Mr. Tambourine Man

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"Mr. Tambourine Man"
Mr. Tambourine Man sheet music.jpg
Cover of the M. Witmark & Sons sheet music
Song by Bob Dylan
from the album Bringing It All Back Home
ReleasedMarch 22, 1965 (1965-03-22)
RecordedJanuary 15, 1965
Studio Columbia, New York City
Genre Folk [1]
Length5:32
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Bob Dylan
Producer(s) Tom Wilson
Audio sample

"Mr. Tambourine Man" is a song written by Bob Dylan, released as the first track of the acoustic side of his March 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home . The song's popularity led to Dylan recording it live many times, and it has been included in multiple compilation albums. It has been translated into other languages and has been used or referenced in television shows, films, and books.

Contents

The song has been performed and recorded by many artists, including the Byrds, Judy Collins, Melanie, Odetta, and Stevie Wonder among others. The Byrds' version was released in April 1965 as their first single on Columbia Records, reaching number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart, as well as being the title track of their debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man . The Byrds' recording of the song was influential in popularizing the musical subgenres of folk rock and jangle pop, leading many contemporary bands to mimic its fusion of jangly guitars and intellectual lyrics in the wake of the single's success. Dylan himself was partly influenced to record with electric instrumentation after hearing the Byrds' reworking of his song.

Dylan's song has four verses, of which the Byrds only used the second for their recording. Dylan's and the Byrds' versions have appeared on various lists ranking the greatest songs of all time, including an appearance by both on Rolling Stone 's list of the 500 best songs ever. Both versions received Grammy Hall of Fame Awards.

The song has a bright, expansive melody and has become famous for its surrealistic imagery, influenced by artists as diverse as French poet Arthur Rimbaud and Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. The lyrics call on the title character to play a song and the narrator will follow. Interpretations of the lyrics have included a paean to drugs such as LSD, a call to the singer's muse, a reflection of the audience's demands on the singer, and religious interpretations.

Composition

"Mr. Tambourine Man" was written and composed in early 1964, at the same approximate time as "Chimes of Freedom", which Dylan recorded later that spring for his album Another Side of Bob Dylan . [2] [3] Dylan began writing and composing "Mr. Tambourine Man" in February 1964, after attending Mardi Gras in New Orleans during a cross-country road trip with several friends, and completed it sometime between the middle of March and late April of that year after he had returned to New York. [2] Nigel Williamson has suggested in The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan that the influence of Mardi Gras can be heard in the swirling and fanciful imagery of the song's lyrics. [4] Journalist Al Aronowitz has stated that Dylan completed the song at his home, but folk singer Judy Collins, who later recorded the song, has stated that Dylan completed the song at her home. [2] Dylan premiered the song the following month at a May 17 concert at London's Royal Festival Hall. [2]

Recording

During the sessions for Another Side of Bob Dylan , in June 1964, with Tom Wilson producing, Dylan recorded "Mr. Tambourine Man" with Ramblin' Jack Elliott singing harmony. As Elliott was slightly off key, that recording wasn't used. [5] [2] [6] Later that month he recorded a publisher demo of the song at Witmark Music. [7] More than six months passed before Dylan re-recorded the song, again with Wilson in the producer's chair, during the final Bringing It All Back Home session on January 15, 1965, the same day that "Gates of Eden", "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)", and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" were recorded. [2] [8] It was long thought that the four songs were each recorded in one long take. [9] However, in the biography Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades, Clinton Heylin relates that the song required six attempts, possibly because of difficulties in working out the playoffs between Dylan's acoustic guitar and Bruce Langhorne's electric lead. [2] Alternate takes released on Dylan's Cutting Edge collection also reveal that early takes include drummer Bobby Gregg playing a tambourine-heavy 2
4 rhythm, but Dylan found this too distracting and opted to continue recording with Langhorne alone. The final take was selected for the album, which was released on March 22, 1965. [2] [9]

In his book Keys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, Oliver Trager describes "Mr. Tambourine Man" as having a bright, expansive melody, [10] with Langhorne's electric guitar accompaniment, which provides a countermelody to the vocals, being the only instrumentation besides Dylan's acoustic guitar and harmonica. [11] Author Wilfrid Mellers has written that although the song is in the key of D major, it is harmonized as if it were in a Lydian G major, giving the song a tonal ambiguity that enhances the dreamy quality of the melody. [12] Unusually, rather than beginning with the first verse, the song begins with an iteration of the chorus: [10]

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come following you. [13]

Interpretations

William Ruhlmann, writing for the AllMusic web site, has suggested the following outline of the song's lyrics: "The time seems to be early morning following a night when the narrator has not slept. Still unable to sleep, though amazed by his weariness, he is available and open to Mr. Tambourine Man's song, and says he will follow him. In the course of four verses studded with internal rhymes, he expounds on this situation, his meaning often heavily embroidered with imagery, though the desire to be freed by the tambourine man's song remains clear." [14]

While there has been speculation that the song is about drugs, particularly with lines such as "take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship" and "the smoke rings of my mind", [2] [3] [11] Dylan has denied the song is about drugs. [15] Though he was smoking marijuana at the time the song was written, Dylan was not introduced to LSD until a few months later. [2] [3] [16] Outside of drug speculation, the song has been interpreted as a call to the singer's spirit or muse, or as a search for transcendence. [3] [16] [17] [18] [19] In particular, biographer John Hinchey has suggested in his book Like a Complete Unknown that the singer is praying to his muse for inspiration; Hinchey notes that ironically the song itself is evidence the muse has already provided the sought-after inspiration. [17] The figure of Mr. Tambourine Man has sometimes been interpreted as a symbol for Jesus or the Pied Piper of Hamelin. [14] The song may also reference gospel music themes, with Mr. Tambourine Man being the bringer of religious salvation. [19]

Dylan has cited the influence of Federico Fellini's movie La Strada on the song, [10] [20] while other commentators have found echoes of the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud. [2] [21] [22] Author Howard Sounes has identified the lyrics "in the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you" as having been taken from a Lord Buckley recording. [20] Bruce Langhorne, who performs guitar on the track, has been cited by Dylan as the inspiration for the tambourine man image in the song. [10] Langhorne used to play a giant, four-inch-deep "tambourine" (actually a Turkish frame drum), and had brought the instrument to a previous Dylan recording session. [2] [11] [23] [24]

Other Dylan releases

Bob Dylan has often played "Mr. Tambourine Man" in live concerts. Bob Dylan 1996.jpg
Bob Dylan has often played "Mr. Tambourine Man" in live concerts.

The Bringing it All Back Home version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was included on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits in 1967 and several later Dylan compilation albums, including Biograph , Masterpieces , and The Essential Bob Dylan . [14] [25] The two June 1964 recordings, one with Ramblin' Jack Elliott and the other at Witmark Music, have been released on The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home and The Bootleg Series Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos 1962–1964 , respectively. [14] [26] Outtakes from the January 15, 1965, recording session were released on The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966 in 2015.

The song has been in Dylan's live concert repertoire since it was written, [10] usually as a solo acoustic song, and live performances have appeared on various concert albums and DVDs. An early performance, perhaps the song's live debut, recorded at London's Royal Festival Hall on May 17, 1964, appeared on Live 1962-1966: Rare Performances From The Copyright Collections, while another early performance, recorded during a songs workshop at the Newport Folk Festival on July 24, 1964, was included in both Murray Lerner's film The Other Side of the Mirror [27] and the DVD release of Martin Scorsese's documentary No Direction Home . [28] A live performance at New York's Philharmonic Hall dating from October 31, 1964, appeared on The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall . [14] During his appearance at the Newport Folk Festival on July 25, 1965, after he was heckled by acoustic folk music fans during his electric set, Dylan returned to play acoustic versions of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"; [29] [30] this performance of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was included in The Other Side of the Mirror . [27]

A live version from Dylan's famous May 17, 1966, concert in Manchester, England (popularly but mistakenly known as the Royal Albert Hall Concert) was included on The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert . [31] Dylan's August 31, 1969, performance of the song at the Isle of Wight Festival appeared on Isle of Wight Live, part of the 4-CD deluxe edition of The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971) . Dylan played the song as part of his evening set at the 1971, Concert for Bangladesh, organized by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, featuring Harrison on electric guitar, Leon Russell on bass, and Ringo Starr on tambourine. That performance was included on The Concert For Bangladesh album, although it was excluded from the film of the concert. [32] Another live version, from the Rolling Thunder Revue tour of 1975, was included on The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue and The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings , while electric band versions from 1978 and 1981 appeared, respectively, on Bob Dylan at Budokan and the Deluxe Edition of The Bootleg Series Vol. 13: Trouble No More 1979–1981 . [33] [34]

In November 2016, all Dylan's recorded live performances of the song from 1966 were released in the boxed set The 1966 Live Recordings , with the May 26, 1966, performance released separately on the album The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert.

The Byrds' version

"Mr. Tambourine Man"
Mr tambourine man the byrds original US single side-A.png
Side A of the original US single
Single by the Byrds
from the album Mr. Tambourine Man
B-side "I Knew I'd Want You"
ReleasedApril 12, 1965 (1965-04-12)
RecordedJanuary 20, 1965
Studio Columbia, Hollywood
Genre Folk rock, jangle pop [35]
Length2:18
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Bob Dylan
Producer(s) Terry Melcher
The Byrds singles chronology
"Mr. Tambourine Man"
(1965)		"All I Really Want to Do"
(1965)
Audio sample

Release

"Mr. Tambourine Man" was the debut single by the American band the Byrds and was released less then a month after Dylan's original on April 12, 1965, by Columbia Records. [36] The song was also the title track of the band's debut album, which was released on June 21, 1965. [37] The Byrds' version is abridged and in a different key from Dylan's original.

The single's success initiated the folk rock boom of 1965 and 1966, with a number of American and British acts imitating the band's hybrid of a rock beat, jangly guitar playing, and poetic or socially conscious lyrics. [14] [38] The single was the "first folk rock smash hit", [39] [40] and gave rise to the term "folk rock" in the U.S music press to describe the band's sound. [41] [42]

This hybrid had its antecedents in the American folk revival of the early 1960s, [43] the Animals' rock-oriented recording of the folk song "The House of the Rising Sun", [44] the folk influences present in the songwriting of the Beatles, [45] and the twelve-string guitar jangle of the Searchers and the Beatles' George Harrison. [46] [47] However, the success of the Byrds' debut created a template for folk rock that proved successful for many acts during the mid-1960s. [14] [48]

Conception

Most of the members of the Byrds had a background in folk music, [40] since Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark, and David Crosby had all worked as folk singers during the early 1960s. [49] [50] They had all spent time, independently of each other, in various folk groups, including the New Christy Minstrels, the Limeliters, the Chad Mitchell Trio, and Les Baxter's Balladeers. [49] [51] [52] [53]

In early 1964, McGuinn, Clark, and Crosby formed the Jet Set and started developing a fusion of folk-based lyrics and melodies, with arrangements in the style of the Beatles. [50] [54] In August 1964, the band's manager Jim Dickson acquired an acetate disc of "Mr. Tambourine Man" from Dylan's publisher, featuring a performance by Dylan and Ramblin' Jack Elliott. [2] [50] [55] [56] Although the band members were initially unimpressed with the song, after McGuinn changed the time signature from Dylan's 2
4 configuration to 4
4 time, they began rehearsing and demoing it. [57] [58] [59] In an attempt to make it sound more like the Beatles, the band and Dickson elected to give the song a full, electric rock band treatment, effectively creating the musical subgenre of folk rock. [40] [56] [58] To further bolster the group's confidence in the song, Dickson invited Dylan to a band rehearsal at World Pacific Studios to hear their rendition. [60] [57] Dylan was impressed, enthusiastically commenting, "Wow, you can dance to that!" His endorsement erased any lingering doubts the band had about the song. [60]

Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
Mr. Tambourine Man (1964 demo)
An excerpt from a 1964 demo recording of "Mr. Tambourine Man" by the Byrds, highlighting Michael Clarke's martial, marching band-style drumming.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

During this period, drummer Michael Clarke and bass player Chris Hillman joined, [50] and the band changed their name to the Byrds over Thanksgiving 1964. [56] Band biographer Johnny Rogan has remarked that the two surviving demos of "Mr. Tambourine Man" dating from this period feature an incongruous marching band drum part from Clarke, but overall the arrangement is very close to the later single version. [61] [62]

Production

The master take of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was recorded on January 20, 1965, at Columbia Studios in Hollywood, prior to the release of Dylan's own version. [63] The song's jangling, melodic guitar playing (performed by McGuinn on a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar) was immediately influential and has remained so to the present day. [56] The group's complex vocal harmony work, as featured on "Mr. Tambourine Man", became another major characteristic of their sound. [64] Due to producer Terry Melcher's [55] initial lack of confidence in the Byrds' musicianship, as a result of them not having gelled musically yet, [65] McGuinn was the only Byrd to play on both "Mr. Tambourine Man" and its B-side, "I Knew I'd Want You". [56] Rather than using band members, Melcher hired the Wrecking Crew, a collection of top L.A. session musicians (listed here), who (with McGuinn on guitar) provided the backing track over which McGuinn, Crosby, and Clark sang. [66] By the time that sessions for their debut album began in March 1965, Melcher was satisfied that the band was competent enough to record its own musical backing. [40] Much of the track's arrangement and final mixdown was modeled after Brian Wilson's production work for the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby". [67] [68] [69]

The Byrds' recording of the song opens with a distinctive, Bach-inspired guitar introduction played by McGuinn and then, like Dylan's version, goes into the song's chorus. [56] Although Dylan's version contains four verses, the Byrds perform only the song's second verse and two repeats of the chorus, followed by a variation on the song's introduction, which then fades out. [14] The Byrds' arrangement of the song had been shortened during the band's rehearsals, at the suggestion of Jim Dickson, in order to accommodate commercial radio stations, which were reluctant to play songs that were over two-and-a-half minutes long. [56] [58] As a result, while Dylan's version is five-and-a-half minutes long, the Byrds' version runs just short of two-and-a-half minutes. [14] The lead vocal on the Byrds' recording of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was sung by McGuinn, who attempted to modify his singing style to fill what he perceived as a gap in the popular music scene of the day, somewhere between the vocal sound of John Lennon and Bob Dylan. [56] The song also took on a spiritual aspect for McGuinn during the recording sessions, as he told Rogan in 1997: "I was singing to God and I was saying that God was the Tambourine Man and I was saying to him, 'Hey, God, take me for a trip and I'll follow you.' It was a prayer of submission." [56]

Reception

The single reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 1 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the first recording of a Dylan song to reach number 1 on any pop music chart. [70] [71] [72] In 2009, the band's bassist Chris Hillman gave Bob Eubanks, a DJ on KRLA and later the host of The Newlywed Game , credit for originally breaking the song on the radio in L.A. [73]

Upon release, Record World picked it as its "Sleeper of the Week" and called it a "funky and slow treatment of the Bob Dylan tune that has a lot to say. Moody and different treatment from a group going places." [74] Band biographer Christopher Hjort has remarked that it is surprising that neither Billboard or Cashbox magazines reviewed the single, considering the efforts Columbia put into promoting the record. [75] In the UK, Record Mirror described the single as, "A Bob Dylan song of uncommon charm. Group is American, folksy and five-strong. Busy mandolin-style [sic] backing. Song is the big selling point, for sure." [76] In his review for Music Echo, critic Brian Harvey described it as "a folksy, guitar twangy, medium tempo swinger. It's a busy number with lots of echo. Lead voice tells the story and has vocal group backing in the attractive chorus. The melody sticks even after one play." [76]

Critic William Ruhlmann has argued that in the wake of "Mr. Tambourine Man", the influence of the Byrds could be heard in recordings by a number of other Los Angeles-based acts, including the Turtles, the Leaves, Barry McGuire, and Sonny & Cher. [14] In addition, author and music historian Richie Unterberger sees the influence of the Byrds in recordings by the Lovin' Spoonful, the Mamas & the Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, and Love, [48] [77] while author John Einarson has said that both the Grass Roots and We Five enjoyed commercial success by emulating the Byrds' folk rock sound. [78] Unterberger also feels that, by late 1965, the Beatles were assimilating the sound of the Byrds into their Rubber Soul album, most notably on the songs "Nowhere Man" and "If I Needed Someone". [79] Both Unterberger and author Peter Lavezzoli have commented that Dylan himself decided to record with electric instrumentation on his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home in part due to the influence of the Byrds' rock adaptation of "Mr. Tambourine Man". [80] [81]

As the 1960s came to a close, folk rock changed and evolved away from the jangly template pioneered by the Byrds, [38] but, Unterberger argues, the band's influence could still be heard in the music of Fairport Convention. [82] Since the 1960s, the Byrds' jangly, folk rock sound has continued to influence popular music, with authors such as Chris Smith, Johnny Rogan, and Mark Deming, noting the band's influence on various acts including Big Star, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, R.E.M., the Long Ryders, the Smiths, the Bangles, the Stone Roses, Teenage Fanclub, and the La's. [83] [84] [85]

In addition to appearing on the Byrds' debut album, "Mr. Tambourine Man" is included on several Byrds' compilation and live albums, including The Byrds Greatest Hits , Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971 , The Very Best of The Byrds , The Essential Byrds , The Byrds Play Dylan , and the live disc of The Byrds' (Untitled) album. [86] The Byrds' version of the song appears on compilation albums that include hit songs by multiple artists. [86] Two earlier demo recordings of "Mr. Tambourine Man", dating from the World Pacific rehearsal sessions, can be heard on the Byrds' archival albums Preflyte , In the Beginning , and The Preflyte Sessions . [87]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Mr. Tambourine Man"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [98]
Bob Dylan version 		Silver200,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [99]
The Byrds version 		Silver200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other recordings

Pictured in 1963, folk singer Judy Collins covered "Mr. Tambourine Man" in 1965. Judy Collins Hootenanny 1963.jpg
Pictured in 1963, folk singer Judy Collins covered "Mr. Tambourine Man" in 1965.

"Mr. Tambourine Man" has been performed and recorded by many artists and in different languages over the years, including at least thirteen versions recorded in 1965 alone. [10] The Brothers Four recorded a commercial version before the Byrds, but were unable to release it due to licensing issues. [100] Odetta included her version of the song on her album Odetta Sings Dylan , released early March 1965. [101] [102] Notable recordings of the song have been made by Judy Collins, Stevie Wonder, the Four Seasons, the Barbarians, and Chad and Jeremy. [14] Other artists who have recorded the song include Glen Campbell (1965), the Beau Brummels (1966), the Lettermen (1966), Kenny Rankin (1967), Melanie (1968), Joni Mitchell (1970), [103] Gene Clark (1984) and Crowded House (1989). [104] William Shatner recorded a spoken word cover of the song for his 1968 album The Transformed Man . [10]

A reunited line-up of the Byrds, featuring Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, and David Crosby, performed "Mr. Tambourine Man" with Dylan at a Roy Orbison tribute concert on February 24, 1990. This live performance of the song was included on the 1990 box set The Byrds . [105] At the October 1992 Bob Dylan 30th anniversary tribute concert at Madison Square Garden, McGuinn performed the song, backed by Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, and Benmont Tench, among others. [10] [106]

In creative works

"Mr. Tambourine Man" has been referenced in books and film, including Tom Wolfe's non-fiction novel The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test , [107] Stephen King's novel Carrie , [108] the film Dangerous Minds , [109] [110] [111] and the documentary film Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson . The subject of the latter film, journalist Hunter S. Thompson, had "Mr. Tambourine Man" played at his funeral and dedicated his novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to Dylan and the song. [112] Ann Hui's 1990 film Song of the Exile begins with Maggie Cheung riding a bicycle through the streets of London while a street performer plays the song. [113] The 2013 John Craigie song, "I Wrote Mr. Tambourine Man", is about a person that Craigie met in New Orleans who claimed to have written the original lyrics to "Mr. Tambourine Man". [114]

Legacy

The Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was listed as the number 79 song on Rolling Stone 's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and Dylan's version was ranked number 106. [115] It is one of three songs to place twice, along with "Walk This Way" by both Aerosmith and Run-DMC with Perry and Tyler, and "Blue Suede Shoes" by both Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley. [115] The Byrds' version was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998, and Dylan's version was honored with the same award in 2002. [116]

In 1989 Rolling Stone ranked the Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" as the number 86 single of the prior 25 years. [117] That same year, music critic Dave Marsh listed it as number 207 in his list of the top 1001 singles ever made. [118] In 1999, National Public Radio in the United States listed this version as one of the 300 most important American records of the 20th century. [119] In the UK, music critic Colin Larkin listed the Byrds' version as the number 1 single of all time. [120] Other UK publishers that have listed this song as one of the top songs or singles include Mojo , New Musical Express , and Sounds . [121] [122] [123] Australian music critic Toby Creswell included the song in his book 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them. [58]

In a 2005 readers' poll reported in Mojo , Dylan's version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was listed as the number four all-time greatest Bob Dylan song, and a similar poll of artists ranked the song number 14. [124] In 2002, Uncut listed it as the number 15 all-time Dylan song. [125]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">All I Really Want to Do</span> 1964 song by Bob Dylan

"All I Really Want to Do" is a song written by Bob Dylan and featured on his Tom Wilson-produced 1964 album, Another Side of Bob Dylan. It is arguably one of the most popular songs that Dylan wrote in the period immediately after he abandoned topical songwriting. Within a year of its release on Another Side of Bob Dylan, it had also become one of Dylan's most familiar songs to pop and rock audiences, due to hit cover versions by Cher and the Byrds.

"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his Bringing It All Back Home album, released on March 22, 1965, by Columbia Records. The song was recorded on January 15, 1965, with Dylan's acoustic guitar and harmonica and William E. Lee's bass guitar the only instrumentation. The lyrics were heavily influenced by Symbolist poetry and bid farewell to the titular "Baby Blue". There has been much speculation about the real life identity of "Baby Blue", with possibilities including Joan Baez, David Blue, Paul Clayton, Dylan's folk music audience, and even Dylan himself.

"You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is a song written by American musician Bob Dylan in 1967 in Woodstock, New York, during the self-imposed exile from public appearances that followed his July 29, 1966 motorcycle accident. A recording of Dylan performing the song in September 1971 was released on the Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II album in November of that year, marking the first official release of the song by its author. Earlier 1967 recordings of the song, performed by Dylan and the Band, were issued on the 1975 album The Basement Tapes and the 2014 album The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete.

"The Bells of Rhymney" is a song by folk singer Pete Seeger, which consists of Seeger's own music accompanying words written by Welsh poet Idris Davies. Seeger first released a recording of the song on a live album in 1958, but it is the American folk rock band the Byrds' 1965 recording that is the best known version of the song.

<i>Preflyte</i> 1969 compilation album by the Byrds

Preflyte is a compilation album by the American folk rock band the Byrds and was released in July 1969 on Together Records. The album is a collection of demos recorded by the Byrds at World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles during late 1964, before the band had signed to Columbia Records and become famous. It includes early demo versions of the songs "Here Without You", "You Won't Have to Cry", "I Knew I'd Want You", and "Mr. Tambourine Man", all of which appeared in re-recorded form on the band's 1965 debut album.

<i>The Byrds Greatest Hits Volume II</i> 1971 greatest hits album by the Byrds

The Byrds' Greatest Hits Volume II is the second greatest hits album by the American rock band the Byrds. It was released in the United Kingdom and Europe on October 29, 1971, by CBS Records as a follow-up to the band's first compilation album, The Byrds' Greatest Hits. The album appeared following the band's successful appearance at the Lincoln Folk Festival in England on July 24, 1971, and according to band biographer Johnny Rogan may have been issued by CBS as a reaction to the band's previous studio album, Byrdmaniax, having failed to chart in the UK.

<i>Never Before</i> (The Byrds album) 1987 compilation album by the Byrds

Never Before is a compilation album by the American rock band the Byrds, consisting of previously unreleased outtakes, alternate versions, and rarities. It was initially released by Re-Flyte Records in December 1987 and was subsequently reissued on CD in 1989, with an additional seven bonus tracks.

<i>In the Beginning</i> (The Byrds album) 1988 compilation album by the Byrds

In the Beginning is a compilation album by the American folk rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1988 by Rhino Records. It features demo recordings made during 1964, before the band became famous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McGuinn, Clark & Hillman</span>

McGuinn, Clark & Hillman were an American rock group consisting of Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, and Chris Hillman, who were all former members of the band the Byrds. The group formed in 1977 and was partly modeled after Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and, to a lesser extent, the Eagles. They were reasonably successful commercially in the United States, with their debut album reaching number 39 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and the single "Don't You Write Her Off" reaching number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Knew I'd Want You</span> 1965 single by the Byrds

"I Knew I'd Want You" is a song by the folk rock band the Byrds, written by band member Gene Clark, and first released as the B-side to their 1965 debut single, "Mr. Tambourine Man". It was also later included on their debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man.

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