Category Archives: Bob Dylan – The songs he didn’t write

Bob Dylan: Peace In The Valley (Thomas A. Dorsey)

Well, I’m tired and so weary
But I must go along
Till the lord comes and calls, calls me away, oh yeah
Well the morning’s so bright
And the Lamb is the light
And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes.

(There will be peace in the valley for me, some day)

“Peace in the Valley” is a 1937 song written by Thomas A. Dorsey, originally for Mahalia Jackson. The song became a hit in 1951 for Red Foley and the Sunshine Boys, reaching No. 7 on the Country & Western Best Seller chart. It was among the first gospel recordings to sell one million copies. Foley’s version was a 2006 entry into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.
~Wikipedia

Important recordings of ‘Peace In The Valley’ include the Red Foley version that established the song, Elvis Presley’s 1957 single, and Johnny Cash’s 1969 recording, which was included on the massively successful album “Johnny Cash At San Quentin”.
Other recordings of note are those by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and the Original Five Blind Boys of Mississippi. By the time Dylan came to perform the song in 1989 he would surely have known all of the above recordings.
~Derek Barker (The Songs He didn’t Write)

Red Foley:

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Bob Dylan: House of Gold (Hank Williams) – Videos




Bob Dylan: House of Gold (Hank Williams)

I started writing songs after I heard Hank Williams.
~Bob Dylan (The Les Crane Show, Feb 1965)

If it wasn’t for Elvis and Hank Williams, I couldn’t be doing what I do today.
~Bob Dylan (to Robert Shelton, June 1978)

The tune utilized on ‘House Of Gold’ is an obvious variant of Williams’ own ‘Lost
Highway’. Williams’ original recording was made in 1949 as a demo and released, with
overdubs, in April 1951 (Polydor 833-752). It is currently available on the “Complete
Hank Williams” box set (Mercury Records, 2000).
~The songs he didn’t write (Derek Barker)

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Bob Dylan: Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground (Willie Nelson)

Redirecting to a newer version of this post….

If you had not have fallen
Then I would not have found you
Angel flying too close to the ground
And I patched up your broken wing and hung around a while
Trying to keep your spirits up and your fever down

  1. Song facts & different versions
  2. Lyrics
  3. Bob Dylan
  4. Bob Dylan versions

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Bob Dylan: Something (George Harrison)

bob dylan george harrison 1971

 

Something in the way she moves
Attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way she woos me

I’ve always liked the way George Harrison plays guitar—restrained and good.
~Bob Dylan (to Ron Rosenbaum, Nov 1977)

He was a giant, a great, great soul, with all the humanity, all the wit and humor, all the wisdom, the spirituality, the common sense of a man and compassion for people. He inspired love and had the strength of a hundred men. He was like the sun, the flowers and the moon and we shall miss him enormously. The world is a profoundly emptier place without him.
~Bob Dylan (George Harrison’s Obituary, 30 Nov 2001)

From Wikipedia:

Released 6 October 1969 (US)
31 October 1969 (UK)
Format 7″
Recorded 25 February, 16 April, 2 May, 15 August 1969
EMI Studios, London
Genre Rock, pop
Length 2:59
Label Apple
Writer(s) George Harrison
Producer George Martin
Certification 2x Platinum (RIAA)

Something” is a song by the Beatles, featured on their 1969 album Abbey Road. It was released that same year as a double A-sidedsingle with another track from the album, “Come Together”. “Something” was the first Beatles song written by lead guitarist George Harrison to appear as an A-side, and the only song written by him to top the US charts while he was in the band. The single was also one of the first Beatles singles to contain tracks already available on an LP album.

beatles something

John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the band’s principal songwriters, both praised “Something” as one of the best songs Harrison had written, or that the group had to offer. As well as critical acclaim, the single achieved commercial success, topping the Billboard charts in the United States and making the top five in the United Kingdom. The song has been covered by over 150 artists, making it the second-most covered Beatles song after “Yesterday”. Artists who have covered the song include Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, James Brown, Shirley Bassey, Tony Bennett, Andy Williams, Ike & Tina Turner, The Miracles, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker,Isaac Hayes, Julio Iglesias, Mina, and Phish. Harrison is quoted as saying that his favourite version of the song was James Brown’s, which he kept in his personal jukebox.
… read more over @ wikipedia

I don’t want to leave her now
You know I believe and how

Somewhere in her smile she knows
That I don’t need no other lover
Something in her style that shows me

I don’t want to leave her now
You know I believe and how

Other notable versions:

Something:

Continue reading Bob Dylan: Something (George Harrison)

November 15: Bob Dylan – Brown Sugar, Philadelphia, 2002

bob dylan Jagger richards

Bob Dylan – Brown Sugar
FIRST UNION CENTER
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
NOVEMBER 15, 2002

Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar),
Charlie Sexton (guitar),
Larry Campbell (guitar, mandolin, pedal steel guitar & electric slide guitar),
Tony Garnier (bass),
George Recile (drums & percussion)

Bob Dylan did many great cover versions of Stone’s “Brown Sugar” during 2002 (36 performances.. and one in 2003)

Dylan premiered this Jagger / Richards classic during the opening show of the October / November 2002 leg of his US tour. The first performance was in Seattle, Washington on October 4, 2002, after which the song was played in the number six slot at every show apart from October 13, when it was replaced by ‘ot Fade Away’. The reason for the song’s inclusion is unclear but it did coincide with the Stones’ much publicized and scrutinized 2002 “Licks” tour. …. …
Still, with guitarists Larry Campbell and Charlie Sexton on hand to crank out the riffs and add the ‘Wooh-wooh’s to the song’s conclusion, ‘Brown Sugar’ has been one of the more thrilling Bob Dylan live covers of recent years.
~Derek Barker (The Songs He didn’t write)

 

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– Hallgeir