The Best Dylan Covers: Johnny Rivers – Positively 4th Street
Positively 4th Street is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan, first recorded by Dylan in New York City on July 29, 1965. It was released as a single by Columbia Records on September 7, 1965.
Johnny Rivers was probably the first to cover this song, using it as the closing track on his Realization album in 1968. Dylan said in his best selling book Chronicles: Volume Onethat he preferred Johnny Rivers’ version of “Positively 4th Street” to his own recording of the song.
You got a lotta nerve
To say you are my friend
When I was down
You just stood there grinning
–
… I was gonna put Positively 4th Street on the other side, but, uh… I didn’t figure anybody could understand it so…
~Bob Dylan (Bob Fass/WBAI Interview, 26 Jan 1966)
Outside of a song like Positively 4th Street, which is extremely one-dimensional, which I like, I don’t usually purge myself by writing anything about any type of quote, so-called,
relationships. I don’t have the kinds of relationships that are built on any kind of false pretense, not to say that I haven’t.
~Bob Dylan (Scott Cohen, Sept 1985)
This masterpiece would have fitted nicely on “Highway 61 Revisited”.. where it did belong.
“I never wanted to write topical songs,…. Have you heard my last two records, Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61? It’s all there. That’s the real Dylan.”
~Bob Dylan (to Frances Taylor – Aug 1965)
“If you had to sum up Highway 61 Revisited in a single sentence, suffice it to say that it is the album that invented attitude and raised it to an art form. Just take a look at the cover. Nobody from Johnny Rotten to Eminem has done it better to this day.
~Nigel Williamson (The Rough Guide To Bob Dylan)
Studio A Columbia Recording Studios New York City, New York 29 July 1965 The 3rd Highway 61 Revisited session, produced by Bob Johnston
To create the material for Highway 61 Revisited, Dylan spent a month writing in his new home in the Byrdcliffe artists’ colony of Woodstock in upstate New York. When he returned to Studio A on July 29, he was backed by the same musicians as the previous session, but his producer had changed from Wilson to Johnston.
Their first session together was devoted to three songs. After recording several takes each of “Tombstone Blues”, “It Takes a Lot to Laugh” and “Positively 4th Street”, masters were successfully recorded. “Tombstone Blues” and “It Takes a Lot to Laugh” were included in the final album, but “Positively 4th Street” was issued as a single-only release. At the close of the July 29 session, Dylan attempted to record “Desolation Row”, accompanied by Al Kooper on electric guitar and Harvey Brooks on bass. There was no drummer, as the drummer had gone home. This electric version was eventually released in 2005, on The Bootleg Series Vol. 7. ~Wikipedia
Songs:
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
Tombstone Blues
Tombstone Blues
Tombstone Blues
Tombstone Blues
Tombstone Blues
Tombstone Blues
Tombstone Blues
Tombstone Blues
Tombstone Blues
(recorded 10 am – 1 pm)
released 30 Aug 2005 – The Bootleg Series Vol 7. No Direction Home: The Soundtrack
Tombstone Blues
Tombstone Blues (recorded 10 am – 1 pm)
released 30 Aug 1965 – Highway 61 Revisited
– If Salvador Dali or Luis Bunuel had picked up a Fender Strat to head a blues band, they might have come up with something like “Tombstone Blues.”
~Bill Janovitz (allmusic.com)
—
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (recorded 2:30 – 5:30 pm)
released 30 Aug 1965 – Highway 61 Revisited
–
Positively 4th Street
Positively 4th Street
Positively 4th Street
Positively 4th Street
Positively 4th Street
Positively 4th Street
Positively 4th Street
Positively 4th Street
Positively 4th Street
Positively 4th Street (recorded 2:30 – 5:30 pm)
released 7 Sept 1965 as a single
–
Musicians:
Bob Dylan (guitar, piano, harmonica, vocal)
1-14 Mike Bloomfield (guitar), Paul Griffin (piano), Bobby Gregg (drums), Joseph Machao Jr. (bass), Al Kooper (organ)
15-28 Mike Bloomfield (guitar), Frank Owens (piano), Bobby Gregg (drums), Russ Savakus (bass), Al Kooper (organ)
On July 29, 1965 Dylan undertook his 3rd Highway 61 Revisited session, produced by Bob Johnston.
Location: Studio A, Columbia Recording Studios – NYC
The day left us with master versions of Positively 4th Street, Tombstone Blues & It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry.
Positively 4th Street ranks as no. 14 on my list of Dylans 200 best songs (Tombstone is 72 & It Takes a lot is 76).
Musicians:
Bob Dylan (guitar, piano, harmonica, vocal). Mike Bloomfield (guitar), Frank Owens (piano), Bobby Gregg (drums), Russ Savakus (bass), Al Kooper (organ).
From Wikipedia:
“Positively 4th Street” is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan, first recorded by Dylan in New York City on July 29, 1965. It was released as a single by Columbia Records on September 7, 1965, ….. … Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song as #203 in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.
The song was released between the albums Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde, as the follow-up to Dylan’s hit single “Like a Rolling Stone“, but wasn’t included on either LP. The song’s title does not appear anywhere in the lyrics and there has been much debate over the years as to the significance or what individual the song concerns. Dylan once lived on 4th Street in Manhattan.
In studio summer 1965 – photo by Don Hunstein:
—
Bob Dylan also recorded “Catfish” on this day in 1975.
Location: Studio E – Columbia Recording Studios, NYC
Wikipedia:
Catfish is a song written Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy. It was originally recorded for Dylan’s 1976 album Desire but was released onThe Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991. “Catfish” was a tribute to future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Hunter (better known as Catfish Hunter).Joe Cocker covered the song and included it on his 1976 album “Stingray,” and Kinky Friedman released a live version on his “Lasso from El Paso” album.
