Riverside Church, New York, NY, July 29, 1961 -- includes Robert Shelton review, New York Times, July 31, 1961, mentioning Bob Dylan

Recently, I came across two CDs of amateur recordings from the July 29, 1961 "Saturday of Folk Music", broadcast on WRVR, New York, NY.


Whoever had the foresight to record this for posterity, did it with amateur equipment off the air -- there is a fair amount of interference and the reel-to-reel recording was stopped, whenever the taper seemed not to be interested in an artist. Upon restarting, the beginning of songs are cut frequently, as the taper did not manage to push the button on time -- so, quite a few songs are fragments only.

Moreover, this is from a tape labeled "Part 2" -- other tapes have not been located so far, although they might exist, based on the following clue from my detective bag:

-- The performance of a yet unsigned Bob Dylan from that date (featuring Danny Kalb and Ramblin' Jack Elliott) is NOT part of the tape labeled "Part 2" (as Dylan's performance is in circulation for quite a long time, there could be other tapes including his performance and that of others somewhere).


I have no idea, unfortunately, about the sequence of performers during this 12-hour marathon, but have included (unsigned) Bob Dylan's performance for the sake of (temporary) completeness.

Kick back, relax, and enjoy a certainly less-than-perfect historical audio document of an event half a century ago, where Suze Rotolo started flirting with Bob Dylan and where Bob might have first met Len Kunstadt and Victoria Spivey, leading to his recording session with Victoria and Big Joe Williams....


For your convenience, I have transcribed Robert Shelton's review of this event (New York Times, July 31, 1961):

FOLK MUSIC HEARD ON 12-HOUR SHOW
WRVR-FM Program Marks Start of 'Live' Project

A marathon program of folk music was run on Saturday to initiate the live music project of the city's newest FM radio outlet. Aside from a few pauses to identify station WRVR, the sound of ballads, blues, banjos and bouzoukis was heard from 9 A. M. to 9 P. M.

From noon on, the "festival" was held in the theatre of Riverside Church before a vociferously appreciative audience. The co-producers, Israel G. Young and Bob Yellin, rounded up more than fifty volunteer performers, of whom only a handful fell below a general high level of competence. No one was paid for his efforts, but the success of the program may serve to remind commercial radio and television stations that there is a largely untapped reservoir of zealous city folk musicians ready, willing and able to perform.

Although there were enough lapsv [SIC] of broadcasting practices during the day to gray a studio official's hair, the musical proceedings moved along with pace and variety and relatively few arid patches.

Commentary by Kunstadt

The segment on the blues, probably the day's best portion, was given shape by the commentary of Len Kunstadt, a jazz historian with a flair for aphorism and enthusiasm.

He introduced a series of singers—Bob Fox, Bruce Langhorne, Dave Van Ronk, the Rev. Gary Davis and Victoria Spivey —who touched on every aspect of the genre — traditional and commercial, sacred and profane, sad and even happy blues. Miss Spivey, whose recording career began in 1926, had as her accompanist on "St. Louis Blues" W, C. Handy Jr., son of the song's composer.
An exotic interlude of music from the Middle East was provided by local Greek and Turkish performers organized by J. R. Goddard and introduced by Cynthia Gooding in a section on foreign music. The Turkish songs of Saliha Tekneci were sinuous and haunting. The oud-playing of George Mgrdichian was dancingly rhythmic and tonally beautiful. And a taxim, a free improvisation on the bouzouki by Thomas Athanasiou, was inventive and pulsing.

The more-familiar banjo had its moments, too. Paul Cadwell is an old-school florid technician with a bag of virtuoso tricks, and John Cohen demonstrated traditional country styles. The flashy pyrotechnics of Scruggs-picking were offered by Roger Sprung, Marshall Brickman and Mr. Yellin.

Sandy Bull Performs

But it fell to a young music-J theory student, Sandy Bull, to really plumb the depths of creativity on the "primitive" folk instrument. Mr. Bull is equally at home in Southern mountain and blues styles, but his tonal richness, technical mastery and imagination excelled in his own explorative banjo transcriptions of a canon by William Byrd and Orff's"Carmina Burana," no less.

Among the newer promising talents deserving mention are a 20-year-old latter-day Guthrie disciple named Bob Dylan, with a curiously arresting mumbling, country-steeped manner;
John Wynn, a polished, poised tenor whose art-song approach to balladry was impressive; Tom Paxton, a Western singer with' an obvious potential as a songwriter, and Buddy Pendleton, a country fiddler of rare vintage.

It would be impossible to list every high point during the day, but some old friends did
have their innings. Among them were Logan English's tart topical song on the Washington Square ruckus and John Herald's alfalfa-flavored sacred, song, "We Need a Whole Lot, More of Jesus and a Lot Less Rock 'n' Roll."

The personable stage manner of Molly Scott, the hand-clapping gospel rousers of Brother John Sellers and Herman Stevens, and the antics of Rambling Jack Elliott were other pleasing moments.

There were few big-name performers to give glamour to the proceedings, but the talent
and exuberance of so many dedicated musicians made the day one to remember.

ROBERT SHELTON.

CONTENTS OF TAPE LABELED "PART 2": 

Ramblin' Jack Elliott
01  San Francisco Bay Blues
02  How Long Blues
03  Hard Traveling
04  Talking Fisherman
ß5  -I Belong to Glasgow
06  Cocaine

07     unknown Turkish singer  & 08 another unknown (??? - sounds like French) singer

John Wynn 
09  Preamble
10  Man Is For The Woman Made
11  Let Me Go With You
12  Little Boy How Old Are You?
13  Low And Sweet

Herman Stevens of the Stevens Gospel Singers 
14  He's Wonderful
15  He's Got The Whole World In His Hands

16   Station break

17   Bruce Langhorne 
Don't Take Everybody To Be Your Friend

18   Anne Bird
Anchored In Love
Anne Bird & Logan English
19  Sun's Gonna Shine In My Back Door Someday
20  Storms Are On The Ocean
21  Till I Return Again
22  Knoxville Girl

Logan English 
23  Barbara Allen
24  Kitty Alone
25  Washington Square Music Permit Blues

John Herald & The Greenbriar Boys
26  Down The Road
27  Stewball
28  Instrumental
29  We Need A Whole Lot More Of Jesus And A Lot Less Rock And Roll 

Reverend Gary Davis
01  Salty Dog instrumental
02  Iinstrumental
03  Instrumental

Dave Van Ronk
04  Death Letter Blues
05  Green Green Rocky Road
06  Hoochie Coochie Man
07  Poor Lazarus
 
Victoria Spivey 
08  Introduction by Len Kunstadt
09  Satan Get Down Below
10  My Man Caught Me Wrong
11 Intro to Saint Louis Blues
12 Saint Louis Blues with W.C. Handy Jr.

Tom Paxton 
13  Springhill Mine Disaster
14  Pepperfoot
15  The Train for Auschwitz
16  Sully's Pail
17  Going To The Zoo
18  John Birch Society
19  Pastures Of Plenty

Rosanne Cash on her father's list of "100 Essential Songs" and Bob Dylan's "Girl From The North Country" (2009)

Rosanne Cash, in conversation with Daniel J. Levitin, WGBH, Boston, MA, on her father's (Johnny Cash's) list of "100 Essential Songs" and Dylan's "Girl From The North Country" (Oct. 21, 2009):

BDSM=Berlin Dylan Subway Massacre, early 1990s

An attempt at visualising what I perceive as a rather prevalent phenomenom -- why do buskers ALMOST ALWAYS have to use Bob Dylan songs to extort money from innocent subway passengers?

Inspired by an all too recent experience of that kind and a "New Yorker" cartoon, October 2010.

Tom Paxton on Bob Dylan (2000)

Found this interesting passage about early Bob Dylan in Ken Paulson's
Tom Paxton interview of November 29, 2000:

Paxton: One night in Greenwich Village, there's a — there used to be a club called Gerde's Folk City. So, one night, Dave Van Ronk and I — apparently, we had already done our three songs apiece. And we were sitting there drinking beer, and this scruffy kid in a black corduroy cap — what they called a Huck Finn cap — and a, and a harmonica rack and a — I think a Gibson guitar got up and sang three Woody Guthrie songs. And both Dave and I, who were not easy, said, "Yeah, not bad. Ooh, this guy's all right." So, in next to no time, Bob Dylan was the most talked about, argued about artist in the Village. I mean, they were accusing him of being a Woody Guthrie clone, which was nonsense. He didn't sound like Woody Guthrie. Jack Elliott, in his early days, sounded much more like Woody than Bob ever did. But Bob had a tremendous repertoire of Woody Guthrie songs. He knew Woody Guthrie songs no one else knew. And perhaps Woody didn't write 'em. Perhaps Bob did, but who knows?




Paulson: Turned out to be a pretty fair writer. Do you recall your reaction to Dylan's first compositions?

Paxton: Oh, yeah. I liked his writing right from the beginning. And I have to tell you about one night. The Gaslight Cafe, where most of us worked, was on MacDougal Street. And it was down about eight steps. It was a cellar. It was a coffee house, no booze. And I — it was not a large place at all. Upstairs, on the first floor, in the back, there was a, a little apartment that the Gaslight rented or owned or something, just kind of a storage room. And we set up a table in there. We had this penny-ante poker game that was continuous. And my roommate at the time was a guy named Hugh Romney, who became, later, widely known in — as Wavy Gravy. And he was a poet, a beat poet. And he had this portable typewriter, or what we would call now a laptop typewriter, that he had left in this room for general use. And so, one night, I came in early for work, and Bob was in there tap, tap, tapping and had just finished this long poem. And he said, "What do you think of this?" So, I looked at this thing, and I said, "Well, this, you know, wild imagery, you know, what are you going to do with it?" And he said, "Well, I, I, I — ." I said, "Are you gonna, you know, put music to it?" He said, "What? You think I should?" I says, "Yeah, I mean, 'cause otherwise it's just something to go in some literary quarterly or something, but this way, you know, you'll have a song out of it." So, the next night — Bob never worked at the Gaslight, but he was there a lot and would get up late at night and, and do a set. And he got up, and he sang this new song called "It's a Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall." And nowadays, when I hear him sing it, and it gets into, like, what seems like the 20th minute, I think, "Did I make the right decision in advising this?" No, I'm just kidding. It's a great, a great song. It's a —

Completete interview (video)

"Heartland" - 1990 song by Steve Gillette & Rex Benson

Back in March of 1997, I was searching the Digital Tradition Folksong Database at The Mudcat Cafe, trying to find the lyrics to the song "Heartland" by Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson from Willie Nelson's 1993 album "Across the Borderline".

To my astonishment, I found an identically titled song
by Steve Gillette and Rex Benson:

Here, in the heart of the nation.
I'm just a man whose made a promise he can't keep
I've been workin' every sunrise,
But it's too late, I'm in too deep.

This farm is my home it's my birthright
It's the only life I know.
I've worked this land with all the love in these hands
And I can't just let it go.

But in the heartland,
There's a man who holds the paper on my soul.
There's a circumstance that's out of my control.
And the thunder and the winds begin to roll.


In the heartland,
In the light before the darkness falls.
Revelations in those marbled halls,
Where they've traded away my home,
     Where they've taken away my home.

What does it profit a man,
To gain the world and lose the seed?
To see the innocent land
Become the servant of their greed.

And I know I'm not alone,
There's a woman who knew me when my prayers were younger.
And children, ashamed of their hunger.
And others, family farmers like my own,
Up late tonight in the heartland.

And in the heartland,
There's a man who holds the paper on my soul.
There's a circumstance that's out of my control
And the thunder and the winds begin to roll.
In the heartland,
In the light before the darkness falls.
Recriminations in those distant halls
Where they've traded away our home,
Where they've taken away our home.

Copyright 1990, Foreshadow Music, BMI / Jesse Erin Music, ASCAP
Used by permission

Back in 1997, I wrote:
"Somehow, I found the similarities (topic and lyrics) to the identically named Bob Dylan/Willie Nelson song to be rather striking -- mere coincidence? Somehow, I doubt it....

To be fair, however, didn't Bob himself start the whole thing with "Ballad of Hollis Brown" back in the 1960s?




Or Woody Guthrie  in "Tom Joad", his rendering of John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath"...  
Or, for that matter, the anonymous authors lamenting the plight of  peasants in medieval England?"

Yesterday, I received an email from Steve Gillette who confirmed that at least Willie Nelson knew Steve's and Rex's song prior to his collaboration with Bob Dylan:

"Rex and I were very gratified by your willingness to make that statement.  It seemed to us that you were very perceptive, and also willing to point out that the emperor's new cloths might not be what they seem.  Forgive the clumsy use of the old expression, but I was glad to have the article which I believe you wrote in 1997.

When Rex and I wrote the song it seemed a natural fit with the Farm Aid concerts and we sent the song to Willie by way of his managers, his harmonica player, Micky Rafael who is an acquaintance, we even left a copy for him at his golf course, so we know he had ample opportunity to hear our song."

Steve added in a second email today:

"I do have great respect for Willie Nelson and for Bob Dylan and wouldn't want to say anything hurtful or that might be interpreted as a cheap shot, but what I said about their having access to our song is true.  And, honestly, I don't think one could write their song without having heard ours, but it wouldn't be the first time that I heard the echoes of my own words without knowing the full story."

70th Birthday "Dylanthology", Part 11 - "Democracy Now!" Special

NOTE:

All of these radio and TV programmes (and their descriptions) are © by the stations who produced and aired them. Links to streams and/or downloads and descriptions are provided solely for "nonprofit educational purposes" (one of the criteria of "fair use", Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107).

Presentation (hyperlinks, etc.) © by the author of this blog.

Democracy Now!, May 24, 2011:

The Legendary Bob Dylan Turns 70: Democracy Now! Airs Rare Interviews and Songs from Pacifica Radio Archives

Today Bob Dylan turns 70 years old, and we air a special program on his life and music. Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota. Raised in Hibbing, Minnesota, he moved to Greenwich Village in January of 1961.

Within a couple of years, Dylan would be viewed by many as the voice of a generation as he wrote some of the decade’s most famous songs, including “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Times They Are a-Changing,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Masters of War,” “Desolation Row” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.” After emerging from the New York City folk scene, Dylan explored many other genres, from rock to country to the blues. He continues to tour to this day. In 2008, the Pulitzer Prize jury awarded him a special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

But before Bob Dylan became a musical star, he was one of countless young musicians in New York City trying to get heard. Some of his earliest radio appearances were on Pacifica radio station WBAI.  

We speak with the legendary WBAI broadcaster Bob Fass, the host of Radio Unnameable, who interviewed Dylan several times. Fass’s show began in 1963 and became a leading outlet for the emerging counterculture of the 1960s. It still airs every Thursday night at midnight. We play excerpts from the Pacifica Radio Archives of a 1962 performance by Dylan on Fass’s show and an interview when he was only 20 years old. 

We also speak with music writer Elizabeth Thomson, co-editor of the newly reissued book, No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan, written by the late Robert Shelton. And we feature part of Dylan’s 1963 performance at the March on Washington and hear why Dylan refused to sing out at protests against the Vietnam War.
 
Listen to/watch program at democracynow.org
Edited version (non-Dylan parts removed) 
 
Related link:
Elizabeth Thomson Interview (Podcast) 

From Bob Dylan's Private Record Collection - Blind Boy Fuller (1935-1940)

In a tribute to Suze Rotolo earlier this year, Jeff Gold (of recordmecca.com) posted pictures/scans of two items from Dylan's personal record collection (folk blues on the European/Dutch Philips label, acquired from Suze) on his own (highly recommended) blog.

Jeff commented:
"Both of these albums... are what collectors call 'well played'--far from mint condition; obviously frequently played by their original owners.  
These were records they listened to, loved, and in many cases were inspired by; some of the building blocks of their artistry.  Part of their musical mojo.  So thanks to Suze Rotolo, we have a bit more insight into what Bob was listening to at a most formative time.... To me, these were talismanic objects, filled with the music we now know inspired Dylan so much.  When I asked Rotolo by email why Dylan had written on his albums, she told me that it was similar to making notes in the margins of books for him.  Later I realized at the point he annotated these, he had only been going by the name Bob Dylan for perhaps a year and a half--in fact, he had only legally changed his name in August, 1962--three months before buying these.  It's almost as if he was seeing how his new name fit alongside those of these legendary artists."

I have tried to recreate one of these albums from more recent sources/transfers in my own collection -- most tracks should be superior sound/quality than that of the original -- basically "bootleg" -- album, which Bob Dylan acquired during his first trip to London, England, in late 1962 (possibly at Dobell's Record Shop in Charing Cross Road, where he contributed to an album by Richard Farina and Eric Von Schmidt providing back-up vocals and harmonica).

Please note Bob Dylan's comments on the original sleeve: 
"Drinked up and let out by Bob Dylan" 
and "Read Thoroughly and with full throttle by Bob Dylan" -- one song from this compilation
("Step It Up And Go") was covered by Bob on his 1992 album "Good As I Been To You".

Full recording details in ID3 tags:
01 She's a Truckin' Little Baby 
02 Screaming and Crying Blues
03 Big Leg Woman Gets My Pay
04 I Want Some of Your Pie
05 Cat Man Blues
06 Been Your Dog
07 Hungry Calf Blues
08 Mojo Hidin' Woman                    
09 Piccolo Rag
10 Lost Lover Blues
11 Night Rambling Woman
12 Step It Up and Go                                                        
13 Keep Away from My Woman      NOTE: Since I'm not aware which take of this track has
14 Keep Away from My Woman      been used for this compilation, I've included both.
15 Little Woman You're So Sweet                                 
16 My Brownskin Sugar Plum                                          
17 Evil Hearted Woman

70th Birthday "Dylanthology", Part 10 - even more German radio...

NOTE:

All of these radio and TV programmes (and their descriptions) are © by the stations who produced and aired them. Links to streams and/or downloads and descriptions are provided solely for "nonprofit educational purposes" (one of the criteria of "fair use", Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107).

Presentation (hyperlinks, etc.) © by the author of this blog.

Bob Dylan als "kulturelle Konstante",   
Broadcast: Deutschlandradio Kultur, May 24, 2011
 
Musiker der Band "Ja, Panik" schätzt den großen Musiker und sieht ihn auch kritisch.
Moderation: Ulrike Timm 
Andreas Spechtl von der Gruppe "Ja, Panik" bezeichnet die genaue Arbeit an den Texten seiner Band als Einfluss von Bob Dylan. Seine Protestsongs aus den 60ern seien allerdings "Kitsch".  

"Ich kannte ja bis dahin nur Pfadfindermusik"
Broadcast: Deutschlandradio Kultur, May 24, 2011
Wolfgang Niedecken im Gespräch mit Ute Welty   

Wenn ihm als Teenager die Musik von Bob Dylan nicht begegnet wäre, dann hätte sein Leben einen völlig anderen Verlauf genommen, sagt der Sänger der Kölschrock-Gruppe "BAP", Wolfgang Niedecken. Der amerikanische Folk- und Rockmusiker sei sein musikalischer "Urknall" gewesen.

No Nazis in Berlin 1964 either -- more of Clinton Heylin's uncalled-for anti-German "propaganda" and sloppy "research"

As a German, I feel increasingly angered that Clinton Heylin (or his editor) seems to be somewhat "obsessed" with Germans being equal to "Nazis" or "neo-Nazis".

Besides the definitely non-existing "neo-Nazis" at Dylan's 1978 Nuremberg concert, why does Heylin have to describe Dylan's hardly documented private trip to Berlin in 1964 in such a way?

"Availing himself of Hoffenburg's hospitality, Dylan spent a day looking for Nazis in West Berlin and, not finding any, concluded they'd all moved to Arlington"
(p. 157 of the "20th Anniversary Edition" 
of Behind the Shades )

There's nothing about Dylan "looking for Nazis in West Berlin" in the (rather few) sources documenting this trip, like the one quoted at  
http://theband.hiof.no/articles/mason_h ... licks.html
-- once again, it seems to spring SOLELY from Heylin's or his editor's (more than a little twisted) imagination and amounts to outright racist and uncalled-for anti-German "propaganda" Clinton (or his editor) obviously added to make his book sell better with UK and US readers accustomed to the Nazi-image of Germans.

Definition of "propaganda" (from Wikipedia):
"Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself.
As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda, in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented."

And Heylin (or his editor) clearly ADDED these uncalled-for anti-German slurs, which were NOT PRESENT in neither the 1988 edition of  Stolen Moments (p. 54), nor the 1996 edition of A Life in Stolen Moments (p. 60), whereas Mason Hoffenberg is consistently misspelt in all of these editions -- sloppy research by Heylin we have (by now) become accustomed to and which could have been definitely remedied by something as simple as a Google search....


Related Link

70th Birthday "Dylanthology", Part 09 - more from the UK

NOTE:

All of these radio and TV programmes (and their descriptions) are © by the stations who produced and aired them. Links to streams and/or downloads and descriptions are provided solely for "nonprofit educational purposes" (one of the criteria of "fair use", Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107).

Presentation (hyperlinks, etc.) © by the author of this blog.

Ann McElvoy, "Night Waves", BBC Radio 3, Broadcast May 24, 2011

As Bob Dylan turns 70, Anne [McElvoy] discovers why his recent work still has meaning from singer Barb Jungr and English academic, Daniel Karlin.

"Bob Dylan's London", BBC London, Broadcast May 18, 2011
Russell Clarke talks to Robert Elmes about Dylan's visits to London through the years.


Alan Thompson, "The Evening Show", BBC Radio Wales, Broadcast June 01, 2011

A look back at the career of Bob Dylan. Alan Thompson talks to biographer Patrick Humphreys [sic].

70th Birthday "Dylanthology", Part 08 - from Scotland

NOTE:

All of these radio and TV programmes (and their descriptions) are © by the stations who produced and aired them. Links to streams and/or downloads and descriptions are provided solely for "nonprofit educational purposes" (one of the criteria of "fair use", Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107).

Presentation (hyperlinks, etc.) © by the author of this blog.

"Another Country" with Ricky Ross, Broadcast: BBC Scotland, May 20, 2011
PART 01 (first hour)
PART 02 (second hour)


Rosanne Cash, Tom Jones, Teddy Thompson, Craig Finn of The Hold Steady and The Secret Sisters all choose their favourite Bob Dylan songs to celebrate his 70th birthday. Plus Ricky Ross takes a look at some of the many Americana and alternative country artists that have covered the Bob Dylan songbook over the years. Part 1/2.

"Another Country" with Ricky Ross, Broadcast: BBC Scotland, May 27, 2011

PART 01 (first hour)

PART 02 (second hour)

Kris Kristofferson, Patty Griffin, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Mavis Staples, Justin Townes Earle, Ryan Bingham and Eilen Jewell all choose their favourite Bob Dylan songs to celebrate his 70th birthday. Record producer Mark Howard reveals what it's like to work in a studio with him. Plus Ricky Ross takes a look at the many Americana and alternative country artists that have covered the Bob Dylan songbook over the years. Part 2/2.

70th Birthday "Dylanthology", Part 07 - German radio

NOTE:

All of these radio and TV programmes (and their descriptions) are © by the stations who produced and aired them. Links to streams and/or downloads and descriptions are provided solely for "nonprofit educational purposes" (one of the criteria of "fair use", Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107).

Presentation (hyperlinks, etc.) © by the author of this blog.

"Liederladen: Die Songs von Blind Boy Grunt"
Am Mikrofon: Michael Kleff
Broadcast: DLF, May 25, 2011
(German language)

Als Bob Dylan 1961 auf der Suche nach seinem Idol Woody Guthrie nach New York kam, träumte er von einem Vertrag bei Folkways, dem schon damals legendären Label von Moses Asch.
Doch nur wenige Tage nach einem von Robert Shelton in der New York Times im September 1961 veröffentlichten Konzertbericht stand Dylan bei Columbia unter Vertrag.

Dennoch gab es wenig später Aufnahmen von ihm bei Folkways. Aus rechtlichen Gründen erschien er auf den Alben "Broadside Ballads" und "Broadside Reunion" unter dem Namen Blind Boy Grunt. Auch auf einer 1963 in London aufgenommenen Platte von Richard Farina und Eric von Schmidt ist Bob Dylan unter diesem Pseudonym als Sänger und Mundharmonikaspieler zu hören.

Zum 70. Geburtstag des Musikers am 24. Mai gibt es im "Lieder-Laden" Songs von Blind Boy Grunt sowie Musik- und Interviewausschnitte von Dylans frühen Radioauftritten im Oktober 1961 in Oscar Brands Sendung "Folk Festival" und Cynthia Goodings Show "Folksinger's Choice" Anfang 1962, zu Zeiten, als er noch für einen Dollar und einen Cheeseburger auftrat. (dradio.de)

"Bob Dylan - Bilder eines Lebens"
Broadcast: NDR Kultur, May 24, 2011
(German language)

Kaum ein Künstler hat die Popmusik so beeinflusst wie er. Selbst Stars haben ihn zitiert - Jimi Hendrix etwa. Nun ist Dylan 70 - ein famoser Bildband gewährt den Blick zurück.

"Gesprächszeit: Prof. Heinrich Detering - Bob Dylan"
Broadcast: Nordwestradio, Radio Bremen, May 24, 2011
(German language)
Der Göttinger Germanistik-Professor, Heinrich Detering, ist einer von elf Preisträgern, die am 30. März 2009 den Leibniz-Preis der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) bekamen. Außerdem ist Heinrich Detering ein Bob Dylan Kenner. Anläßlich des 70. Geburtstages von Bob Dylan sprach Nordwestradio-Moderator Wolfgang Rumpf mit ihm.

TO BE EXPANDED

Verfügbarkeitsdatum in Dokument nicht angegeben!

70th Birthday "Dylanthology", Part 06 - Even more German (language) TV and radio

NOTE:

All of these radio and TV programmes (and their descriptions) are © by the stations who produced and aired them. Links to streams and/or downloads and descriptions are provided solely for "nonprofit educational purposes" (one of the criteria of "fair use", Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107).

Presentation (hyperlinks, etc.) © by the author of this blog.

German Public TV: 

"Lógos - Die Botschaft des Bob Dylan" 
BR-alpha, Broadcast date: May 22, 2011 (45 minutes)
(German language)
(Divx as multi-part zip-file, all parts and a program like 7Zip are needed to extract/combine parts) - Part 01 - Part 02 - Part 03   

With the (by now) "usual suspects" like Prof. Dr. Knut Wenzel, Prof. Dr. Dieter Lamping, etc.
Taped mainly at the Katholische Akademie in Bayern, during a March 18-19, 2011 Bob Dylan symposium with additional footage (once again, from "the usual suspects", like No Direction Home, etc.)

Schweizer Radio DRS:

"Der unfassbare Mr. Dylan", Kontext, Broadcast date: May 24, 2011
(German language)

Mit knapp 25 Jahren wird Bob Dylan zur Symbolfigur des politischen Aufbruchs in den USA der 1960er Jahre. Doch die Rolle des Protestpropheten behagt ihm ebenso wenig wie später die des Rockpropheten, des predigenden Fundamentalisten oder hoffnungslosen Alkoholikers.

Obwohl er die Populärkultur eines halben Jahrhunderts massgeblich mitprägt, entzieht er sich jeglicher Vereinnahmung und erfindet sich dauernd neu. Über den Verweigerungskünstler Dylan im Umfeld seiner Zeit redet Lislot Frei mit dem Journalisten Jean-Martin Büttner.

Download zum Beitrag:

• Essay von Jean-Martin Büttner: «Dylans Verweigerungen» (2006) (222.7KB, PDF)

"Bob Dylan, der Poet", Reflexe, Broadcast date: May 24, 2011

(German language) 

Andrew Shields von der Universität Basel und der Dylankenner Martin Schäfer diskutieren mit Eric Facon über die Texte Dylans anhand von vier Beispielen aus verschiedenen Schaffensperioden. 

"Blick auf die vielseitige Welt von Bob Dylan", Kultur-Stammtisch, 

Broadcast date: May 21, 2011

(German language) 

Am 24. Mai feiert Bob Dylan seinen 70. Geburtstag, Dylan, der grösste Songschreiber der Pop- und Rockgeschichte. Im Kulturstammtisch diskutiert Eric Facon mit der Filmwissenschaftlerin Marcy Goldberg und dem Musiker Balts Nill über ein Seitengleis seiner Tätigkeit: über Bob Dylan und den Film, im Dokumentarfilm, als Schauspieler, Drehbuchautor und Regisseur.

70th Birthday "Dylanthology", Part 05 - German TV and Radio

NOTE:

All of these radio and TV programmes (and their descriptions) are © by the stations who produced and aired them. Links to streams and/or downloads and descriptions are provided solely for "nonprofit educational purposes" (one of the criteria of "fair use", Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107).

Presentation (hyperlinks, etc.) © by the author of this blog.

German Public TV:
 
"aspekte", ZDF, Broadcast date: May 20, 2011 
(German language)
Kampf mit der eigenen Legende. Bob Dylan wird 70
(Struggling with his own legend: Bob Dylan turns 70)

"Der Marker", ZDF Kultur, Broadcast date: May 25, 2011
(German language)
15 Minuten Popkultur: heute mit Bob Dylan,
Kreuzberg und PopLyrik





German Public Radio:

WDR 5, "Tagesgespräch: Soundtrack nur für eine Generation - 
welche Bedeutung hat Bob Dylan?", Broadcast date: May 24, 2011
(German language)
Gast: Peter Rüchel, WDR-Redakteur der früheren WDR-Produktion Rockpalast,
Moderation: Sabine Brandi © WDR 2011

SWR2 "Forum - Bob Dylan wird 70", 
Broadcast date: May 19, 2011
(German language)
Immer wieder Gegen-Kultur?
Gesprächsleitung: Karsten Umlauf
Es diskutieren: Dr. Richard Klein - Musikwissenschaftler, Freiburg, Prof. Dr. Susan Neiman - Philosophin, Einstein-Forum Potsdam, Prof. Dr. Knut Wenzel - Theologe, Uni Frankfurt

Er ist Wanderprediger, Folksänger, Friedensaktivist, Rocker, Maler, Pulitzer-Preisträger und immer wieder: ein Kandidat für den Literaturnobelpreis. Bob Dylan hat wie kaum ein anderer Pop-Musik zu einer intellektuell ernst zu nehmenden Kunstform gemacht. Sein Einfluss auf andere Musikerkollegen ist Legion, aber unter seinen größten Fans finden sich auch viele Künstler und Wissenschaftler. Am 24. Mai wird er 70 Jahre alt. Ist er immer noch die andere oder nur noch die abgewrackte Stimme Amerikas? Er spielt für Papst und Präsident, witzelt als Radio-Moderator und spricht bei seinen Konzerten kaum ein Wort mit seinem Publikum: Was fasziniert Philosophen, Theologen oder Musikwissenschaftler in Deutschland an Bob Dylan?

Buch-Tipps:
Richard Klein: My Name It Is Nothin' : Bob Dylan. Nicht Pop. Nicht Kunst. Lukas Verlag 2006,
24,90 €;
Knut Wenzel: HoboPilgrim – Bob Dylans Reise durch die Nacht. Matthias-Grünewald-Verlag 2011,
19,90 €

70th Birthday "Dylanthology", Part 04 - German TV (and some radio)

NOTE:

All of these radio and TV programmes (and their descriptions) are © by the stations who produced and aired them. Links to streams and/or downloads and descriptions are provided solely for "nonprofit educational purposes" (one of the criteria of "fair use", Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107).

Presentation (hyperlinks, etc.) © by the author of this blog.

"Stationen", BR, May 2011 (exact broadcast date unknown)
German language
Contains excerpts from interviews with Prof. (?) Josef Cressotti,   
Prof. Dr. Knut Wenzel (see related blog post), Karl Bruckmaier.

"Kaffee oder Tee", SWR, May 19, 2011
German language
with SWR's "resident expert" Günter Schneidewind.

"Stilbruch", RBB, May 19, 2011 (Stream)
German language 
Mostly about Bob Dylan's first and only GDR concert, Berlin, 1987.

Persons interviewed: Christoph Dieckmann, Jörg Stempel
(former head of GDR's state-run VEB Deutsche Schallplatten
Amiga record label).
,
AMIGA (Sony Music)

"Dylans kölsche Geister", west.art, WDR, May 17, 2011
German language
Mostly about "Birthday Greetings from Cologne" Dylan Festival:
"Warum eigentlich Köln? Man weiß nicht, warum sich ausgerechnet hier so eingefleischte Fans von Bob Dylan finden. Sicher ist nur, dass sich rund um Rhein und Dom Kulturschaffende von Literatur bis Kunst zusammentun, um den Poeten der 68er mit einem Festival zu ehren. Rund um den Geburtstag des 70-Jährigen, mit Konzerten, Ausstellungen und Lesungen, von Meret Becker bis Erdmöbel."

Related radio program:
"Birthday Greetings", Scala, WDR, May 11, 2011
German language
Die Kölner Kunstszene feiert den 70. Geburtstag von Bob Dylan

Moderation: Sebastian Wellendorf:

Er ist eine lebende Legende, die nicht nur die Musikwelt nachhaltig beeinflusst hat: Am 24. Mai feiert Bob Dylan seinen 70. Geburtstag. Aus diesem Anlass veranstaltet die Kölner Kunstszene ein Festival mit Konzerten, Lesungen, Filmen, Gesprächen und Vorträgen. Nicht dabei sind die üblichen Verdächtigen wie BAP-Chef Wolfgang Niedecken. Stattdessen treten Künstler auf, die man nicht unbedingt mit Bob Dylan assoziiert.

Autor/in: Jürgen Salm

Redaktion: Nora Schattauer

70th Birthday "Dylanthology", Part 03

NOTE:

All of these radio and TV programmes (and their descriptions) are © by the stations who produced and aired them. Links to streams and/or downloads and descriptions are provided solely for "nonprofit educational purposes" (one of the criteria of "fair use", Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107).

Presentation (hyperlinks, etc.) © by the author of this blog.

More BBC...

"Nashville Cats" Broadcast BBC Radio 2, May 16th 2011

Bill Nighy presents the definitive story of what really went down on tape, and in the studio, during the recording of Bob Dylan's classic album Blonde on Blonde.

In February 1966, Bob rolled in to Nashville to work on his seventh studio album. Following only partially successful sessions in New York, the decision had been taken to relocate to the Columbia label's Music Row studios. Nashville Cats looks at the music that resulted from the unlikely alliance between seasoned country music veterans, accustomed to fixed time studio sessions, and the more erratic modus operandi favoured by the wiry hipster poet.

Generally regarded as the high watermark of Dylan's most creatively intense period, Blonde on Blonde was recalled by the songwriter himself as being "the closest I ever got to the sound I hear in my mind... it's that thin wild mercury sound". Bill Nighy narrates a tale of in-studio composition, musicians by turns bemused, exasperated and inspired, and an artist operating at the very zenith of his talent.

Nashville Cats features newly sourced interviews with the key participants on these historic studio recording dates including musicians Al Kooper, Charlie McCoy, Hargus "Pig" Robbins, Wayne Moss, Henry Strzelecki and Joe South. The documentary also features the perspective of Producer Bob Johnston, the man responsible for convincing Dylan to record in Nashville, and reveals the real story behind the supposed symbolism of its famous cover shot care of Jerry Schatzberg, the man behind the lens.

From "Down Under":

"Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan at 70" 
Broadcast ABC Australia, April 23rd, 2011
Bob Dylan, one of the most influential and famous musicians of his day, is turning seventy in May. Into the Music marks that milestone, and Dylan's current Australian tour, with a new documentary feature on his life and music. Produced by Robert de Young, the program includes interviews with Dylan scholar and biographer Clinton Heylin, critic Christopher Ricks and journalists Stuart Coupe and Craig McGregor, as well as some rare archival material.

From Minnesota: 
Jim Bickal, Minnesota Public Radio:
"Boy From The North Country: Bob Dylan in Minnesota"
Broadcast Minnesota Public Radio, May 21st, 2011
Dylan spent his formative years in Minnesota; he was born in Duluth and raised in Hibbing.
He became a folksinger in Minneapolis. A new documentary from Minnesota Public Radio News explores Dylan's Minnesota roots and how they influenced the evolution of his music.

In the documentary, you will hear from Leroy Hoikkala who played the drums in Dylan's high school band, the Golden Chords. Long-time friend Dick Cohn describes Dylan playing risqué rhythm and blues in St. Paul basements when he was a teenager.

Marilyn Matheny talks about Dylan finding his voice as a folksinger in the Minneapolis
community of Dinkytown. Plus you'll hear the story of St. Paul native Larry Kegan who was
one of Dylan's closest friends.

70th Birthday "Dylanthology", Part 02

NOTE:

All of these radio and TV programmes (and their descriptions) are © by the stations who produced and aired them. Links to streams and/or downloads and descriptions are provided solely for "nonprofit educational purposes" (one of the criteria of "fair use", Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107).

Presentation (hyperlinks, etc.) © by the author of this blog.

More from the BBC: 

"The Culture Café" Broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland, 1:15PM Tue, 24 May 2011  

On Bob Dylans' 70th Birthday, Clare English revisits one of the the most controversial eras of his career: The Gospel Years. His evangelical Christian compositions were a critical disaster at the time of release, causing anger and confusion amongst critics, fans and peers, but did they get it wrong? 

With historical insights and reflections on Dylan's gospel period provided by Bob Dylan's musicians, biographers, critics and friends, we re-examine this baffling but beguiling episode in rock history.

From New Zealand:
"Dylan's early Mentor: Izzy Young" Broadcast on Radio New Zealand, 27/28 May 2011

Bob Dylan, America's most celebrated musician, turned 70 on 24 May 2011. It's now 50 years since the young Dylan, born Robert Zimmerman in Hibbing, Minnesota, hitch-hiked to New York with his guitar and a dream to make it as a singer. He landed in the Greenwich Village folk music scene and thanks largely to an astonishing ability to churn out songs that captured the feeling of the times - which as he told us were a-changin' - quickly became a star. His career has continued unabated - his most recent album two years ago topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, and in April 2011 he wound up an Asian tour with a concert in Auckland. One of the first to take the young Dylan under his wing was Izzy Young, who ran the Folklore Centre in Greenwich Village. Izzy Young, who now lives in Sweden, told Morning Report's Simon Mercep how Bob Dylan made the store his second home.

From U.S. National Public Radio (npr.org): 
"World Cafe: Suze Rotolo" Broadcast on NPR, 24 May 2011

Suze Rotolo has been described as the '60s muse of Bob Dylan, the girl behind some of his most moving love songs and rousing political statements. The two met in the early 1960s in New York, and fell in love. She was a "red diaper baby," born to Communist sympathizers in the McCarthy era. She was living a politically active life in bohemian Greenwich Village when she met Dylan at a concert. Dylan described it as love at first sight, and the two soon became romantically involved. Though the relationship didn't last, it inspired song after legendary song from the folk icon.
Rotolo died just this past February from lung cancer. In this interview with Rotolo, recorded in 2008, she and World Cafe host David Dye discuss her book, A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties. She describes what it was like to be that girl on the cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan — the pressures, the mutual inspirations, the forces that pushed them apart, and her life afterwards as an author, artist and activist. Rotolo remained passionately involved in politics throughout her life, and there's little doubt that this passion deeply influenced Dylan in their time together. Her admirable passion lives on in songs known the world over.