Over the years I have been somewhat bemused by those who purport to know all things Dylan, but in reality know bugger all about the guy or his recordings.  

However this lack of knowledge doesn't seem to stop them from flapping their traps, and it seems the less they know the louder and longer they flap, and with absolute authority.  

  

Dylan goes electric / boos from the fans – Newport 1965 / English tour 1966

 

 

Dylan puts Donovan in his place – Savoy Hotel May 1965, Pennebaker’s Don’t Look Back

 

Dylan going electric

 

Not everyone was aware of Dylan’s first single from December 1962, Mixed Up Confusion

Dylan backed by two electric guitars, bass, drums and piano.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surely by March 1965, you know something has changed.  Bringing It All Back Home, one side is Dylan backed by electric guitar, electric bass, piano, drums, keyboards.

 

Subterranean Homesick Blues, Maggie’s Farm, Outlaw Blues, Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream (!!) 

 

20th July 1965, Like A Rolling Stone is released and it reaches number two in the U.S. and a top 10 hit around the world,

Dylan is backed by Mike Bloomfield, lead guitar, Al Kooper organ, Bobby Gregg, drums, Joe Macho Jr, bass, Paul Griffin, piano 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

25th July 1965, Newport Folk Festival – Dylan is backed by a rock band. Were there ‘boos’?  Certainly not from any real Dylan fans.  

 

August 1965, Highway 61 Revisited, 8 of the 9 songs Dylan is again backed by Mike Bloomfield, lead guitar, Al Kooper organ, Bobby Gregg, drums, Joe Macho Jr, bass, Paul Griffin, piano 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tombstone Blues, From A Buick 6, Highway 61 Revisited

 

September 1965, Positively 4th Street.  Dylan is backed by the above band 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 1965, Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window, Dylan is backed by The Band.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 1966, five months after his last release 'Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window', he tours England and is backed by The Band, and the press and audiences are surprised?

And some audience members boo? 

Four singles with Bob and an electric band and one and a half albums with Bob and an electric band over the past one and a quarter years would suggest, to the suggestible listener, that if you go to a Dylan concert there’s a chance he’ll be backed by an electric band.

 

 

 

 

 

Dylan and Donovan in Pennebaker’s Don’t Look Back.

 

The widely held view is that the highlight of the doco is Dylan putting Donovan in his place and teaching him a lesson.

Here are a few examples from the web.  Some of these people may have even seen this movie.

 

“the famous scene in which Dylan outshone and humiliated the singer Donovan at a party for cool people in London” 

Jonathan Franzen's 2010 novel Freedom  

 

“In one of the best scenes from the 1967 film Don’t Look Back, ……., Scottish folk star Donovan visits the poet laureate of rock in a hotel room, performs an innocuous little ditty and is then

 promptly upstaged by Dylan’s great “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.”

 twentyfourbit.com  

 

“It’s a catchy little diddy, but a light and fluffy one, sugar-coated, insubstantial, rather faux and obvious in its sentiments.  (“…I’ll sing a song for you / that’s what I’m here to do / to sing for

 you…”)  Dylan chuckles midway through and remarks, “Great song, man”, and you just don’t believe him for a second.  When Donovan finishes, Dylan snatches his guitar….”

Reviewed by Richard Malloy (Al Brown)  

 

“Greil Marcus then suggests that perhaps the “Baby Blue” moment was payback for Donovan’s attempt to improve upon his song.”   

Greil Marcus (music journalist) twentyfourbit.com

“The King is in his hotel room a few days before he is to command Royal Albert Hall and the Yellow flake shows up to sing for the Dylan entourage. And he actually croons what sounds like a

 gem. A really good song. With the glow of pride still on his face, Dylan – the alpha male – is ready to crush Donovan. Flatten the fairy. So he commandeers the guitar from……”  

Mark Stevens CEO of a big company (MSCO) (and he has written a book too)  

 

“How Bob Dylan stopped that pretender, Donovan.  The following exchange is one of the most famous (and one of the only) throwdowns in folk music history. Dylan retuned the guitar and

 sang arguably his best (and newest) song "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and in an instant - everyone knew who was the better.”

By Tom Power (musician Tom is in high demand and leads his own band)

So, before you howl with delight at the above 'tales told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing', it’s nice to have a few of the facts.

 

First and foremost, Dylan would be the last person on the planet (especially in 1965) who would allow himself to be manipulated by the press.

 

Donovan sings his song “To Sing For You”

Dylan says “Hey, nice song man”

Donovan then asks Dylan to play “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’

Dylan acquiesces.

Pretty straight forward I would think.

 

It’s also good to keep a few things in perspective.

Donovan was eighteen years old and Dylan was twenty four 

Donovan had been a recording artist for a total of seven weeks, Dylan for three and a half years  

Donovan had only released one record, a single.  Dylan had released five albums and five singles  

Donovan had only played small clubs, with the exception of Wembley, once, where he played two songs.  Dylan was selling out concert halls everywhere.  

Dylan had performed throughout the States, played Canada and had been to England every year since 1962  

Would Dylan really pick on the little guy? It’s easy meat and Dylan was no bully.

 

Was Dylan’s song and performance of It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue better than Donovan’s song and performance of To Sing For You?

I should fucking hope so.

 

Dylan, Donovan and Mary Travers two months later at the Newport Folk Festival

It's not easy being cool at 18 years of age

 

       Left, Bob at 18, posing for a photo for the Hibbing High School Year book

                                                    Right, Donovan at 18, talking and singing with Dylan in Dylan's hotel room    

                                                                                                                   

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