Dylan signed with the label after being recommended by John Hammond, who had previously signed him to a production deal. The contract was for one year and committed Dylan to recording two albums. Recorded in one day, So Many Roads is one of the best of the early white electric blues albums.Īlso noteworthy are three '70s tracks with the Nighthawks, as well as a terrific live version of Billy Boy Arnold's "I Wish You Would." The latter is about as funky a solo blues cut as you'll hear. In 1961, Bob Dylan signed his first recording contract with Columbia Records. The best cuts are the five collected from the great album So Many Roads with Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, Michael Bloomfield on piano (instead of his usual guitar), and three scruffy cats who would later become rock 'n roll immortals with the Band: Robbie Robertson (guitar), Levon Helm (drums) and Garth Hudson (organ). He signed Pete Seeger to Columbia Records in the late-50s despite Seeger’s was blacklisting by the industry for years during the Red Scare. Without him our lives would look and sound very different. I love his spirited version of Mose Allison's "Ask Me Nice," which was previously unreleased. John Hammond Sr., born Decemin New York City, is one of the most-important figures in American culture in the 20th century. Still, Hammond's early electric albums were quite good, and the acoustic cuts included here are truly some of his best. It wasn't until the '70s when he shook off some of his youthful exuberance that Hammond began to make those classic blues tunes his own. Back in the '60s, Hammond often sounded like a rich white boy trying his damnedest to sing like a black plantation worker. Many critics love Hammond's early acoustic albums, but to be honest, most of them bore me. In 1961, Frank Driggs of Columbia compiled 16. The stage was then set for Johnson’s rebirth. Meanwhile, ARC was sold in 1938 to Columbia Records, which in 1949 introduced the LP record. In fact, Hammond was one of the first white bluesmen to record an electric album with his 1964 release Big City Blues, four tracks from which are included here. white listeners who noticed him were John Hammond and Alan Lomax, each of them mentioning Johnson’s name whenever appropriate in print or in conversation. Today Hammond still performs solo with acoustic guitar and harmonica, but he also goes electric on occasion. Hammond loved early country bluesmen like Robert Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson, and made a name for himself by reinterpreting their classic songs in coffeehouses. Son of a famous talent scout and record producer, Hammond began his blues career during the early '60s when folk music was big among college students and artsy types. Both intervals are represented on this retrospective CD, but only five of the 23 tracks were recorded during the '70s. After stints with Atlantic and Columbia, Hammond returned to Vanguard for three records in the late '70s. Hammond began his recording career on the Vanguard label, generating five albums between 19. Hammond, who had earlier signed Dylan to the label, a controversial decision at the time. The album was produced by Columbia talent scout John H. Best of the Vanguard Years provides a nice overview of his early days. Bob Dylan (album) Bob Dylan is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on Ma8 by Columbia Records. is a steady performer who continues to revive some classic blues material that might otherwise be forgotten. We have his note where he speaks of placing a man on the moon before the end of that decade by 1970.John Hammond Jr. “This note that I have right here, consistent with what President Kennedy often was known for doing, where he would sit at his desk or sit wherever he was and doodle little pictures of sailboats, which you can see clearly was something that he always enjoyed here with sailboats and other little waves. The auction also features a handwritten note from President John F. "You can see Elvis's grades, which went from pretty good to not so pretty good, but he was very, very good in music, I can assure you that." John Hammond: "What was the name of that, Bob?"īob Dylan: "'Man of Constant Sorrow.' Did you get that?"Īnother lot up for sale is Elvis Presley’s school report which is estimated to fetch up to $15,000 Listeners can hear the original recordings and conversations with producer John Hammond “These are studio master tapes, three of them altogether totaling about 3 hours of audio recordings done in 1961 here in New York City at the studios of Columbia Records, when Bob Dylan's very first album was being made.” 'Straightaway, with no discernible self-consciousness and before I'd played a note, he told John Hammond of Columbia Records I was perhaps the second coming of Jesus, Muhammad and Buddha and he'd. It's one of over 30 lots up for sale by Guernsey's Auction HouseĪll of which highlight noteworthy moments in history and pop culture STORY: Fancy owning the master recordings of Bob Dylan’s first album?
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