The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia

756 Pages·2006·7.87 MB·english

by  Michael Gray

About the Author
MICHAELGRAYisadistinguishedcritic,writerandbroadcaster.HegraduatedinHistory&EnglishLiterature
at York University,England,inthe 1960s,where hestudiedunderthecontroversial, brilliantcriticDr.F.R.
Leavis,andwhereasastudentjournalistheinterviewed,amongothers,theeminentBritishhistorianA.J.P.
TaylorandthelegendaryAmericanguitaristJimiHendrix.HispioneeringstudyofBobDylan’swork,Song&
DanceMan,firstpublishedinthe1970sinBritain,AmericaandJapan,wasthefirstfull-lengthcriticalstudy
ofthiscrucial20thcenturyculturalfigure.Itisnowrecognisedasaclassicinitsfield.Aselectionofpieces
onDylan,AllAcrosstheTelegraph:ABobDylanHandbook,publishedin1987,wasco-editedbyGrayandincluded
workbyseveraldistinguishedacademicsinthefieldsofEnglish&AmericanLiteratureandMusic.In1996,
Michael Gray co-authored The Elvis Atlas: A Journey Through Elvis Presley’s America, published in hardback in
NewYorkbyHenryHolt.ThemassiveSong&DanceManIII:TheArtofBobDylanwaspublishedbyContinuum
inMarch2000.AspecialreprintappearedintheUSinApril2001,whenGraydeliveredtalksatanumberof
USuniversities;afourthreprintwaspublishedinNewYorkandLondonin2002andafifthin2004.Michael
GrayisrecognisedasaworldauthorityontheworkofBobDylanandisanexpertonrock’n’rollhistoryand
theblues,withaspecialinterestinpre-warblues.
FROMREVIEWSOF
SONG&DANCEMANIII:THEARTOFBOBDYLAN
byMichaelGray
GREILMARCUS:
‘Extraordinarilyuseful...IhavealwaysadmiredGray’sreach,tone,andacuitybuttheresearchhereisjust
amazing.’
ANDREWMOTION,BritishPoetLaureate,TheObserver,London:
‘Oneofmythreebestbooksoftheyear....ThebestbookthereisonDylan,nowbetterthanever.’
THENEWS&OBSERVER,US:
‘Notably,thereisafat,neweditionofMichaelGray’shugeandwonderfulcriticalwork,Song&DanceMan.
...Gray’sbookprovesthatscholarshipcanbefuntoread.’
ROLLINGSTONE:
‘Monumental,endlesslyilluminating.’
BLOOMSBURYREVIEW,US:
‘Anengaging,intellectualdiscussionofthepassion,painandtrendsthathavepouredoutofBobDylan...
anyonewhoisinterestedintheartisticimpactofmusiconanintellectuallevelwilljumpatthechanceto
haveatrulyhighbrowdiscussionaboutrock’n’roll.’
CHRISTOPHERRICKS:
‘Immenseandimmenselyilluminating....Itiswonderfullycomicandseriousandsharp.Iamenjoyingit
hugelyandlearningfromeverypage.’
THETIMES,London:
‘InexaminingtheinfluencesthatshapedDylanintooneofthemostinfluentialpost-warartists,Graydraws
oneveryonefromElvistoEliot,RobertJohnsontoRimbaud...Thishugeworkisoverwhelming....‘‘It’sall
beenwritteninthebook,’’sangBobDylan.Nowitreallyhas.’
NEWSDAY,US:
‘Illuminating,wryandexhaustive.’
DERBUND,Switzerland:
‘Gray’smonumentalstudy...dissectsDylan’ssongstorevealtheirliteraryandmusicalorigins...provide
insightintoDylan’smethodologyandrevealhiddenlayers...HisprecisionidentifiestheessenceofDylan.
...MichaelGraywritesexuberantly,criticallyandisneverlostforajudgment....Hisevaluationsare
refreshingandaccurate.’
UNCUT,London:
’Nowcomesthethird(andallegedlyfinal)editionofMichaelGray’spioneeringtome,whichhelpedlaunch
theZimmermanbookindustry.Itrunstoacolossal900pagesandconfirmsonceagainGray’spositionasthe
doyenofDylanscholars...eveninitsinitialmodestform,[it]wasprofoundlysignificant...arevelation...
thrilling....Hisbookinventedanewschoolofrockcriticismwhichmademostofthewritingthathadgone
beforeseemsuperficial,irrelevantandtrivial....ThethirdeditionofGray’slifetimestudydisplaysanalmost
insanedegreeofscholarship...aquitedazzlinglybrilliantessayonDylan’suseofimageryborrowedfrom
oldbluessongs.Asimilaressayontheuseofnurseryrhymeandfairytale...[and]thefinalchapterisan
intellectualtourdeforce....Ofcoursetherewillalwaysbethosewhoprefersimplytoenjoythesongsrather
thantoanalysethem.Butanyonewhoisremotelycuriousabouttherichnessoftheman’sextraordinary
imaginationwillfindGray’sworkanessentialcompanion.*****‘
STEPHENSCOBIE,UniversityofVictoria,Canada&authorofAliasBobDylan:
‘Indispensable....Hisresearchisformidable,andhisknowledgeencyclopedic...greatcogency,confidence
andauthority...aquitesplendidcritic....Graycanexplainhowthetext[ofasong]workspoetically.It’sa
raregift:...[his]expositionsof‘EveryGrainofSand’,‘Angelina’,‘Jokerman’and‘UndertheRedSky’are
utterlydefinitive...attheheartofthisbookissomeofthefinestcriticalwritingeverdoneaboutBobDylan.’
BRYANAPPLEYARD,SundayTimes,London:
‘SeriousDylancriticism...intricateanalyses...monumental.’
AUSTINCHRONICLE,US:
‘Astartlingpieceofscholarship.ByscrutinizingDylan’scanon,Grayachievesafreshreadofhislife....
Song&DanceManIIIovershadowsothers’accountsofsecretmarriagesandmythicmotorcyclecrashes,andit
entirelyoutdoesotheranalyses...frank,insightful,unassailablyexcellent.’
RECORDCOLLECTOR,London:
‘TheoriginalSong&DanceManwasapioneeringpieceofrockscholarship....Writtenwithgreatintelligence
andpassion...theresultwasthefirstimportantbookaboutarockartist’soutput,notjusttheirlife....But
these250pagesaremerelyafragmentofthe900-pagemonsterwhichGrayhas[now]unleashed...
magnificent...soakedininsight.’
DAVIDHAJDU,authorofPositively4thStreet:
‘Itisthemostpenetratingandclear-headedworkonhisworkeverdone—amonumentalachievement.’
FOLKROOTS,London:
‘Thismajorupdateofaseminalworkdeservestobereadandstudiedbyanyonewitheventheslightest
interestinsonglyricsandit’sessentialasastorehouseofknowledgeonfolk,countryandbluesrecords.’
BLUEPRINT,Britishbluesmagazine:
‘Fascinating,scholarlyandveryreadable....ThelongestandmostrelevantchapterforBlueprintreaders
[‘‘EvenPost-StructuralistsOughtaHavethePre-WarBlues’’]is...packedsolidwithinformativeandenthralling
reading.IcannotcongratulateGrayenoughforthisoutstandingchapter...[a]veryimportantstudy.A
thoroughlyenjoyableandinformativebookbyanauthorwhowritesknowledgeably,withstyleandwith
greatinsight—veryhighlyrecommendedtoall.’
Q,London:
‘Thisbookisanevent...deliveringprodigiousanalysesofDylan’sartistryandhispolymathsourcesinpre-
warblues,nurseryrhymes,fairytalesandHollywoodmoviedialogue....Graymaintainsaruthlessintegrity
regardingDylanhimself.*****‘
EVENINGSTANDARD,London:
‘Thedefinitivecriticalwork.’
THEOBSERVER,London:
‘PaperbackoftheWeek.Amammothworkofscholarship,oftenenthrallingandneverlessthanilluminating.
HischapteronDylan’ssourcesintheblues. ..isalmostworththepriceofadmissionalone....Thisis
trenchantandthought-provokingstuff,andprettymuchcharacterisesGray’sstyleandhisapproachtoa
subjectwhohassufferedmorethanmostatthehandsoflesser,andlesswell-informed,critics.Amustfor
anyoneinterestedinthegreatadventurethatisBobDylan’swork.’
BOSTONGLOBE:
‘MichaelGray’sSong&DanceMan...hasgrownacrossthreedecadesandasmanyeditionsintoa
comprehensivecriticalcompanion.’
LONDONREVIEWOFBOOKS:
‘ThelastwordonDylanisneitherpossiblenordesirable...perhapstheclosestthatanyonehascome...is
MichaelGrayinhisawesomeandencyclopedicSong&DanceMan,currentlyinitsthird,extensivelyrevised
edition.’
SALON.COM:
‘...tostudysomeofthefinestworkfoundinAmericansong...requiressomeonewiththeboldnessandthe
breadthofknowledgeshownbyMichaelGray,whoseheftystudy...putsthebulkofrock-critwritingabout
Dylantoshame.’
NEWYORKREVIEWOFBOOKS:
MichaelGray...probablyDylan’ssinglemostassiduouscritic.
T H E
B O B D Y L A N
E N C Y C L O P E D I A
M I C H A E L G R AY
2006
TheContinuumInternationalPublishingGroupInc
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Copyright(cid:2)2006byMichaelGray
TherightofMichaelGraytobeidentifiedastheauthor
ofthisworkhasbeenassertedbyhiminaccordance
withtheCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybe
reproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,
inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,
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Everyreasonableefforthasbeenmadetocontactthe
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NewLeafEcoBook50,madewith100%recycledfiber,
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CoverartbyStefanKillenDesign
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Gray,Michael,1946–
TheBobDylanencyclopedia/MichaelGray.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-8264-6933-7(leatherboundhardcover:alk.paper)
1. Dylan,Bob,1941—-Encyclopedias. I. Title.
ML420.D98G68 2006
782.42164092—dc22
[b]
2006012728
to Magdalena

Contents
Acknowledgements ix
List of Illustrations xv
Preface xvii
How to Read This Book xix
The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia: A-Z 1
Index 731

Thanks and Acknowledgements
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Sarah Beattie; John Baldwin; Alan Balfour; David Barker; Derek Barker; Glen Dun-
das; Dave Engel; the Council, SCR & Library of Girton College, Cambridge, and
especiallyDr.AlastairReid;TerryKelly;AndrewMuir;GabriellaPage-FortandTony
Russell.
THANKS TO
Jerome B. Abrams, Bill Aikins, Russell Alexander, Rhonda Allende, Audre John &
Mose Allison, Karl Erik Andersen, Suzanne Ashley, Lillian Baharestani, Helen Bai-
ley, Gordon Ball, Tracy Barker, Dylan Beattie, Zuleika Benitez, Toby Berger, Olof
Bjo¨rner, Terence Blacker, Simon Blackley, Judy Brown at Denver Public Library,
Chris Bucklen, Gary Burke, Hanns Peter Bushoff, Jane Butler, Larry Campbell, Eric
Campos, Anne Cartwright, Flo Castner, Lynn Castner, Rick Clark, Jim Clements,
Andy Cohen, Chris Cooper, Neal Cooper, Michael Corcoran, Neil Corcoran, Jona-
than Cott, Chris Coughlan-Smith, Ben Covington, Jan Cox, Richard Crooks, Adam
Crothers, Jones Cullinan, Arline Cunningham, Jenny Curtis, Andrew Darke, Aidan
Day,MaryDean,AdrianDeevoy,NickDodd,RobertL.Drew,TimDunn,HansEisen-
beis, David Evans, Robert Forryan, Alan Fraser, Denny Freeman, Frances Gandy,
Paul Garon, Jeffrey Gaskill, Karl Gedlicka, Charlie Gillett, Toby Gleason, Tony
Glover, Rob Goetz, Steven Goldberg, Lily Goodwin, Barbara Ribakove Gordon, Al
Gorgoni, Robert Gover, Mike Gray, Mark Greenberg, Greyhound Soul & Duane,
Michael Gross, Malcolm Guite, David Hajdu, Si Halley, Peter Hues Harrison, Mary
Amelia Cummins Harvey, Todd Harvey, Nicholas Hawthorne, April C. Hayes, John
Herdman,CarolynHester,ClintonHeylin,JohnHinchey,TerriHinte,NigelHinton,
Historic Waco Foundation, Jan Høiberg, John Hopkins, Barney Hoskyns, Duncan
Hume, Patrick Humphries, Don Hunstein, Ira Ingber, A.J. Iriarte, John Jackson,
Elana James, Craig Jamieson, Peter Jesperson, Janet Joyce, Ric Kangas, Daniel Kar-
lin, Larry Keenan, Roy Kelly, Mark Kidel, Kaitlin King, Malcolm Kirton, Freddy
Koella, Robert Ko¨hler, Sandy Konikoff, Daniel Kramer, Michael Krogsgaard, Jeff
Laine, Jon Landau, Bruce Langhorne, Jonathan Lauer, Eric LaBlanc, C.P. Lee, Bob
ix
THANKSANDACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Levinson, Dan Levy, John Lindley, Dennis Lloyd, Charlie McCoy, Regina McCrary,
Brian McMahon, Dave Madeloni, Toby Manners, Marc at Double M Management,
Greil Marcus, Mike Marqusee, Kathy Mattea, John May, Jesse Meehl, Vince Mel-
amed, Pat Missin, Dave Morton, Wayne Moss, Geoff Muldaur & Mary, Joy Munsey,
MicheleMurino,RabNoakes,TanyaNolan,BrendanO’Brien,BrendanO’Dwyer,Joe
Offer, Robert Oermann, Eric Oliver, Eric Olsen, Hoyle Osborne, Eyolf Østrem, Bill
Pagel, Jon Pankake, Alan Pasqua, Faith Petric, Sue Phelps, David Pichaske, Michel
Pomar`ede, Andy Prevezer, Darrell Redmond, Sy Ribakove, Amadee Ricketts, Alan
Rinzler, John Roberts, BA Robertson, Christopher Rollason, Jahanara Romney, Jeff
Rosen,FredRothwell,HowardRutman,BarbaraSandlinatWaco-McLennanCounty
Library,MalaSharma,JerrySchatzberg,BurkhardSchleser,SandraHaleSchulman,
CameronSclater,StephenScobie,CarlSealove,JoelSelvin,BradShipp,NeilSlaven,
Larry Sloman, Chris Smith, Howard Sounes, Minton Sparks, Leyla Spencer, Wes
Stace, Lucas Stensland, Rob Stoner, Marilyn Strathern, Bryan Styble, Ed Suthon,
Gregg Sutton,Christer Svensson,DavidTedeschi, HappyTraum,RainerVesely,Vin
Vincent,PeterViney,PaoloVites,ElijahWald,MelanieWatson,WinstonA.Watson,
Lisa Mattioni Weber, Miriam Weissman, Dave Whitaker, Sean Wilentz, Ruth Wil-
liams, Nigel Williamson, Val Wilmer, Terry Winston, Stefan Wirz, Richard Wis-
solik, Robin Witting, Daniel Wolfe, John Wraith, Bob Yellin, Richard Younger,
Zimmy’s proprietors Bob & Linda, Matthew Zuckerman.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Theauthorandthepublisherswishtoexpresstheirthankstotheundermentioned
copyright owners for the use of material written and composed by Bob Dylan.
Quotations are taken from Bob Dylan recordings and may in some cases differ
slightly fromtheprinted sheet-musicversionsand/ortheanthology Bob Dylan: Lyr-
ics: 1962–2001:
(a) Copyright by Duchess Music (now MCA Music): Song to Woody, (cid:2) 1962,
renewed 1990; Talking New York, (cid:2)1962, renewed 1990; TalkingBear Mountain
Picnic Massacre Blues, (cid:2)1962, renewed 1990.
(b) Copyright by Dwarf Music: Rainy Day Women (cid:3) 12 and 35, (cid:2) 1966, re-
newed 1994; Pledging My Time, (cid:2) 1966, renewed 1994; Visions of Johanna,
(cid:2) 1966, renewed 1994; Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again,
(cid:2) 1966, renewed 1994; Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat, (cid:2) 1966, renewed 1994; Just
Like a Woman, (cid:2) 1966, renewed 1994; Absolutely Sweet Marie, (cid:2)1966, renewed
1994;TemporaryLikeAchilles,(cid:2)1966,renewed1994;4thTimeAround,(cid:2)1966,
renewed 1994; Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, (cid:2) 1966, renewed 1994; Too Much
of Nothing, (cid:2) 1967, renewed 1995; Please, Mrs. Henry, (cid:2) 1967, renewed 1995;
Down in the Flood, (cid:2) 1967, renewed 1995; You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, (cid:2) 1967,
renewed 1995; Tears of Rage (Words by Bob Dylan, Music by Richard Manuel),
(cid:2) 1968, renewed 1996; This Wheel’s on Fire (Words & Music by Bob Dylan & Rick
Danko), (cid:2) 1967; renewed 1995; Open the Door, Homer, (cid:2) 1968, renewed 1996;
JohnWesleyHarding,(cid:2)1968,renewed1996;AllAlongtheWatchtower,(cid:2)1968,
x