picked it as its "Sleeper of the Week" and called it a "funky and slow treatment of the Bob Dylan tune that has a lot to say. Moody and different treatment from a group going places." Band biographer Christopher Hjort has remarked that it
11400-426: The band's debut album , which was released on June 21, 1965. The Byrds' version is abridged and in a different key from Dylan's original. The single's success initiated the folk rock boom of 1965 and 1966, with a number of American and British acts imitating the band's hybrid of a rock beat, jangly guitar playing , and poetic or socially conscious lyrics. The single was the "first folk rock smash hit", and gave rise to
11550-568: The biography Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades , Clinton Heylin relates that the song required six attempts, possibly because of difficulties in working out the playoffs between Dylan's acoustic guitar and Bruce Langhorne 's electric lead. Alternate takes released on Dylan's Cutting Edge collection also reveal that early takes include drummer Bobby Gregg playing a tambourine-heavy 4 rhythm, but Dylan found this too distracting and opted to continue recording with Langhorne alone. The final take
11700-402: The bringer of religious salvation. Dylan has cited the influence of Federico Fellini 's movie La Strada on the song, while other commentators have found echoes of the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud . Author Howard Sounes has identified the lyrics "in the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you" as having been taken from a Lord Buckley recording. Bruce Langhorne , who performs guitar on
11850-589: The civil rights movement, singing together at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. Dylan performed " Only a Pawn in Their Game " and " When the Ship Comes In ". Dylan's third album, The Times They Are a-Changin' , reflected a more politicized Dylan. The songs often took as their subject matter contemporary stories, with " Only a Pawn in Their Game " addressing the murder of civil rights worker Medgar Evers , and
12000-488: The dead hand of communism as well as by American capitalism. According to Seth Rogovoy, this opening echoes the Book of Ecclesiastes (1:17), which reads, "I observed all deeds beneath the sun, and behold all is futile. " There are echoes of Ecclesiastes throughout the song. Another example is: Although the masters make the rules For the wise man and the fools The author of Ecclesiastes laments (2:15–16) "The fate of
12150-401: The effect was dramatic and electrifying". Many early songs reached the public through more palatable versions by other performers, such as Joan Baez , who became Dylan's advocate and lover. Baez was influential in bringing Dylan to prominence by recording several of his early songs and inviting him on stage during her concerts. Others who had hits with Dylan's songs in the early 1960s included
12300-435: The end of his song "Jo-Jo's Jacket" from his debut solo album. Hip hop group Public Enemy reference it in their 2007 Dylan tribute song " Long and Whining Road ". A widely known cover of "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" is that performed by Roger McGuinn for the soundtrack of the 1969 film, Easy Rider . One of the film's scriptwriters, the star, Peter Fonda , had originally intended to use Dylan's version of
12450-726: The energy of beat poetry and as a forerunner of rap and hip-hop . The song was provided with an early music video, which opened D. A. Pennebaker 's cinéma vérité presentation of Dylan's 1965 British tour, Dont Look Back . Instead of miming, Dylan illustrated the lyrics by throwing cue cards containing key words on the ground. Pennebaker said the sequence was Dylan's idea, and it has been imitated in music videos and advertisements. The second side of Bringing It All Back Home contained four long songs on which Dylan accompanied himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica. " Mr. Tambourine Man " became one of his best-known songs when The Byrds recorded an electric version that reached number one in
12600-576: The event, Dylan denied he was married. Writer Nora Ephron made the news public in the New York Post in February 1966 with the headline "Hush! Bob Dylan is wed". Dylan toured Australia and Europe in April and May 1966. Each show was split in two. Dylan performed solo during the first half, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica. In the second, backed by the Hawks, he played electrically amplified music. This contrast provoked many fans, who jeered and slow clapped . The tour culminated in
12750-453: The father in Dylan", and Dylan said "I wrote it thinking about one of my boys and not wanting to be too sentimental". Columbia Records simultaneously released Dylan , a collection of studio outtakes, widely interpreted as a churlish response to Dylan's signing with a rival record label. In January 1974, Dylan, backed by the Band, embarked on a North American tour of 40 concerts—his first tour for seven years. A live double album, Before
12900-503: The film Dangerous Minds , and the documentary film Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson . The subject of the latter film, journalist Hunter S. Thompson , had "Mr. Tambourine Man" played at his funeral and dedicated his novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to Dylan and the song. Ann Hui 's 1990 film Song of the Exile begins with Maggie Cheung riding a bicycle through
13050-571: The fool will befall me also; to what advantage, then, have I become wise? But I come to the conclusion that this, too, was futility, because the wise man and the fool are both forgotten. The wise man dies, just like the fool." One of the most famous lines from the song reminds listeners that even the most powerful people will ultimately be judged: But even the president of the United States Sometimes must have to stand naked These lines seemed particularly prescient when Dylan performed
13200-523: The fools," "But even the president of the United States sometimes must have to stand naked" and "Everything from toy guns that spark to flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark, it's easy to see without looking too far that not much is really sacred." Other well-known lines include "Propaganda, all is phony" and "Advertising signs they con you into thinking you're the one." In a 2005 reader's poll reported in Mojo magazine, "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"
13350-451: The given name spelling. In a 2004 interview, he said, "You're born, you know, the wrong names, wrong parents. I mean, that happens. You call yourself what you want to call yourself. This is the land of the free." In May 1960, Dylan dropped out of college at the end of his first year. In January 1961, he traveled to New York City to perform and visit his musical idol Woody Guthrie at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital . Guthrie had been
13500-404: The group's confidence in the song, Dickson invited Dylan to a band rehearsal at World Pacific Studios to hear their rendition. Dylan was impressed, enthusiastically commenting, "Wow, you can dance to that!" His endorsement erased any lingering doubts the band had about the song. During this period, drummer Michael Clarke and bass player Chris Hillman joined, and the band changed their name to
13650-622: The influence of the Byrds in recordings by the Lovin' Spoonful , the Mamas & the Papas , Simon & Garfunkel , and Love , while author John Einarson has said that both the Grass Roots and We Five enjoyed commercial success by emulating the Byrds' folk rock sound. Unterberger also feels that, by late 1965, the Beatles were assimilating the sound of the Byrds into their Rubber Soul album, most notably on
13800-492: The intellectualism of classic literature and poetry". His lyrics incorporated political, social and philosophical influences, defying pop music conventions and appealing to the burgeoning counterculture . Dylan was born and raised in St. Louis County, Minnesota . Following his self-titled debut album of traditional folk songs in 1962, he made his breakthrough with The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963). The album featured " Blowin' in
13950-401: The lyrics extend beyond socio-political commentary, and touch on urgent matters of personal experience—the challenge to live and grow in the face of uncertainty. He not busy being born is busy dying Jimmy Carter would later refer to the line in his presidential nomination speech at the 1976 Democratic National Convention , though it addresses matters of the self which supersede politics, in
14100-454: The most influential rock albums of the 1960s: Bringing It All Back Home , Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde . When Dylan made his move from acoustic folk and blues music to rock, the mix became more complex. His six-minute single " Like a Rolling Stone " (1965) expanded commercial and creative boundaries in popular music. In July 1966, a motorcycle accident led to Dylan's withdrawal from touring. During this period, he recorded
14250-663: The neon lights of Leicester Square . He looks like an undernourished cockatoo ." Dylan began to spar with interviewers. Asked about a movie he planned while on Les Crane 's television show, he told Crane it would be a "cowboy horror movie." Asked if he played the cowboy, Dylan replied, "No, I play my mother." Dylan's late March 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home was another leap, featuring his first recordings with electric instruments, under producer Tom Wilson's guidance. The first single, " Subterranean Homesick Blues ", owed much to Chuck Berry 's " Too Much Monkey Business "; its free-association lyrics described as harking back to
14400-508: The number 86 single of the prior 25 years. That same year, music critic Dave Marsh listed it as number 207 in his list of the top 1001 singles ever made. In 1999, National Public Radio in the United States listed this version as one of the 300 most important American records of the 20th century. In the UK, music critic Colin Larkin listed the Byrds' version as the number 1 single of all time. Other UK publishers that have listed this song as one of
14550-453: The other at Witmark Music, have been released on The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home and The Bootleg Series Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos 1962–1964 , respectively. Outtakes from the January 15, 1965, recording session were released on The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966 in 2015. The song has been in Dylan's live concert repertoire since it was written, usually as
14700-404: The possibility of political solutions. In his book Bob Dylan, Performing Artist , author Paul Williams has suggested that the song addresses "the possibility that the most important (and least articulated) political issue of our times is that we are all being fed a false picture of reality, and it's coming at us from every direction." Williams goes on to say that the song successfully paints
14850-655: The process displaying certain themes associated with existentialism . Throughout the song, the words pour out quickly, with Dylan barely taking a breath between lines, so that the intricate rhyming structure is often missed: AAAAAB CCCCCB DDDDDB in the verses and AAB in the chorus. Dylan has cited "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" as one of his songs that means the most to him. In 1980 he said, "I don't think I could sit down now and write 'It's Alright, Ma' again. I wouldn't even know where to begin, but I can still sing it." In 1997, Dylan told The New York Times , "I've written some songs that I look at, and they just give me
15000-515: The project. Some of the songs were later recorded by Dylan in a revised form. In May 1969, Dylan appeared on the first episode of The Johnny Cash Show where he sang a duet with Cash on "Girl from the North Country" and played solos of "Living the Blues" and " I Threw It All Away ". Dylan traveled to England to top the bill at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 31, 1969, after rejecting overtures to appear at
15150-404: The release of Dylan's own version. The song's jangling, melodic guitar playing (performed by McGuinn on a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar) was immediately influential and has remained so to the present day. The group's complex vocal harmony work, as featured on "Mr. Tambourine Man", became another major characteristic of their sound. Due to producer Terry Melcher 's initial lack of confidence in
15300-661: The second album without formal credit. Wilson produced the next three albums Dylan recorded. Dylan made his first trip to the United Kingdom from December 1962 to January 1963. He had been invited by television director Philip Saville to appear in Madhouse on Castle Street , which Saville was directing for BBC Television . At the end of the play, Dylan performed " Blowin' in the Wind ", one of its first public performances. While in London, Dylan performed at London folk clubs, including
15450-510: The sessions. The Nashville sessions produced the double album Blonde on Blonde (1966), featuring what Dylan called "that thin wild mercury sound". Kooper described it as "taking two cultures and smashing them together with a huge explosion": the musical worlds of Nashville and of the "quintessential New York hipster" Bob Dylan. On November 22, 1965, Dylan quietly married 25-year-old former model Sara Lownds . Some of Dylan's friends, including Ramblin' Jack Elliott, say that, immediately after
15600-523: The silver spoon The handmade blade, the child's balloon Eclipses both the sun and moon To understand you know too soon There is no sense in trying Gill links the opening line of the song to the title of Arthur Koestler 's bleak novel Darkness at Noon , set in the Great Stalinist purge of 1938 in Soviet Russia . For Gill, Dylan is suggesting that the human spirit can be cast into darkness by
15750-522: The sole exception, with Dylan alluding to figures in Western culture in a song described by Andy Gill as "an 11-minute epic of entropy, which takes the form of a Fellini-esque parade of grotesques and oddities featuring a huge cast of celebrated characters". Poet Philip Larkin , who also reviewed jazz for The Daily Telegraph , wrote "I'm afraid I poached Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited (CBS) out of curiosity and found myself well rewarded." In support of
15900-656: The song appears on compilation albums that include hit songs by multiple artists. Two earlier demo recordings of "Mr. Tambourine Man", dating from the World Pacific rehearsal sessions, can be heard on the Byrds' archival albums Preflyte , In the Beginning , and The Preflyte Sessions . According to Christopher Hjort: The Byrds Additional musicians Note Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. "Mr. Tambourine Man" has been performed and recorded by many artists and in different languages over
16050-409: The song from 1966 were released in the boxed set The 1966 Live Recordings , with the May 26, 1966, performance released separately on the album The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert . "Mr. Tambourine Man" was the debut single by the American rock band the Byrds and was released on April 12, 1965 by Columbia Records, less than a month after Dylan's original. The song was also the title track of
16200-438: The song in the film Dont Look Back and the video of the HBO special Hard to Handle . The song has been covered by a number of other artists, including Roger McGuinn , the Byrds , Billy Preston , Hugo Race , Terence Trent D'Arby , Mick Farren , Caetano Veloso , Marilyn Scott , and The Duhks . Dylan wrote "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" in the summer of 1964. Although he was prepared to take his time developing
16350-497: The song in the film but after failing to secure the appropriate licensing he asked McGuinn to record a cover of it instead. McGuinn's version of the song included on the Easy Rider soundtrack album , features McGuinn on guitar and vocals, accompanied by his bandmate from The Byrds , Gene Parsons , on harmonica . The Byrds also recorded a version of the song during the 1970 recording sessions for their album (Untitled) but it
16500-419: The song is about drugs, particularly with lines such as "take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship" and "the smoke rings of my mind", Dylan has denied the song is about drugs. Though he was smoking marijuana at the time the song was written, Dylan was not introduced to LSD until a few months later. Outside of drug speculation, the song has been interpreted as a call to the singer's spirit or muse , or as
16650-493: The song is in the key of D major , it is harmonized as if it were in a Lydian G major , giving the song a tonal ambiguity that enhances the dreamy quality of the melody. Unusually, rather than beginning with the first verse, the song begins with an iteration of the chorus: William Ruhlmann, writing for the AllMusic web site, has suggested the following outline of the song's lyrics: "The time seems to be early morning following
16800-462: The song on his 1974 tour with the Band , a few months before Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States as a result of the Watergate crisis. After the song has confronted sex, religion and politics, it ends with the lines: And if my thought-dreams could be seen They'd probably put my head in a guillotine But it's alright, Ma, it's life and life only Dylan's preoccupations in
16950-461: The song's chord structure is similar to that used by the Everly Brothers in their hit recording of " Wake Up Little Susie ". The lyrics of "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" express Dylan's anger at what he sees as the hypocrisy, commercialism, consumerism, and war mentality inherent in contemporary American culture, but unlike those in his earlier protest songs, do not express optimism in
17100-479: The song's chorus . Although Dylan's version contains four verses, the Byrds perform only the song's second verse and two repeats of the chorus, followed by a variation on the song's introduction, which then fades out . The Byrds' arrangement of the song had been shortened during the band's rehearsals, at the suggestion of Jim Dickson, in order to accommodate commercial radio stations, which were reluctant to play songs that were more than two-and-a-half minutes long. As
17250-486: The song, as he did with " Mr. Tambourine Man ", he finished it in time for inclusion on the Bringing It All Back Home album, which was recorded in January 1965. Dylan first performed "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" live on October 10, 1964, at Philadelphia Town Hall. The version included on Bringing It All Back Home was recorded on January 15, 1965, the same day that the other three songs on side 2 of
17400-436: The song, has stated that Dylan completed the song at her home. Dylan premiered the song the following month at a May 17 concert at London's Royal Festival Hall . During the sessions for Another Side of Bob Dylan , in June 1964, with Tom Wilson producing, Dylan recorded "Mr. Tambourine Man" with Ramblin' Jack Elliott singing harmony. As Elliott was slightly off key, that recording was not used. Later that month he recorded
17550-442: The song: "that snare shot sounded like somebody'd kicked open the door to your mind." The song opened Dylan's next album, Highway 61 Revisited , named after the road that led from Dylan's Minnesota to the musical hotbed of New Orleans . The songs were in the same vein as the hit single, flavored by Mike Bloomfield's blues guitar and Al Kooper's organ riffs. " Desolation Row ", backed by acoustic guitar and understated bass, offers
17700-417: The songs " Nowhere Man " and " If I Needed Someone ". Both Unterberger and author Peter Lavezzoli have commented that Dylan himself decided to record with electric instrumentation on his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home in part due to the influence of the Byrds' rock adaptation of "Mr. Tambourine Man". As the 1960s came to a close, folk rock changed and evolved away from the jangly template pioneered by
17850-482: The songs weren't serious or didn't reflect life in a realistic way. I knew that when I got into folk music, it was more of a serious type of thing. The songs are filled with more despair, more sadness, more triumph, more faith in the supernatural, much deeper feelings. During this period, he began to introduce himself as "Bob Dylan". In his memoir, he wrote that he considered adopting the surname Dillon before unexpectedly seeing poems by Dylan Thomas , and deciding upon
18000-473: The streets of London while a street performer plays the song. The 2013 John Craigie song, "I Wrote Mr. Tambourine Man", is about a person that Craigie met in New Orleans who claimed to have written the original lyrics to "Mr. Tambourine Man". The Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was listed as the number 79 song on Rolling Stone ' s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time , and Dylan's version
18150-480: The success of the Byrds' debut created a template for folk rock that proved successful for many acts during the mid-1960s. Most of the members of the Byrds had a background in folk music, since Jim McGuinn , Gene Clark , and David Crosby had all worked as folk singers during the early 1960s. They had all spent time, independently of each other, in various folk groups, including the New Christy Minstrels ,
18300-623: The term "folk rock" in the U.S music press to describe the band's sound. This hybrid had its antecedents in the American folk revival of the early 1960s, the Animals ' rock-oriented recording of the folk song " The House of the Rising Sun ", the folk influences present in the songwriting of the Beatles , and the twelve-string guitar jangle of the Searchers and the Beatles' George Harrison . However,
18450-564: The time that sessions for their debut album began in March 1965, Melcher was satisfied that the band was competent enough to record its own musical backing. Much of the track's arrangement and final mixdown was modeled after Brian Wilson 's production work for the Beach Boys ' " Don't Worry Baby ". The Byrds' recording of the song opens with a distinctive, Bach -inspired guitar introduction played by McGuinn and then, like Dylan's version, goes into
18600-639: The title character to play a song and the narrator will follow. Interpretations of the lyrics have included a paean to drugs such as LSD , a call to the singer's muse , a reflection of the audience's demands on the singer, and religious interpretations. "Mr. Tambourine Man" was written and composed in early 1964, at the same approximate time as " Chimes of Freedom ", which Dylan recorded later that spring for his album Another Side of Bob Dylan . Dylan began writing and composing "Mr. Tambourine Man" in February 1964, after attending Mardi Gras in New Orleans during
18750-526: The top of his essay the verse of "It's Alright Ma" that ends with the words "That he who is not busy being born is busy dying". Another line, "Money doesn't talk, it swears," which appears in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations . In addition, the Columbia Dictionary of Quotations lists this as well as three other lines from the song: "Although the masters make the rules, for the wisemen and
18900-451: The top songs or singles include Mojo , New Musical Express , and Sounds . Australian music critic Toby Creswell included the song in his book 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them . In a 2005 readers' poll reported in Mojo , Dylan's version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was listed as the number four all-time greatest Bob Dylan song, and
19050-460: The tour, Dylan and his wife became estranged. He filled three small notebooks with songs about relationships and ruptures, and recorded the album Blood on the Tracks in September 1974. Dylan delayed the album's release and re-recorded half the songs at Sound 80 Studios in Minneapolis with production assistance from his brother, David Zimmerman. Released in early 1975, Blood on the Tracks received mixed reviews. In NME , Nick Kent described
19200-566: The track, has been cited by Dylan as the inspiration for the tambourine man image in the song. Langhorne used to play a giant, four-inch-deep " tambourine " (actually a Turkish frame drum ), and had brought the instrument to a previous Dylan recording session. The Bringing it All Back Home version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was included on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits in 1967 and several later Dylan compilation albums, including Biograph , Masterpieces , and The Essential Bob Dylan . The two June 1964 recordings, one with Ramblin' Jack Elliott and
19350-459: The years, including at least thirteen versions recorded in 1965 alone. The Brothers Four recorded a commercial version before the Byrds , but were unable to release it due to licensing issues. Odetta included her version of the song on her album Odetta Sings Dylan , released early March 1965. Notable recordings of the song have been made by Judy Collins , Stevie Wonder , the Four Seasons ,
19500-556: Was also impressed by the delivery of Johnnie Ray : "He was the first singer whose voice and style, I guess, I totally fell in love with… I loved his style, wanted to dress like him too." As a teenager, Dylan heard rock and roll on radio stations broadcasting from Shreveport and Little Rock . Dylan formed several bands while attending Hibbing High School . In the Golden Chords, he performed covers of songs by Little Richard and Elvis Presley . Their performance of Danny &
19650-443: Was an account of James Meredith 's ordeal as the first Black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi . The first song on the album, "Blowin' in the Wind", partly derived its melody from the traditional slave song "No More Auction Block", while its lyrics questioned the social and political status quo. The song was widely recorded by other artists and became a hit for Peter, Paul and Mary . " A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall "
19800-523: Was an important part of Dylan's persona, and the range of material on the album impressed listeners, including the Beatles . George Harrison said of the album: "We just played it, just wore it out. The content of the song lyrics and just the attitude—it was incredibly original and wonderful". The rough edge of Dylan's singing unsettled some but attracted others. Author Joyce Carol Oates wrote: "When we first heard this raw, very young, and seemingly untrained voice, frankly nasal, as if sandpaper could sing,
19950-801: Was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature . Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman ( Hebrew : שבתאי זיסל בן אברהם Shabtai Zisl ben Avraham ) in St. Mary's Hospital on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota , and raised in Hibbing, Minnesota , on the Mesabi Range west of Lake Superior . Dylan's paternal grandparents, Anna Kirghiz and Zigman Zimmerman, emigrated from Odessa in the Russian Empire (now Odesa , Ukraine) to
20100-571: Was back in the studio in New York, recording " Positively 4th Street ". The lyrics contained images of vengeance and paranoia, and have been interpreted as Dylan's put-down of former friends from the folk community he had known in clubs along West 4th Street . In July 1965, Dylan's six-minute single " Like a Rolling Stone " peaked at number two in the US chart. In 2004 and in 2011, Rolling Stone listed it as number one on " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ". Bruce Springsteen recalled first hearing
20250-420: Was backed by the Band. Nashville Skyline (1969), featured Nashville musicians, a mellow-voiced Dylan, a duet with Johnny Cash and the single " Lay Lady Lay ". Variety wrote, "Dylan is definitely doing something that can be called singing. Somehow he has managed to add an octave to his range." During one recording session, Dylan and Cash recorded a series of duets, but only their version of " Girl from
20400-467: Was based on the folk ballad " Lord Randall ". With its apocalyptic premonitions, the song gained resonance when the Cuban Missile Crisis developed a few weeks after Dylan began performing it. Both songs marked a new direction in songwriting, blending a stream-of-consciousness , imagist lyrical attack with traditional folk form. Dylan's topical songs led to his being viewed as more than just
20550-427: Was described as exhausted and acting "as if on a death trip". D. A. Pennebaker, the filmmaker accompanying the tour, described Dylan as "taking a lot of amphetamine and who-knows-what-else". In a 1969 interview with Jann Wenner , Dylan said, "I was on the road for almost five years. It wore me down. I was on drugs, a lot of things ... just to keep going, you know?" On July 29, 1966, Dylan crashed his motorcycle,
20700-633: Was excluded from the film of the concert. Another live version, from the Rolling Thunder Revue tour of 1975, was included on The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue and The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings , while electric band versions from 1978 and 1981 appeared, respectively, on Bob Dylan at Budokan and the Deluxe Edition of The Bootleg Series Vol. 13: Trouble No More 1979–1981 . In November 2016, all Dylan's recorded live performances of
20850-539: Was from Dylan's ill-fated collaboration with MacLeish, and "Day of the Locusts" was his account of receiving an honorary degree from Princeton University on June 9, 1970. In November 1968, Dylan co-wrote " I'd Have You Anytime " with George Harrison; Harrison recorded that song and Dylan's " If Not for You " for his album All Things Must Pass . Olivia Newton-John covered "If Not For You" on her debut album and " The Man in Me "
21000-598: Was included in The Other Side of the Mirror . A live version from Dylan's famous May 17, 1966, concert in Manchester, England (popularly but mistakenly known as the Royal Albert Hall Concert) was included on The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert . Dylan's August 31, 1969, performance of the song at the Isle of Wight Festival appeared on Isle of Wight Live , part of
21150-455: Was influential in popularizing the musical subgenres of folk rock and jangle pop , leading many contemporary bands to mimic its fusion of jangly guitars and intellectual lyrics in the wake of the single's success. Dylan himself was partly influenced to record with electric instrumentation after hearing the Byrds' reworking of his song during one of their rehearsals at World Pacific Studios in late 1964. Dylan's song has four verses, of which
21300-447: Was listed as the No. 8 all-time greatest Bob Dylan song, and a similar poll of artists ranked the song at No. 21. In 2002, Uncut magazine listed it as the No. 5 all-time Dylan song. The song was featured in the final episode of The Sopranos . It has also been referenced by other songwriters. For instance, the indie-rocker Stephen Malkmus quotes "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" at
21450-440: Was met with cheering and booing and left the stage after three songs. One version has it that the boos were from folk fans whom Dylan had alienated by appearing, unexpectedly, with an electric guitar. Murray Lerner , who filmed the performance, said: "I absolutely think that they were booing Dylan going electric." An alternative account claims audience members were upset by poor sound and a short set. Dylan's performance provoked
21600-490: Was not included in the final track listing. The Byrds occasionally performed the song in concert during 1970 and a live recording of it, from a March 1, 1970, appearance at the Felt Forum , was included on the 2000 remaster of the (Untitled) album, which was re-titled as (Untitled)/(Unissued) . This version also appears as a bonus track on the 2002 remastered version of the compilation album, The Byrds Play Dylan , and on
21750-579: Was prominently featured in the film The Big Lebowski (1998). Tarantula , a freeform book of prose-poetry, had been written by Dylan during a creative burst in 1964–65. Dylan shelved his book for several years, apparently uncertain of its status, until he suddenly informed Macmillan at the end of 1970 that the time had come to publish it. The book attracted negative reviews but later critics have suggested its affinities with Finnegans Wake and A Season In Hell . Between March 16 and 19, 1971, Dylan recorded with Leon Russell at Blue Rock ,
21900-436: Was ranked number 106. It is one of three songs to place twice, along with " Walk This Way " by both Aerosmith and Run-DMC with Perry and Tyler , and " Blue Suede Shoes " by both Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley . The Byrds' version was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998, and Dylan's version was honored with the same award in 2002. In 1989 Rolling Stone ranked the Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" as
22050-492: Was re-released on the 2008 compilation album Playlist: The Very Best of Bob Dylan '60s . Clinton Heylin , in his biography Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited , wrote that the recording "opened up a whole new genre of finger-pointing song, not just for Dylan but for the entire panoply of pop." Heylin adds that "It's Alright, Ma" probably contained more "memorable aphorisms" than any of Dylan's songs. One of these lines
22200-534: Was selected for the album, which was released on March 22, 1965. In his book Keys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia , Oliver Trager describes "Mr. Tambourine Man" as having a bright, expansive melody, with Langhorne's electric guitar accompaniment, which provides a countermelody to the vocals, being the only instrumentation besides Dylan's acoustic guitar and harmonica . Author Wilfrid Mellers has written that although
22350-491: Was that I wanted to get out of the rat race." He made very few public appearances, and did not tour again for almost eight years. Once Dylan was well enough to resume creative work, he began to edit D. A. Pennebaker's film of his 1966 tour. A rough cut was shown to ABC Television, but they rejected it as incomprehensible to mainstream audiences. The film, titled Eat the Document on bootleg copies, has since been screened at
22500-411: Was written in the summer of 1964, first performed live on October 10, 1964, and recorded on January 15, 1965. It is described by Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as a "grim masterpiece". Among the well-known lines sung in the song are "He not busy being born is busy dying," "Money doesn't talk, it swears," "Although the masters make the rules, for the wisemen and the fools" and "But even the president of
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