Watch Bob Dylan perform a classic set in 1964
Bob Dylan is undoubtedly a creative mastermind, but we may never have known if he hadn’t found the idyllic conduit of folk music. Following his adolescent attachment to 1950s rock ‘n’ roll, Dylan became aware of the more word-dense and expressive musical style and saw an opportunity. While many folk artists turned Dylan’s head, none quite met the life-changing impact of Woody Guthrie.
Dylan’s affection for Guthrie and the wider folk scene led him to New York City in January 1961, following a college dropout and a few run-ins with his father, who saw safety in a traditional career path. Item one on Dylan’s bucket list was to find Guthrie, who, at the time, held a status of divinity to the aspiring troubadour.
Sadly, by the early-60s, Guthrie had been taken ill with the debilitating and congenital Huntington’s disease. The pioneering anti-fascist protest singer wasn’t without good company, though. Guthrie was joined at his bedside by his number one fan, who would play some of his folk covers and originals while gleaning as much wisdom as he could from the master.
It was around this time that Dylan would write one of his first folk songs titled ‘Song to Woody’, which based its structure on Guthrie’s own song, ‘1939 Massacre’. It’s difficult to pinpoint a precise moment that led to Dylan’s unprecedented success as a singer-songwriter, but Autumn 1961 is probably a good point to pin.
After meeting Guthrie and circling the New York folk ring, which mainly consisted of small cafes, Dylan had his big break when scouted by Columbia Records’ John Hammond. Hammond saw something in Dylan’s raw, youthful style that few others could and fellow executives ridiculed him at the time. “The vice president of Columbia Records said just right off, the most horrible thing he’d ever heard in his life,” Hammond would later recall. “Hammond’s folly.”
The next three years were pivotal in both Dylan’s development as an artist of global acclaim and for the revolution of rock music. Hurtling towards the mid-’60s, Dylan began to combine his earlier interest in ‘50s rock and roll with his now-championed folk exploits. The most obvious crossover point was March 1965’s Bringing It All Back Home, which bridged Dylan’s purer folk style to his latter electric style. Just four months later, Dylan would confirm this transition and alienate his folkiest fans by “going electric” at the Newport Folk Festival.
Below, we bring you extensive footage from one of Bob Dylan’s last pure folk sets recorded at a concert for CBC on February 1st, 1964.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Bob Dylan Newsletter
All the latest stories about Bob Dylan from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.