‘60’s FLASHBACK:
This piece first ran back in May of 2004, spread out over an entire week in Forgotten Hits. With a little bit of editing, we’ve been able to get the whole thing whittled down into just a few days for this special “rebroadcast.”
Much has happened in Bob Dylan’s world since 2004 … so please keep this in perspective as best you can and read these words in the proper context of sixteen years ago! (I can’t believe it!)
The Songs Of BOB DYLAN
No matter what you may think of BOB DYLAN, there is NO denying the fact
that his was one of the most influential, inspirational and prolific voices of
our generation ... a true POET of our times.
That having been said, perhaps the biggest, most common complaint regarding BOB DYLAN is the fact that MOST people
simply can't stand the sound of his voice! They will acknowledge that he's
written some really great and timeless songs ... they just can't stand to listen to him
sing them!!!
As such, several other artists have had HUGE hits over the years covering DYLAN's tunes ... songs that, had he
released them as singles himself quite possibly may have failed ... yet, thanks
to these cover versions, have gone on to become classics in the process.
This week, we're going to look at the music of BOB DYLAN ... without actually having to listen to BOB sing any of them. Instead, we'll
check out some of the other artists who placed DYLAN high on the pop charts during the 1960's. (That's not
entirely true ... in fact, BOB DYLAN's
voice will bookend this feature ... but in between, we'll hear some GREAT cover
tunes ... some you know ... some you may not know ... and, hopefully, some you
haven't heard in a long, long time.)
In fact, we'll kick things off by giving you a little DYLAN tune that you actually CAN listen to ... we'll ease you into
the sound of DYLAN's voice with a
near all-humming instrumental from 1970 that snuck into Cash Box's Top 40 ... and
has always been one of my FORGOTTEN HITS
favorites. It's from his SELF PORTRAIT
album and, although we've featured it before in FH, it ties in perfectly with this week's tribute.
TODAY'S
MUSIC: WIGWAM (#28,
1970) by BOB DYLAN
BTW: About six months ago, I asked the rhetorical question wondering if in our current world of AMERICAN IDOL singing stars, could BOB DYLAN secure a recording contract today. That very question is now the subject of an article running in a major magazine ... unfortunately NOT written by me ... damn, missed my calling again!!!
