Also, have you read, A Freewheelin' Time
A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties by Suzi Rotolo? It's a wonderful read for anyone 65 to 85 years of age that'll evoke memories of your own musical journey regardless of where you lived in your younger days. For anyone who loved the music, you kind of lived in Greenwich Village in your mind.
Hello "Kenster" !!!
WOW / I never heard these early recordings by Bob Dylan before. Never knew they existed. Thanks for sharing.
The first recordings I ever heard was on Bob Dylan's first album for Columbia Records. I especially loved his "Song To Woody".
{America's Father of Folk Music, Woody Guthrie}
Bob Dylan's next 2 albums "Freewheelin" (1963) and "The Times They Are A-Changin" (1964) became my all time faves.
I have a lot of Bob Dylan records, but I seem to go back to these two, quite frequently.
I find these LPs timeless, and for me there's something really special about...Early Bob Dylan.
Speaking of which....
Recalling his first professional music job, Bob Dylan said:
"I never thought I would shoot lightning thru the sky in the entertainment world."
In 1959, in Central City, Colorado, Bob Dylan had that first job in a rough and tumble striptease joint:
"I was on stage for just a few minutes with my folky songs. Then the strippers would come on. The crowd would yell for more stripping....
but they went off, and I'd come bouncing back with my folky songs. As the night got longer...the air got heavier...the audience got drunker and nastier.
Meantime, I was getting sicker...and finally...I got fired."
Brucester
"Song To Woody" / LP: Bob Dylan / Columbia Records / {rel: March 1962}
Brucester, ya got the Old Kenster wound up, Bro! Here are the earliest known Bob Dyan recordings, circa early 1958, recorded in Hibbing, Minnesota.
"How can, how can, you ask me again? It only brings me sorrow. The same thing I would want today, I would want again tomorrow." - Bob Dylan
The beautiful young girl walking arm in arm with Bob Dylan on the album cover of "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" is none other than Suze Rotolo.
Bob Dylan was infatuated with Suze, and when she left him in 1962, to go to Italy, Bob felt betrayed. He was heartbroken and lonely, living in New York.
During this time, Bob Dylan penned three songs:
- Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
- Tomorrow Is A Long Time
- Boots of Spanish Leather
From a letter Bob Dylan wrote to Suze Rotolo:
"It's just that I'm hating time. I'm trying to stab it; stomp it; throw it on the ground and kick it.
Bend it and twist it with gritting teeth and burning eyes. I hate that I love you."
Suze Rotlo's response (in her book: "A Freewheelin' Time") > she says:
"In that Boots song, I guess it was inspired by my leaving and Bob having to deal with it.
Yet, no power on Earth could have kept me from running back to him in a New York minute."
What's the significance of "Spanish Leather"?
Says Suze: "Spanish Boots are cool and they're sexy."
The "made-up" dialogue in "Boots of Spanish Leather" has got to do with two lovers breaking up.
The girl (Suze Rotlo) is sailing away...while her boyfriend (Bob Dylan) stands on shore, watching her boat leave.
GIRL WHO IS LEAVING:
Oh, but I just thought you might want something fine, made of Silver or of Golden? Either from the Mountains of Madrid, or from the Coast of Barcelona.
BOYFRIEND STAYING BACK HOME:
Oh, but if I had the stars from the darkest night, and the diamonds from the deepest ocean, I'd forsake them all for your sweet kiss.
For that's all I'm wishin' to be ownin'.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
When Bob Dylan introduces this song at concerts, this is what he says (as he strums his guitar):
"This is called Boots of Spanish Leather. It's about when you can't get what you want and you gotta settle for less, type of song."
"Boots of Spanish Leather" / Bob Dylan / LP: The Times They Are A-Changin / Columbia Records / {1964}
BONUS TRACK:
Mandolin Orange (aka: Watch-House)
singers: Emily Frantz & Andrew Marlin
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