The other week I received a message asking me if I’d consider doing an episode about Bob Dylan and the Beatles. Ringo Starr had just been to see Dylan live in concert at the Beacon Theatre in NYC, and as I was thinking about it, the idea for this episode took shape pretty rapidly.
Fun fact: long before I was a Bob Dylan fan, I was a nine year old Beatles geek who wouldn’t shut up about her favourite musicians. Some things don’t change…
So in this hour, we examine the different roles the Beatles and Bob Dylan played in popular culture at the beginning of the 60s, and we’ll discuss the fateful meeting at a hotel in New York, where Dylan introduced the Beatles to cannabis, and singlehandedly changed the trajectory of music. Or did he?
The music in this hour reflects some of the ways in which these seminal artists influenced one another and served as artistic foils throughout their respective careers.
Please note that I’ve decided to narrow this episode down to just the decade of the 1960s. There is a lot more to be said about Dylan’s friendship and rivalry with the individual members after the band broke up. I’m saving that for another episode, so there will be a Part 2!
The clips that I played in the episode of Starr and McCartney talking about their meeting with Bob Dylan come from the Beatles Anthology documentary. Here’s a longer clip where all four are talking about their relationship with Bob Dylan.
Here’s the beautiful George Harrison cover of Dylan’s Mama You Been On My Mind.
Here’s the Beatles jamming to Rainy Day Women No 12&35 - what a perfect song to cover by the artist that introduced the to marijuana.
Also, here’s a cool version of Bob Dylan playing the Beatles song Come Together at a 1985 rehearsal!
Playlist:
Corrina Corrina - Bob Dylan
My Back Pages - Bob Dylan
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away - The Beatles
Norwegian Wood - The Beatles
Fourth Time Around - Bob Dylan
I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine - Bob Dylan
Yer Blues - The Beatles
Things We Said Today - Bob Dylan (Beatles cover)
Full disclaimer: the image I used for this episode seems to be photoshopped. I just really wanted it to be real, so I might keep it up there anyway, but just so you know, it’s not an actual photo of Dylan and Lennon together!