Category Archives: Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

May 19: Bob Dylan The Night We Called It A Day at Letterman 2015

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May 19: Bob Dylan The Night We Called It A Day at Letterman 2015

From BobDylan.com:

BOB DYLAN TO PERFORM ON “LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN”

In a rare television appearance, legendary musician Bob Dylan will perform on the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, Tuesday, May 19 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

This will be Dylan’s first performance on the LATE SHOW in nearly 22 years. His only performance on the CBS broadcast took place Nov. 18, 1993, during the show’s inaugural season on CBS. Previously, he had performed on Letterman’s “Late Night” show twice, on March 22, 1984 and on “Late Night’s” 10th anniversary show Jan. 18, 1992.

Dylan joins the previously announced Bill Murray on the Tuesday, May 19 show, part of the LATE SHOW’s final three broadcasts. As part of this three-night event, Tom Hanks and musical guest Eddie Vedder will appear Monday, May 18. Letterman’s final broadcast of the LATE SHOW will take place Wednesday, May 20

Here he is with a very fitting song, The Night We Called It A Day. Dressed in a black suit with red trim, and a white shirt with a black string tie, BobDylan sang this a jazz standard from the 1940s. It appeared on Dylan’s latest album,  Shadows in the Night. Dylan’s voice was incredible.

Bob Dylan – The Night We Called It A Day:

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– Hallgeir

Bob Dylan, Cover versions, Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith covers Bob Dylan

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Elliott Smith covers Bob Dylan

“My father taught me how to play ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’. I love Dylan’s words, but even more than that, I love the fact that he loves words.”
– Elliott Smith

Steven Paul “Elliott” Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived for much of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity. Smith’s primary instrument was the guitar, but he was also proficient with piano, clarinet, bass guitar, drums and harmonica. Smith had a distinctive vocal style, characterized by his “whispery, spiderweb-thin delivery”, and used multi-tracking to create vocal layers, textures and harmonies.

In his time, Elliott Smith did some very fine cover songs. From rock, country and folk standards, to Neil Young, Oasis, Beatles, Bob Dylan and his beloved The Kinks (and many more), Smith took covering a song very seriously.

We have found some of his Bob Dylan covers, all live and some with terrible sound. But, he adds a touch of sadness to most of them and he sings them like he loves them.

Elliott Smith @ Newbury Comics in Boston (10/05/1998) covering Bob Dylan’s When I Paint My Masterpiece:

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Bob Dylan, Cover versions

6 good cover versions of Bob Dylan’s Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)

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Senor, senor, can you tell me where we’re headin’?
Lincoln County Road or Armageddon?
Seems like I been down this way before.
Is there any truth in that, senor?
– Bob Dylan

“One of the most interesting Street Legal songs is “Senor.” Dylan sings it magnificently, with real purpose, and the song’s melody is highly original and infectious. …  “Senor” could have been one of Dylan’s finest songs of the 1970s. As it stands, however, it is an ambitious song which doesn’t quite come off.”
– Thomas Ward (allmusic)

I agree it is an interesting song, however I do not agree that it doesn’t “come off”, I love the song!
It has proven rather difficult to cover but there are some good ones out there. I have dug up six of the best.

Jeffrey Foucault – Señor (live, may 14, 2009, Spijkerboor):

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Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon

May 14: Legendary producer the late Bob Johnston was born in 1932

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Photo by Al Clayton
Photo by Al Clayton

May 14: Legendary producer  the late great Bob Johnston was born in 1932

“Is it rolling, Bob?”
– Bob Dylan at the beginning of To Be Alone With You (Nashville Skyline)

“Johnston had fire in his eyes. He had that thing that some people call ‘Momentum.’ You could see it in his face and he shared that fire, that spirit. Columbia’s leading folk and country producer, he was born one hundred years too late. He should have been wearing a wide cape, a plumed hat, and riding with his sword held high. Johnston disregarded any warning that might get in his way. … Johnston lived on low country barbecue, and he was all charm.”
– Bob Dylan, Chronicles: Volume One

“I had the best in the world in my hand – there was no place I couldn’t go with him, so that’s where I went. I think Blonde On Blonde is the best record Dylan ever cut… Blonde On Blonde was the first symphony cut in Nashville!”
– Bob Johnston (Uncut magazine)

Donald William ‘Bob’ Johnston (born May 14, 1932, Hillsboro, Texas, died August 14, 2015) was an American record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, and Simon and Garfunkel.

Great interview from youtube (by Harper Simon):

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