Still On The RoaD

1958 & 1960  RECORDING SESSIONS

 

 

1958

 

 

Hibbing, Minnesota

The Home of Bob Dylan

 

1960

 

May

St. Paul, Minnesota

The Home Of Karen Wallace

June

St. Paul, Minnesota

The Purple Onion or Bastille

Autumn

Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Home Of Bob Dylan

 

 

 

Next              1961 Concerts and Recording Sessions

Back to         Still On The Road

 

 

 

3

The Home of Bob Dylan

 

Hibbing, Minnesota

 

1958

 

 

1.    Hey Little Richard

2.    Buzz, Buzz, Buzz (Gray/Byrd)

3.    Jenny, Jenny (Johnson/Penniman/Crewe)

4.    Blue Moon (Lorenz Hart/Richard Rogers)

 

 

1, 3  Bob Dylan (vocal & piano), John Bucklen (vocal).

 

2  Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar), John Bucklen (vocal).

 

4  Bob Dylan and John Bucklen (vocals).

 

Notes.

 

All songs fragments.

 

The tape also contains discussions between Dylan and Bucklen.

 

BobTalk:

 

Dylan:

This is Little Richard...(fakes wild crowd noises into microphone) ...Little Richard's got a lot of expression.

 

 

Bucklen:

You think singing is just jumping around and screaming?

 

 

Dylan:

You gotta have some kind of expression.

 

 

Bucklen:

Johnny Cash has got expression.

 

 

Dylan:

There's no expression. (sings in boring, slow and monotone voice): "I met her at a dance St. Paul Minnesota... I walk the line, because you're mine, because you're mine..."

 

 

Bucklen:

You're doing it wrong, you're just -

 

 

 

<end of broadcast tape segment>

 

 

Bucklen:

What's the best kind of music?

 

 

Dylan:

Rhythm and Blues.

 

 

Bucklen:

State your reason in no less that twenty-five minutes.

 

 

Dylan:

Ah, Rhythm and Blues you see is something that you really can't quite explain see. When you hear a song Rhythm and Blues - when you hear it's a good Rhythm and Blues song, chills go up your spine...

 

 

Bucklen:

Whoa-o-o!

 

 

Dylan:

When you hear a song like that. But when you hear a song like Johnny Cash, whadaya wanna do? You wanna leave, you wanna, you - when you hear a song like some good Rhythm and Blues song you wanna cry when you hear one of those songs.

 

 

 

<end of broadcast tape segment>

 

 

 

after Jenny Take A Ride:

 

 

Bucklen:

Listen, man you gotta to do it a little bit faster than that. I mean I'm trying to cut a fast record here, that's right ...

 

 

Dylan:

I can't help it.

 

 

Bucklen:

I know it ain't slow but it's not fast enough too.

 

 

Dylan:

Whadaya talking about, man, that's plenty fast!

 

 

Bucklen:

No, it isn't.

 

 

Dylan:

That'll sell - that'll sell (clicks fingers) just like that - ten million in a week! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllll! (plays first note on piano)

 

 

Bucklen:

What are you trying to do man, coming in with 'weeelll' like that? I mean ....

 

 

Dylan:

Well that's for the new song and I'm starting another one.

 

 

 

<end of broadcast tape segment>

 

 

 

after Blue Moon:

 

 

Dylan:

Yeah, ah, Ricky Nelson. Now Ricky Nelson's another one of these guys. See Ricky Nelson, Ricky Nelson -

 

 

Bucklen:

Ricky Nelson is out of the question.

 

 

Dylan:

Well he copies Elvis Presley! Yeaah, it's perfectly...

 

 

Bucklen:

He can't do like Elvis Presley.

 

 

Dylan:

Well he can't sing at all, Ricky Nelson. So we may as well forget him. See I mean - I mean, ya know when you hear music like The Diamonds. For instance The Diamonds are really cool, they're out on the street really popular, really record [?], you know. So they're popular big stars but where, where do they get all the songs? You know they get all their songs, they get all their songs from little groups. They copy all the little groups. Same thing with Elvis Presley. Elvis Presley, who did he copy? He copied Clyde McPhatter, he copied Little Richard, ...

 

 

Bucklen:

Wait a minute, wait a minute!

 

 

Dylan:

...he copied the Drifters

 

 

Bucklen:

Wait a minute, name, name, name four songs that Elvis Presley's copied from those, from those little groups.

 

 

Dylan:

He copied all the Richard songs -

 

 

Bucklen:

Like what? -

 

 

Dylan:

"Rip It Up", "Long Tall Sally", "Ready Teddy", err ... what's the other one...

 

 

Bucklen:

"Money Honey"?

 

 

Dylan:

No, "Money Honey" he copied from Clyde McPhatter. He copied "I Was The One " - he copied that from the Coasters. He copied, ahhh, "I Got A Woman" from Ray Charles.

 

 

Bucklen:

Er, listen that song was written for him.

 

 

 

<end of last broadcast tape segment>

 

Broadcast in the program HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED, the final part of the BBC 2 ARENA TV series called TALES OR ROCK 'N' ROLL, May 8, 1993.

 

Mono TV recording, 5 minutes

 

Session info updated 15 May 1994.

 

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5

The Home Of Karen Wallace

 

St. Paul, Minnesota

 

May 1960

 

 

1.

Gotta Travel On (Paul Clayton - Larry Ehrlich - David Lazar - Tom Six)

2.

Doney Gal (trad.)

3.

Roving Gambler (trad.)

4.

Go Down You Murderers (trad.)

5.

Bay Of Mexico (trad.)

6.

The Two Sisters (trad.)

7.

Go Way From My Window (John Jacob Niles)

8.

This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)

9.

Go Tell It To The Mountain (trad.)

10.

Fare Thee Well (trad.)

11.

Pastures Of Plenty (Woody Guthrie)

12.

Saro Jane (trad.)

13.

Take This Hammer (trad.)

14.

Nobody Loves When You're Down And Out (J. Cox)

15.

Great Historical Bum (Woody Guthrie)

16.

Mary Ann (trad.)

17.

Every Night When The Sun Goes In (trad.)

18.

Sinner Man (trad.)

19.

Delia (traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)

20.

Wop De Alano (trad.)

21.

Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet? (trad.)

22.

Abner Young (?)

23.

500 Miles (trad.)

24.

Blues Yodel No. 8 (Jimmie Rodgers - G. Vaughan)

25.

One-Eyed Jacks

26.

Columbus Stockade Blues (Woody Guthrie)

27.

Payday At Coal Creek (trad.)

 

 

Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar).

 

Note. Tracks 9, 10, 19-21 not included on the circulating samples tape.

 

References.

 

If You Can Tell A Bigger Lie - On The 1960 St Paul Tape – article by Paul Loeber in Fourth Time Around #1 (1982).

 

The Continuing Story Of The St Paul 1960 Tape  article by Gavin Diddle in Fourth Time Around $2 (1983).

 

Private mono recording with many tracks cut, 30 minutes.

 

Session info updated 31 August 2001.

 

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7

The Purple Onion or Bastille

 

St. Paul, Minnesota

 

June 1960

 

 

1.

Go Down You Murderers (trad.)

2.

Sinner Man (trad.)

3.

House Of The Risin' Sun (trad.)

4.

Timber (trad.)

5.

Jerry (trad.)

6.

Another Man Done Gone (trad.)

7.

Black Jack Blues (trad.)

8.

Man Of Constant Sorrow (trad.)

9.

One-Eyed Jacks

10.

Greyhound Blues

11.

Everytime I Hear The Spirit (?)

 

 

Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar).

 

Note. Date could be May 1960. There is no circulating tape.

 

Session info updated 31 August 2001.

 

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10

The Home Of Bob Dylan

 

Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

Autumn 1960

 

 

1.

Red Rosey Bush (trad.)

2.

Johnny I Hardly Knew You (trad.)

3.

Jesus Christ (Woody Guthrie)

4.

Streets Of Glory (trad.)

5.

K.C. Moan (1927 Memphis Jug Band)

6.

Blues Yodel No. 8 (Jimmie Rodgers - G. Vaughan)

7.

I'm A Gambler (trad.)

8.

Talking Columbia (Woody Guthrie)

9.

Talking Merchant Marine (Woody Guthrie)

10.

Talking Hugh Brown

11.

Talking Lobbyist (?)

 

 

Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar).

 

BobTalk

 

Oh that guy McKenzie. I like it. I'll do a couple of verses. Sing that whole file if you want me to do it. This is a Woody Guthrie song. (after Red Rosey Bush).

 

Notes.

 

This recording has been circulating as the Minnesota Party Tape.

 

Suggested name for last song is also Talking Inflation Blues.

 

Private mono recording, 30 minutes.

 

Session info updated 17 October 2001.

 

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