Harry Dean Stanton remembers working with the “unusual” Bob Dylan
The twin worlds of music and cinema owe some of their greatest respective moments to Bob Dylan and Harry Dean Stanton, two undoubted legends of entertainment. Dylan’s catalogue of tunes practically speaks for itself, and his work transcended the very nature of music into something resembling genuine literature.
Meanwhile, Stanton was best known for his widespread minor character roles in a range of movies, but he somehow managed to stand out in scenes despite not being at their centre. Occasionally, Stanton was afforded a leading role like in Paris, Texas; when he was, he took it in his hands and ran with it.
The two music and film icons eventually worked with one another on Sam Peckinpah’s legendary 1973 revisionist western movie Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, which also starred the likes of James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson. It was Dylan, who was at the height of his powers in 1973, that seemed to steal the show, though.
The musician had written the score for the film as well as its songs, including ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’, but his minor role as Alias would also go down in history. Meanwhile, Stanton had an even more minor role as Luke, but it meant that the two entertainment heroes were afforded each other’s company.
In an interview with Uncut, Stanton remembered what it was like to work with Dylan, saying, “Bob’s an unusual guy. We went jogging during the shoot, about half a mile from where Sam Peckinpah was shooting, and we ran into his shot. Sam might have thrown something at us after that.”
Typical of the pair, they very nearly wound up ruining one of Peckinpah’s shots, something that the director was not best pleased about. From there, the two spent more time together and wrote some tunes in collaboration with one another, including a “Mexican song”. Stanton was offered a copy of the song but turned it down.
He said: “Dylan and I recorded a Mexican song. We made a tape together. He asked me, did I want a copy. I said no. What an idiot! I remember, we once drove from Guadalajara, Mexico all the way to Kansas City, I think, Missouri, to a singer’s house there, the guy with a big beard, Leon Russell. Anyway, it took us two or three days. We spent some time together.”
It’s a great story of two icons of the narrative arts being side by side for just a split moment, sharing tales and creating their own. Check out the trailer for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid below.
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