Saturday, July 9, 2011

Remember This Time...?


Amazing to think that it's been so long ago that this song first came about!

It introduced me to two big influences in my life...song writer Bob Dylan and the group Peter, Paul, and Mary! I still enjoy the works of this time. How could you not?

Jul 9, 1962:

Bob Dylan records "Blowin' In The Wind"


"This here ain't no protest song or anything like that, 'cause I don't write no protest songs." That was how Bob Dylan introduced one of the most eloquent protest songs ever written when he first performed it publicly. It was the spring of his first full year in New York City, and he was onstage at Gerde's Folk City in Greenwich Village, talking about a song he claims to have written in just 10 minutes: "Blowin' In The Wind." A few weeks later, on this day in 1962, Dylan walked into a studio and recorded the song that would make him a star.

Dylan's recording of "Blowin' In The Wind" would first be released nearly a full year later, on his breakthrough album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. This was not the version of the song that most people would first hear, however. That honor went to the cover version by Peter, Paul and Mary—a version that not only became a smash hit on the pop charts, but also transformed what Dylan would later call "just another song" into the unofficial anthem of the civil rights movement.

"Blowin' In The Wind" bore little or no resemblance to the highly topical, highly literal protest songs of the day, but that may have been precisely what made it so effective as a protest song. A lyric like "How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man?" lends itself perfectly to those seeking racial justice, just as "How many seas must a white dove sail, before she sleeps in the sand?" does to those seeking peace. The moving, vaguely spiritual, clearly dissatisfied, yet ultimately ambiguous nature of "Blowin' In the Wind" made it the quintessential protest song of the 1960s—"A song that the times seemed to call forth," in the words of critic Greil Marcus.

It also represented a significant breakthrough for Bob Dylan as a songwriter. From "Blowin' In The Wind" onward, Dylan's songs would reflect a far more personal and poetic approach to self-expression—an approach that would lead him away from songs like "The Times They Are a-Changin'" and toward songs like "Like A Rolling Stone." And Dylan's development as a songwriter would, in turn, have a similar effect on The Beatles, whose own move from "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" to "A Day In The Life" can be traced directly to their exposure to The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in the spring of 196



Sorry, but I was feeling the need to trip down memory lane this morning! Forgive me, OK?

Let's get some coffee on the patio this morning. We can talk over all the old times and how times have changed!

12 comments:

  1. What? You didn't want to use Bob's original version? :-)
    The orginal

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good music. Good memories. Not to mention, you can understand the words and hum the tune if you want to. Thanks, Liz

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nothing to forgive. If those are the memory lanes you want to lead us down.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the walk down memory lane. It was a good time for the most part.
    Id love to talk about the past on the patio.

    ReplyDelete
  5. To bad the US government didn't listen and learn from songs like this. We seem to be a war loving people. Peace, out!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The people of that day (like this day) wanted change. Unfortunately, change is usually like the pendelum on a clock and swings to the other side and back without ever finding a static balance (unless the clock stops). Thus the changes are usually as bad as the original problems, necessitating more changes, and on, and on.....

    ReplyDelete
  7. As a child of the 60's, I remember all of those songs, most of which my parents hated. My dad disliked the Beatles, which, of course, made me like them even more. I had a yellow Corvette and their song 'Yellow Submarine' was one of my favorites. Ah, those were the days!! Thanks for the memory and the coffee, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Every now and again a guy has to reflect on his roots and what made him who he is. Great post, and coffee sounds good! Going to put some on!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I remember those songs playing in the house when I was growing up. Hearing my Mom sing along and smiling. Thanks for the memories.

    ReplyDelete
  10. That made me a Dylan fan too. Also loved Arlo Guthrie.

    Pass me a cupa. plz

    ReplyDelete
  11. HJ, I'm a fan of those oldies but goodies too. I have a Sirius radio subscription in my car and the 40s 50s and 60s are among my favorite channels, along with the SInatro channel. Can't abide this modern so-called singing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Just found your blog from Dizzy-Dick,, hope you don't mind the extra company,, but I will be having coffee with you on a regular basis, no sugar please....

    ReplyDelete