FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
The third version of “Alberta” was selected for The Bootleg Series Volume 10. It was recorded on March 5, 1970, in New York. As in the two previous versions, Al Kooper played piano, David Bromberg dobro, Stu Woods bass, and Alvin Rogers drums. The chorus consists of Hilda Harris, Albertine Robinson, and Maeretha Stewart. This excellent version is rhythmically close to “Alberta #1,” with a faster tempo and more swing and dynamism.
I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know
Cecil A. Null / 2:25
Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar
Charlie Daniels: guitar (?)
Norman Blake: guitar (?)
Fred Carter Jr.: guitar (?)
Pete Drake: pedal steel guitar
Bob Wilson: piano
Charlie McCoy: bass
June Page, Dolores Edgin, Carol Montgomery, Millie Kirkham, and Dottie Dillard: chorus (?)
Recording Studio
Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville: April 26, 1969
Technical Team
Producer: Bob Johnston
Sound Engineer: Neil Wilburn
Genesis and Lyrics
“I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know” is the most famous song written by the Virginia composer Cecil A. Null. It was the first hit for the duo Skeeter Davis and Betty Jack Davis, recorded and released in 1953 with Chet Atkins on lead guitar. It was their only hit, as Betty Davis was killed in a car accident the week the record was released. The song reached the top position on the country music singles charts. This single was the only number 1 country music song ever recorded by a female duet until “Mama He’s Crazy” by Naomi and Wynonna Judd in 1985.
The song tells the story of an abandoned lover who predicts his rival will never know the young woman as well as he does. “I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know” is a romantic song. It has inspired all the top country music singers, from Patti Page to Patty Loveless, as well as the charming trio of Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, and Tammy Wynette. Elvis Costello recorded the tune with Tom Waits for the bootleg Such Unlikely Covers.
Production
“I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know” was recorded in Nashville on April 26, 1969. Even if Dylan’s voice had changed significantly since the sessions for Nashville Skyline, his singing style here is still surprising. The listener may have great difficulty recognizing the folksinger of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, much less the rock composer of Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. Here Dylan is a crooner in the style of Elvis Presley when he, under the stewardship of Colonel Tom Parker, began to favor Las Vegas casinos and Hollywood studios at the expense of rock ’n’ roll. The chorus singers include Dolores Edgin and Millie Kirkham, both of whom backed up the King himself. Unfortunately, their presence remains uncertain; their names are not clearly identified, no more than those of the different guitarists. It seems that “I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know” did not have any overdubs.
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
Dylan included “I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know” in his setlist during the tour with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from February 5 to August 6, 1986.
Days Of 49
Frank E. Warner / John A. Lomax / Alan Lomax / 5:29
Musicians (New York): Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; David Bromberg: guitar; Al Kooper: piano; Alvin Rodgers: drums / Musicians (Nashville): Charlie McCoy: harmonica, bass (?); Bob Moore: bass / Recording Studios: Columbia Recording Studios / Studio B, New York: March 4, 1970; Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville: March 11, 1970 Producer: Bob Johnston / Sound Engineer (New York): Don Puluse / Sound Engineer (Nashville): Neil Wilburn
Genesis and Lyrics
Three ethnomusicologists who played a major role in recognizing and conserving American folk music are credited to “Days of 49.” Frank Warner (1926–2011) was a musical editor who collected many traditional songs, including “Tom Dooley,” “Whiskey in the Jar,” and “Days of 49.” John and Alan Lomax, under the aegis of the Library of Congress, kept many of these folk songs from being forgotten by registering local artists, and then through long careers as producers. For “Days of 49,” the Lomax brothers wrote lyrics, based on the traditional song collected by Warner, about one of the most exciting chapters of American history, the California gold rush of 1849. Dylan told A. J. Weberman in 1971 that the two songs he liked on the album were “Days of 49” and “Copper Kettle.”
Production
In this song, Dylan once again found his voice, a tone he had not sung in since Nashville Skyline. The singing, the two guitars, the piano, and the drums (by overdub) were first recorded in New York. Dylan, made a mistake in the lyrics and the harmony of the chorus that followed the fourth couplet (3:32), but caught himself just in time. A bass was then added in Nashville, as well as a new instrument: a bass harmonica that was probably played by Charlie McCoy.
IN YOUR HEADPHONES
It seems Dylan liked the recording of “Days of 49,” because at 3:24 you can hear him exclaim, “Oh, my goodness.”
Early Mornin’ Rain
Gordon Lightfoot / 3:34
Musicians (New York): Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, harmonica; David Bromberg: guitar (?); Al Kooper: piano / Musicians (Nashville): Charlie Daniels: guitar (?); Ron Cornelius: guitar (?); Bubba Fowler: guitar (?); Charlie McCoy: bass; Kenny Buttrey: drums / Recording Studios: Columbia Recording Studios / Studio B, New York: March 4, 1970; Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville: March 13 and 17, 1970
Genesis and Lyrics
“Early Morning Rain” is a composition by the Canadian Gordon Lightfoot. The song was released on his debut album Lightfoot! in 1966. The lyrics relate the story of a man standing by the Los Angeles airport fence watching the takeoff of a Boeing 707 jetliner. The narrative of the song can be taken as an allegory of a hobo with the train having been replaced by the plane. This evocation of travel is a source of a large number of recorded versions, from Peter, Paul and Mary in 1965 to Neil Young in 2014, without forgetting Elvis Presley on his album Elvis Now, released in 1971.
Production
This very middle-of-the road ballad was first recorded in New York and later completed in Nashville. Although the studio recording notes mention Charlie McCoy on the harmonica part, it seems that Dylan played it. His style is recognizable. The solo guitar is played with a classical nylon-string guitar (by either Charlie Daniels or Bubba Fowler).
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
Gordon Lightfoot had influenced Bob Dylan for his album John Wesley Harding. Dylan attempted to duplicate the sound found on the album The Way I Feel (1967) by the Canadian singer.
In Search Of Little Sadie
Bob Dylan / 2:28
Musicians (New York): Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; David Bromberg: guitar / Musicians (Nashville): Charlie McCoy: bass (?); Bob L. Moore: bass (?); Kenny Buttrey: drums / Recording Studios: Columbia Recording Studios / Studio B, New York: March 3, 1970; Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville: March 11 or April 2, 1970 / Producer: Bob Johnston / Sound Engineer (New York): Don Puluse / Sound Engineer (Nashville): Neil Wilburn
Genesis and Lyrics
“In Search of Little Sadie” was a retelling of an old folk tune known in North Carolina as “Little Sadie” and also under the names of “Lee Brown,” “Cocaine Blues,” “Transfusion Blues,” “East St. Louis Blues,” and “Penitentiary Blues” in other states of the former Confederacy. They all tell the same story about one Lee Brown, who was sentenced to forty-one years in the penitentiary for having killed Little Sadie. In these two murder ballads, the cities of Jericho, South Carolina (unless it was the Jericho of the Bible), and Thomasville, North Carolina, are cited. Dylan was inspired by the recording of Clarence Ashley for Columbia, which was most likely done in October 1929 (or 1930).
Production
“In Search of Little Sadie” could be a lesson on how to write a series of grotesque chords and salvage them with talent. Dylan dared to use harmony in the three first couplets, which was risky. The strong po
int of the song is his superb vocal performance. Buttrey and McCoy (or perhaps Moore?) must have added in Nashville their respective parts to the floating rhythm recorded in New York by Dylan. Despite his great talent, Buttrey hit the cymbal too late on the word head at 2:19!
Let It Be Me
Gilbert Bécaud / Mann Curtis / Pierre Delanoë / 3:01
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Charlie Daniels: guitar; Norman Blake: guitar; Fred Carter: guitar; Robert S. Wilson: piano; (?): Moog synthesizer; Charlie McCoy: bass; Kenny Buttrey: drums; June Page, Dolores Edgin, Carol Montgomery, Millie Kirkham, and Dottie Dillard: chorus (?) / Recording Studio: Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville: April 26, 1969 / Producer: Bob Johnston / Sound Engineer: Neil Wilburn
Genesis and Lyrics
“Let It Be Me” was composed in 1955 under the name “Je t’appartiens” and is one of the most famous songs by French composer Gilbert Bécaud and French lyricist Pierre Delanoë. The tune, as “Et maintenant,” was one of a few French hits performed around the world and translated into English as “What Now My Love” by Delanoë and Bécaud in 1961. In the late 1960s, Mann Curtis adapted “Je t’appartiens” into English under the title “Let It Be Me,” released by the Everly Brothers. The song reached number 7 on the Billboard charts in January 1960. It was recorded by several artists, including Nancy Sinatra, Sam & Dave, Tom Jones, James Brown, Elvis Presley, and Willie Nelson.
Production
Dylan’s version was recorded on April 26 in Nashville. The interpretation is directly in line with the traditional “Nashville sound” dear to Chet Atkins, as well as crooners like Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. There seem to have been no overdubs made at this recording session. Note that, for the first time on a Dylan record, a Moog synthesizer is played by an unidentified performer. Dylan sang the tune only three times onstage, the first time at Colombes outside Paris on June 23, 1981.
Little Sadie
Traditional / Arrangement Bob Dylan / 2:02
Musicians (New York)
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar
David Bromberg: guitar
Musicians (Nashville)
Charlie McCoy: guitar (?), ukulele (?)
Bob Moore: bass
Kenny Buttrey: bongos, brushes
Recording Studios
Columbia Recording Studios / Studio B, New York: March 3, 1970; Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville: March 11 and/or April 2, 1970
Technical Team
Producer: Bob Johnston
Sound Engineer (New York): Don Puluse
Sound Engineer (Nashville): Neil Wilburn
Genesis and Lyrics
Unlike “In Search of Little Sadie,” “Little Sadie” is an adaptation of a traditional Appalachian song first recorded by Clarence Ashley in 1929. The song was also recorded by other music pioneers and known as “Bad Man Ballad” (Willie Rayford), “Cocaine Blues” (Billy Hughes, long before Johnny Cash), and “Bad Lee Brown” (Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston). This “murder ballad” took back its original name, “Little Sadie,” with recordings by Doc Watson, John Renbourn, Hank Williams III, the Old Crow Medicine Show, and Norman Blake (the original soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou?).
Dylan recorded a faithful cover of the recording by Clarence Ashley—not the 1929 version, but the version recorded by Doc Watson and released in 1963. The second verse, about gents and gamblers who take Sadie to the burying ground, does not appear in either version. Presumably Dylan, like Ashley and Watson a few years earlier, did not want us to believe that “little Sadie” may have been a prostitute. Possibly for the same reason Woody Guthrie sang, “I cried, Lord in heaven, have some mercy on me / I’ll be here for the rest of my life / All I done was kill my wife” in “Bad Lee Brown.”
Production
Bob Dylan and David Bromberg alone recorded the base tracks for “Little Sadie” on March 3 in New York. Dylan was on vocals (his voice a blend of old and new intonation) and acoustic guitar, and Bromberg solo on acoustic guitar. Later, in Nashville, Charlie McCoy added what appears to be a ukulele or perhaps a nylon-string guitar with a capo placed high on the neck. Bob Moore played an effective bass line, and Kenny Buttrey was on bongos and a snare drum played with brushes. “Little Sadie” is a good song, except for the lyrics that have nothing to do with “In Search of Little Sadie.”
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
At the Newport Folk Festival in 1963, Dylan performed “North Country Blues.” Onstage, sitting next to him, Clarence Ashley was listening and enjoying the tune while nibbling on his cigar.
Woogie Boogie
Bob Dylan / 2:07
Musicians (New York): Bob Dylan: guitar; David Bromberg: guitar; Al Kooper: organ, piano (?) / Musicians (Nashville): Charlie Daniels: guitar; Bubba Fowler: guitar; Ron Cornelius: guitar; (?): brass; Charlie McCoy: bass; Kenny Buttrey: percussion (?); Karl T. Himmel: drums / Recording Studios: Columbia Recording Studios / Studio B, New York: March 3, 1970; Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville: March 13 and 17, 1970 / Producer: Bob Johnston / Sound Engineer (New York): Don Puluse / Sound Engineer (Nashville): Neil Wilburn
Genesis
Bob Dylan was probably thinking of the music he used to listen to during his childhood in Minneapolis on local radio stations when he composed “Woogie Boogie.” This piece was characteristic of the music heard in Southern barrelhouses or house-rent parties during the Great Depression, which spread afterward to the entire United States. What motivated Dylan to write this instrumental, the third one so far, which uses a banal blues-rock line played by thousands of novice musicians? Did he have a particular idea in mind? Was it music to accompany a documentary film or just the desire to satisfy an adolescent dream?
Production
The musicians must have been surprised when they discovered “Woogie Boogie.” Each one of them did his job without a problem, but also without any conviction, except perhaps the excellent sax solo.
Belle Isle
Traditional / Arrangement Bob Dylan / 2:30
Musicians (New York): Bob Dylan: guitar; David Bromberg: guitar / Musicians (Nashville): Charlie Daniels: guitar; Fred Carter Jr.: guitar; Bob Moore: bass; Kenny Buttrey: drums (For details on orchestra musicians, see entry for “All the Tired Horses,” page 326. Note there are only strings on this song; there is no brass and no chorus.) / Recording Studios: Columbia Recording Studios / Studio B, New York: March 3, 1970; Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville: March 12, 17 and 30, 1970 Producer: Bob Johnston / Sound Engineer (New York): Don Puluse / Sound Engineer (Nashville): Neil Wilburn
Genesis and Lyrics
Like Alan Lomax in the United States, MacEdward Leach (1897–1965) collected a multitude of traditional songs during his trips along the Atlantic coast of Canada, which can be found in his work MacEdward Leach and the Songs of Atlantic Canada. “The Blooming Bright Star of Belle Isle” was one of them. It refers to Belle Isle, which was discovered by French explorer Jacques Cartier north of Newfoundland. The song is a Canadian version of an old Irish ballad called “Loch Erin’s Sweet Riverside.” In it, a young man comes back home after a long trip and tests his loved one before revealing to her who he really is.
Production
The original version of “Belle Isle,” recorded with just Dylan and Bromberg in New York and found on The Bootleg Series Volume 10: Another Self Portrait, has a power and charm that were ruined by the overdubs in Nashville. The bass and the drums are superfluous, the second guitar solo is off key (listen after 1:30), and the orchestra makes the whole song too heavy.
Living The Blues
Bob Dylan / 2:43
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Charlie Daniels: guitar; Pete Drake: pedal steel guitar; Robert S. Wilson: piano; Charlie McCoy: bass; Kenny Buttrey: drums; June Page, Dolores Edgin, Carol Montgomery, Millie Kirkham, and Dottie Dillard: chorus / Recording Studio: Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville: April 24, 1969 / Producer: Bob Johnston / Sound Engineer: Neil Wilburn
Genesis and Lyrics
The
lyrics of “Living the Blues,” which, despite the title is not a blues song, were vaguely inspired by “Singing the Blues,” written in 1954 by Melvin Endsley. However, musically, Dylan bases his melody more clearly (for the first two lines of each verse) on “Blue Monk” by Thelonious Monk, recorded in 1957. Dylan sings “I’ve been living the blues ev’ry night without you,” but it is hard to believe his sarcastic tone of voice. Dylan delights in his text and may just use the song as an excuse to sing in the style of Elvis. After all, he recorded it in the King’s home territory, right?
Production
Six takes were made, and the third was selected for the album. In style, Dylan creates a bridge between the blues and the Nashville sound. He adopted the voice of a crooner. The vocal harmonies, however, are curiously reminiscent of the American vocal quartet the Jordanaires, best known for providing backup vocals for Elvis Presley. The piece features Pete Drake’s pedal steel guitar and Charlie Daniels’s guitar. Daniels provided a guitar solo in the purest tradition. “Living the Blues” truly sounds like Elvis.
Bob Dylan All the Songs Page 44
