Joan Armatrading names her favourite Bob Dylan song
While the 1940s and ’50s set the tracks for global icon worship and music as a driving force behind cultural progression, it was the ’60s that brought the most vital and eternally influential stars and music. If I had to pick out the most influential British act, it would be The Beatles. In the USA, Bob Dylan remains the most important and broadly influential artist. One could argue that his work has been more important than that of The Beatles since he inspired their artistic maturation in the mid-60s, but I can’t see why they can’t share a space at the apex.
After becoming enamoured with rhythm and blues artists of the 1950s in his teens, Dylan found artistic grounding in folk music under the guiding light of his icon, Woody Guthrie. This digression from rock ‘n’ roll wouldn’t last long, though. Having churned out some of America’s all-time greatest protest songs in the folk-based albums of his early 20s, he began to trailblaze folk-rock with the increased inclusion of the electric guitar and abstract lyrics inspired by Beat Generation literature.
Combining the word-dense art of folk with contemporary rock sounds, Dylan could remain relevant while allowing space for unbridled artistic exploration. Consequently, his prolific output of the mid-to-late-1960s especially has become a feat of Shakespearean divinity. Combined with his many subsequent years of unrivalled lyricism and never-ending tours, Dylan has been recognised by music lovers, fellow artists, and The Norwegian Nobel Committee as a crucial force across the multiple art media ventured over his 81 years.
Among the endless list of fellow musicians who Dylan’s unique talents have touched is the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. When Dylan turned 80 in 2021, Stereogum asked 80 artists to name their favourite Bob Dylan songs and explain their choices. For Armatrading, Dylan’s mid-70s return to form, Blood On The Tracks, held a salient moment.
“All the songs of Bob Dylan that I know, I love, but one of my favourites is ‘Tangled Up In Blue’ from Blood On The Tracks,” Armatrading pondered. “What I also love is that he invited me in 1978 to perform at his Blackbushe concert in the UK. He still holds the record for the most attendance at a concert that was not a festival in England. This means it was his gig with guests.
“It’s 2021, and I still get people coming up to me to talk about that fantastic concert. That’s the power of Bob Dylan. What I love about him is his artistry. The way he crafts words, the way he tells his story and draws people into the plot is something that he is expert at. If you want to know about good songwriting, look to Bob Dylan. Not really known as the best singer, but he is the best at conveying an emotion with his powerful lyrics and phrasing.”
Listen to the audio recording from Bob Dylan’s July 1978 concert at Blackbushe below.
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