This Day In Music
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On February 23, 1940, while staying in a hotel in New York City, Woody Guthrie wrote his lyrics to This Land Is Your Land. What started out as a protest song in keeping with Guthrie’s feelings about America’s social justice inequalities, took on a more patriotic symbolism later in the twentieth century. I can recall singing this in elementary school, when children still pledged allegiance to the flag every morning, and regularly learned songs identified with the great history of the United States. America the Beautiful, God Bless America, and This Land is Your Land are just a few of the songs we were proud to sing and memorize. This Land Is Your Land still had a life of protest however, with versions by Dylan and Springsteen reigniting the message Guthrie intended about the social disparities embedded in the country that was “made for you and me”.
If you are interested in Guthrie, the Joe Klein biography Woodie Guthrie: A Life is a captivating look at the artist and also exposes the reader to the harsh life many Americans experienced in the early part of the twentieth century.
This Day In Music
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On February 20, 1991 the Grammys honored Bob Dylan with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
Since 1991, he has recorded 10 studio albums, written his acclaimed memoir Chronicles: Volume One, and essentially been continually touring throughout the world.
Is there such a thing as a second Lifetime Achievement Award?
Bloody Genius
/I wake up every day at 415AM. Every day. It keeps my schedule consistent, I don’t need to change my alarm, and it gives me time, even I work days, to listen to music before I head off into the daily grind. For about the past three months my morning routine has included listening to the most recent release for the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series - The Bootleg Series Vol. 14: More Blood, More Tracks. This is a collection of recordings Dylan made in 1974 during the creation of his 1975 masterpiece Blood on the Tracks. What you hear when you listen to the six discs is the creation of art, the sometimes muddled and sometimes brilliant experimentation that can rarely lead to something of pure beauty as is the case with Blood on the Tracks. While one may recoil from seeing a CD with ten versions of Tangled Up in Blue, trust me it is a rare gift to be able to listen to the evolution of a classic song.
I’ll write about this set in more detail in the future, but could not hold back from posting my appreciation for this example of the genius of Bob Dylan.
On This Day in Music - Jimi Hendrix Records All Along the Watchtower
/On January 21 1968, Jimi Hendrix recorded his version of “All Along the Watchtower”, a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan. While Dylan’s version remains a solid example of his gifted songwriting, I would argue that it is Hendrix’ interpretation that gives the lyrics the powerful music that they deserve. With its regular radio play on classic rock stations, Hendrix’ version is also the one which introduces most listeners to the song, many of whom are likely ignorant of the song’s origin and version recorded by Dylan in 1967. The song has lived on in other versions, with one of my favorites being U2’s performance in San Francisco in 1987 during their free lunchtime concert at Justin Herman Plaza. Memorialized in their movie Rattle and Hum, this performance bears mention not because of a uniquely powerful interpretation, because honestly their version is quite anemic and does not approach the power the Jimi Hendrix Experience gave the song in 1968. It is worth watching because it is an example of Bono at his peak egotistical self (which makes him such an amazing performer), as he just can not resist adding his one verse which serves best to magnify the greatness of Dylans original words, and for that matter Hendrix’ singular version.