Hard Rain & Slow Trains: Bob Dylan & Fellow Travelers Daniel Mackay

In October of 1963, Bob Dylan performed one of his great shows on the stage of one of the great venues, he finished recording his third album, he performed in concert halls in Pennsylvania and Michigan, he dueted with Joan Baez in Los Angeles, he wrote a poem to Baez, he gave two interviews, and he was publicly humiliated by a weekly national magazine in an article that would mark a pivot in how he interacted with both his audience and the press. Take a “Highway of Diamonds” back 60 years to ...

In August and September of 1963, Bob Dylan began appearing as a special guest at Joan Baez concerts; he had three recording sessions for THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN', his third album; he sang before a quarter of a million people at the March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C.; he recorded more demos for his publisher M. Witmark and Songs; and he accepted Baez’s invitation to return with her to Carmel for a retreat away from the world and some time to compose new songs. In "20 Pounds of...

In July of 1963, Bob Dylan traveled to Greenwood, Mississippi, final resting place of Robert Johnson, to perform at a Voter Registration Rally, traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico to perform for Columbia executives, and traveled to Minnesota to perform for friends, he recorded a television performance that would air the following month, but above all he performed at the Newport Folk Festival. He performed at Newport and, as Robert Shelton wrote, “he left a star.” Take a “Highway of Diamonds” ba...

In May and June of 1963, Bob Dylan performed his first concert in California (where he sang his first duet with Joan Baez), walked off the set of THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW, and finally saw his second album, which he had been working on for a year, appear in record stores. Take a “Highway of Diamonds” back 60 years to the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in the late spring of 1963: May and June. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in...

50 years ago, Bob Dylan recorded the soundtrack to PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID, helped some friends in the studio, including producing the only non-Bob Dylan album he ever produced, began rehearsing with The Band for an anticipated concert tour, signed with a new record label after 11 years with Columbia, and went into a studio and recorded his only studio album with The Band. All of this occurred against a changing cultural background that inaugurated the cultural decade of the Seventies...

In April of 1963, Bob Dylan showcased his own songs to his largest audience yet, he finished recording for his second album, and he returned to the stages of coffee houses and clubs…until he became too big for coffee houses and clubs. Take a “Highway of Diamonds” back 60 years to the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in April of 1963...60 years ago to the month. This episode is exceptionally long (the longest ever) as it attempts to showcase Dylan’s repertoire in April of ...