Credit: Bent Rej

Bob Dylan’s first electric band: Who were the Hawks?

Thu 23 January 2025 3:00, UK

Bob Dylan’s foray into performing with a fully electric live band for the first time in 1965 at the Newport Folk Festival remains perhaps one of the most well-documented and boldest changes in direction that a recording artist has ever committed themselves to in history.

Alienating himself from the wider folk scene that had provided him with his start in music, his decision to adopt rock-adjacent elements was considered controversial by purists, but considering it led to the creation of albums as outstanding as Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde, it was perhaps the leap of faith that Dylan needed to make in order to further his career.

The leadup to this watershed moment in his career has recently been detailed in the blockbuster biopic A Complete Unknown. While it covers the backlash Dylan received following his festival appearance, it doesn’t delve into the aftermath and recruitment of his first official electric backing band.

Accompanying Dylan on that day were piano/organ player Barry Goldberg, guitarist Mike Bloomfield, bassist Jerome Arnold and drummer Sam Lay, with Al Kooper substituting for Arnold on ‘Like a Rolling Stone’, and while they might technically have been Dylan’s first ‘electric band’, it would only be a one-off performance with this ensemble, and he would later go on to recruit a more permanent group to work alongside for his famed 1966 World Tour.

For the final handful of shows in 1965, members of rock and roll singer Ronnie Hawkins’ backing group, Levon and the Hawks, accompanied Dylan during his live performances after he had been impressed by their performance at a show in Toronto earlier that same year. Initially bringing in drummer Levon Helm and guitarist Robbie Robertson, the lineup was completed by Kooper on bass, and when Kooper left after just two shows, the remaining members of the Hawks, Rick Dank, Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel, joined prior to the 1966 tour.

So, who were the Hawks?

Any eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that the Hawks’ lineup bears more than just a copy of the classic lineup of The Band, and it’s true that one band would eventually become known as the other after their dalliance with Dylan. However, it wasn’t exactly this lineup that accompanied Dylan on his 1966 World Tour, as a number of personnel changes occurred both before and during the tour, which began in February of that year.

While he would be part of the long-running lineup of The Band that existed from 1968 to 1977, Helm left the Hawks and, consequently, Dylan’s live band after just a few shows, citing the negative reception to Dylan’s transition from folk to rock. The animosity that the group received at their first few shows together was extreme enough to steer Helm away from the group, and session drummer Bobby Gregg briefly replaced him before Sandy Konikoff took on the role throughout the North American leg of the tour between February and April 1966.

However, Konikoff didn’t last longer than this three-month stint and was eventually replaced by Mickey Jones for the Australian and European legs of the tour in April and May. Shortly after completing the tour, Dylan would choose to withdraw from touring altogether for an indefinite period, instead choosing to focus on writing albums.

The Hawks would continue their involvement with Dylan for some time after the end of the tour before transforming to become the first incarnation of The Band, with Helm rejoining in place of Jones in 1967. Dylan would occasionally regroup with members of The Band for subsequent one-off live performances, most notably his appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1969, and the favour was returned to Dylan as they invited him to be a part of their farewell performance and concert film, The Last Waltz, in 1978.