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Happy Birthday, Bob


j45nick

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Bob Dylan turned 75 today. He's given us food for thought for more than 50 years.

 

How many here can remember the first time they heard his music? For me, it was at a party at my hip high school English teacher's house, sometime in 1964. He said "listen to this", and put Dylan on the turntable. My first thought was "WTF? The guy can't sing." (I was in a PP&M-style group then, and the singing was everything, even when the songs were vapid.)

 

Then I listened to Dylan's words.......

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I was just listening to New Morning today and JWH a few days ago. Saw him twice live and I have to say both times were not enjoyble, but his music from the 60 and 70's I really like. Most of his music after Slow Train I do not listen to.

 

I get what you're saying but I will say that, to me, "Time Out Of Mind" and "Love and Theft" were great comeback works for him.

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Happy Birthday, Bob!

 

 

First track I heard would be Blowing In The Wind - it was everywhere.

 

(And PP&M were everywhere here too - TV and radio. I think the lady that gave me her old acoustic after getting a new one wanted to be Mary! Memory foggy but fairly sure she played a version and a few similar tunes - first time my eyes went full goggled. Watching guitar live different than TV! She saw the look in my eyes and asked if I wanted her old guitar! Ha, say no?)

 

The very first guitar lesson was..guess what? Blowing! And probably second, third, fourth....

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Apart from the Top10 Manfred Man hits, I never really met Dylan before very early 1974.

 

Radio presented his new LP Planet Waves (with The Band), which sent me goin'. So into the back-catalogue, diving like a fish, the young man went. Almost didn't survive.

 

15 years later I recorded the track below from that same record.

 

It's the then only 5 years old D-35 w. fresh steel and the big-city-noize-scape is 2 tracks of Telecaster - 1 played with a coin.

 

 

 

https://soundcloud.com/nitebeach/hazel

 

 

 

Happy B-day Bob

 

 

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I went to see Arlo Guthrie years ago and he did his (funny) story about playing little clubs and being swept up in the folk scene in the late 60's and the Narcs watching him and Bob Dylan and wanting to see what they were saying. Funny story and Comin' into Los Angeles.....

 

75 doesn't seem right though.

 

No way.......

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Seen him once and that was the early 70's. He put on a good show. No doubt, he's an acquired taste. Not for everyone, yet he's known by everyone. He did some of his newer stuff at the time, mixed-in with a lot of his early songs. Not a great voice by any standards, but it fits what he does. He made it big strumming an acoustic guitar, playing a harmonica and writing folk songs in the midst of The British Invasion. He's "Dylan," and he doesn't try to be much more. Some of his songs will remain forever uninterpretable for me, but that's likely as much my fault as his. In many ways he was "the voice" of my generation. A musical and societal icon, and a prodigious songwriter. I suspect it would be nearly impossible to find someone who has never heard his music.

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I came to him late, and similar to the top post, I thought, "This guy can't sing!" But before long, I was getting his CDs, and I discovered some of my dad's Dylan vinyls. When I heard "Blonde on Blonde," holy cow. It is not even my favorite Dylan album, and not even in my opinion his best or his quintessential, but it is absolutely brilliant.

 

I think in 2000 or 2001, he was on the Grammy's singing "Things Have Changed." I was with my dad and his long-time friend and mentioned I'd seen him. I said, I couldn't understand a word, but it was brilliant. In fact, without even knowing what he was singing in "Things Have Changed," I went and wrote a song called "Things Have Changed" the same night that mentions him.

 

I don't know where I'm going with all this...

 

But what a massive treasure trove he has given us to explore. I love his early stuff, the simpler the better, but I love it all. He and George Harrison are the ones to blame for a J-200 bug that has infected me since I started playing guitar.

 

Here's to hoping for 75 more years.

 

I'm named after him, by the way (the Dylan, not the Jesse). I come by it naturally.

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Apart from the Top10 Manfred Man hits, I never really met Dylan before very early 1974.

 

Radio presented his new LP Planet Waves (with The Band), which sent me goin'. So into the back-catalogue, diving like a fish, the young man went. Almost didn't survive.

 

15 years later I recorded the track below from that same record.

 

It's the then only 5 years old D-35 w. fresh steel and the big-city-noize-scape is 2 tracks of Telecaster - 1 played with a coin.

 

 

 

https://soundcloud.com/nitebeach/hazel

 

 

 

Happy B-day Bob

 

 

 

Fantastic as usual em

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Yes my favorite too.From age of 15 when I got "Greatest Hits". The body of work says it all.And the man is a encyclopedia of 20th century music.His theme time radio was testament to that.

Happy Birthday!

Read Chronicles if you haven't and are a fan.Wonderful poetic book.

And also a thanks to that Nordic? chap who produced Dylanchords.Accurate chords of every song.What a resource for us pluckers who want to cover a Bob song with some reference to the original.

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Bob's first son is called Jesse Dylan.

 

A friend told me last Friday.

 

Yes! I think he beat me to it by a few years (well, maybe quite a few)--famous film director as well. However, I "beat" him to many sites on the internet, such as twitter. :) Probably annoying for him to discover there was already a Jesse Dylan on some places. Of course, I have a surname as well, and Dylan is his surname. (Well, actually Bob's, and presumably his, is Zimmerman, which we all know...)

 

Also, the Zimmermans are from just next door to me in Minnesota, but Bob left pretty early on.

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And also a thanks to that Nordic? chap who produced Dylanchords.Accurate chords of every song.What a resource for us pluckers who want to cover a Bob song with some reference to the original.

 

 

 

If you like that resource, a great reference for Neil Young tunes is the SongX.se Neil Young Songbook. (Songs divided by either A-Z, Albums, Tunings! And a search!

 

http://songx.se/index.php

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

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https://soundcloud.com/nitebeach/hazel

 

 

Happy B-day Bob

 

 

Did not want to let this one roll down the page without reply- one beautiful recording shared by E-minor7. Lush, up-front vocals, real sounding guitar, sweet harmony, and a sonically fresh approach in lieu of Bob's heavy harp. Thanks for sharing.

 

In honor of Bob Dylan's milestone 75th, it would be only fitting that anyone here on the forum feel welcome to post their take on a Dylan tune.

 

Bob's gonna make us miss him when he's gone.

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