The Music Never Stopped

By Tara Phillips

Bob Dylan's career is replete with success. He won 10 Grammy Awards, received a Nobel Prize, and released 40 studio albums. Along with his array of professional achievements, Dylan has a fan base which adores him. Whilst restoring himself in ‘67, Dylan also restored his love for music. Years later, after being renewed, Dylan released his infamous Basement Tapes.

The singer-songwriter, Bob Dylan, started his career in 1961 after dropping out of his first year at the University of Minnesota. Moving to New York, Dylan would jam out in Greenwich Village, playing at local folk clubs. He recorded his self-titled album, Bob Dylan with Columbia Records, which only sold 5,000 copies. 

Just two years later, in 1963, Dylan released his second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. This time, the album reached #22 on the US album charts, eventually going platinum. Two years later, Dylan was back. In 1964, Times They Are a-Changin, Dylan’s third album, was released, rising to #20 on the US album charts. That same year, Dylan’s fourth album Another Side of Bob Dylan, was also released. 

Dylan is known for his mastery of words, receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016. Dylan is one of the best lyricists of all time - a true wordsmith. 

ELECTRIC DYLAN

By 1965, Bob Dylan was spearheading the American folk revival. He released his fifth album, Bringing It All Back Home, featuring his first electric instrumentals. 

That year, Dylan was looking for a backup band to participate in his first U.S. “electric” tour. Hemet the Hawks and they established a partnership. Together, they headlined the Newport Folk Festival. Backed up by an electric band, Dylan strapped on an electric guitar. Many fans disapproved of his new rock n’ roll sound. The Hawks were booed off stage after just three songs. At the Royal Albert Hall in London, his detractors shouted “Judas” to signal their disapproval.

BURNOUT 

Dylan was living life on the road. His first concert tour was in April and May of 1965. Living the life of a rockstar, Dylan was absorbed by sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. He began getting burnt out from fame and lifestyle. In a 1978 interview, Dylan shared, “I was straining pretty hard and couldn’t have gone on living that way much longer. The fact that I made it is pretty miraculous.”

TRIUMPH TIGER 

In July of 1966 when Dylan was upstate, he had a road accident and flew over the handlebars of his motorcycle. Later, in an interview, he said, “I can’t even remember exactly how it happened… I was blinded by the sun for a second… I stomped down on the brake and the rear wheel locked up on me, and I went flyin’.” 

His fast-track life as a rockstar temporarily halted. 

His wife at the time, Sara Dylan, rushed her husband to the nearest hospital which was still an hour away. The label issued no statements, nor did any police or hospital reports exist. There was speculation that Dylan had been paralyzed or brain damaged.

Dylan split his time between Woodstock and New York City. He spent months recovering in his funky Woodstock home. The house had high wood-beamed ceilings, overlooking a majestic view of the Catskills. 

Dylan reflected on his life and decided to clean up his act. He stopped drinking booze and got sober. 

The Hawks eventually traveled to Woodstock, crashing at a local motel when they first arrived. Dylan and the band hung out in the iconic “Red Room,” a burgundy-walled living room with a piano in the center. One unreleased Red Room recording features the musicians sparking up.

After a few months, Danko, a member of the band, rented a little house in West Saugerties for only a hundred and twenty-five dollars a month. Danko set up a sound studio in the basement, where many Dylan classics were recorded.  

MESSING AROUND, MAKING GOLD 

Starting in the spring of 1967 and lasting until early 1968, Dylan and the Hawks, who became The Band, were rocking out regularly in the basement cellar. Here, they recorded these sessions, making nearly 40 reels of tape. These are the most extensive collections of the music made by Dylan and The Band. They would become one of rock ‘n rolls best secrets: ‘The Basement Tapes’. An accumulation of Bob Dylan originals, the banter between bandmates, covers, and throwaway playful jams, the listener is mesmerized by these six discs. The new, loose flow of Dylan’s music had its genesis during his time with The Band. For fans, these recordings opened a window to Dylan’s magical music.  

45 YEARS SITTING IN A BOX

After Dylan's release of Blonde on Blonde in May 1966, it had been a year and a half without new music. That changed in 1967. As the era of The Basement Tapes was winding down, Dylan released an album called John Wesley Harding. He was moving on.

The Basement Tapes weren’t intended to be produced. They were only meant to serve as additional income as tours were on hold. The music was sent out and sold to other artists - songs such as, ‘You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,’ ‘Quinn the Eskimo,’ ‘This Wheel’s on Fire’ and ‘Million Dollar Bash’. These were all Dylan songs recorded by other artists.

Dylan himself did not understand the excitement surrounding the tapes. In a 1984 Rolling Stone nterview, he said, “I never really liked the Basement Tapes,” “They were used only for other artists to record those songs. I wouldn’t have put ’em out.” In 1975, part of the tapes were officially released. As a result, The Band did some re-recording, but still fans desired more. The 1975 Basement Tapes reached #7 on the album chart.

THE ROAD TO THE FINAL RELEASE  

Garth Hudson, a member of The Band held onto the 40 reels in cardboard boxes and an old leather suitcase. Jan Haust was a Canadian music archivist producer and friend of Hudson. In the 1990s, Hudson sold the cache of tapes to Haust for an undisclosed sum. Some rumor that the figure was around $30,000. Haust denies the sale. Hudson and Haust own the physical tapes, but Dylan has ownership of the songs. 

REDISCOVERED, RENEWED

With The Basement Tapes, Bob Dylan was reborn. The informal recording sessions with Dylan and the Hawks during the 1960s were rerecorded, released, and RENEWED, inspiring a new generation of Dylan fans.