This week at Glyn Wilton’s Mixed Music Bag,
he’s asking us to write about a song in which
the title or a line mentions the current month.
Here’s my featured May artist and their song.
Tag: Bob Dylan
That’s Entertainment – Letter T
Welcome back to “That’s Entertainment!” –
The A To Z Challenge.
I hope you enjoy my musical selections.
Let’s see what’s up today!
Weird Al Wednesday – 4.9.25
Hey! Welcome back to Weird Al Wednesday
featuring the comedic genius of Al Yankovic.
“Say, Al! Your Bob Dylan impersonation is
so darn good, I heard Dylan really liked it
a lot. Can you show us his reaction after
watching your parody of his song?”
Going Back To New York City
Shine On Harvest Moon
This week at Glyn Wilton’s Mixed Music Bag,
he’s asking us to write about a song in which
the title or a line mentions the current month.
Here’s my featured January artist and his song.
Crystal-Clear & Velvet-Smooth
Today in Jim Adams’ post entitled Kicking It Off,
Jim has asked us to write about a song by
someone who was born in the month of January
Written for Song Lyric Sunday, this is my choice.
Lucky, Otis, Charlie, Nelson and Lefty
This is Week 41 of Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag and we are
being asked to choose a song by a group or solo artist whose
name begins with the letters S or T. This is my choice.
Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, George Harrison and Roy Orbison. Five musical giants on their own; together, a seemingly unstoppable supergroup. In their all-too-short career together, they created some incredible music, had a great time and brought a lot of joy into our lives.
They are, of course, the beloved American-British group known as the Traveling Wilburys. Formed out of friendship and spontaneity, the Traveling Wilburys would never have referred to themselves as a supergroup. Though comprised of some of the biggest names in modern music, the band was much more nonchalant than that.
It all began in 1988, when George Harrison and co-producer Jeff Lynne were tasked with recording a B-side for George’s Cloud Nine album. In need of a place to record on the fly, the two, along with friends Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, were invited over to Bob Dylan’s home studio. The resulting track was “Handle With Care,” a collaborative effort which was just too good to use as a B-side. George later said, “I liked the song so much and the way that it turned out with all these people on it that I just carried it around in my back pocket for ages thinking, ‘Well, what can I do with this thing?’ And the only thing I could think of to do was to record another nine. Make an album.”
As each member of the Wilburys was busy with their own projects, the five friends found a ten-day time frame in which to write and record an album together. Posing as a band of half-brothers (each with his own Wilbury moniker), the group enlisted Monty Python’s Michael Palin to write a fictional history of the group for the LP’s liner notes. George Harrison was “Nelson Wilbury,” Bob Dylan was “Lucky“, Roy Orbison was “Lefty“, Tom Petty was “Charlie T, Jr.”, and Jeff Lynne was “Otis”. Although not an official member of the Traveling Wilburys, Jim Keltner was the session drummer and percussionist on both their albums and was given the nickname “Buster Sidebury”. Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 was released in October 1988 to wide critical and commercial acclaim.After hitting #3 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, the certified double platinum album earned a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.
Sadly, Roy Orbison passed away in December of 1988. The band reunited for one more album, dedicating it to their late friend, and wryly titling the 1990 LP, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3. In 2007, a retrospective box set, The Traveling Wilburys Collection, was released. Proving the timeless appeal of the Wilburys’ music, the deluxe title hit #1 in six territories and peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200. At the time, The Traveling Wilburys Collection held the record of having the highest debut of a box set in the United States, as well as the biggest first week in sales for a box set in the UK.
The world lost an incredible talent when George Harrison died on November 29, 2001; on October 2, 2017, Tom Petty passed away. Now only Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne remain. The Wilburys never toured and were only together for a brief, magical time; however, the member’s mutual admiration for each other and genuine joy in the studio still shine through in their recordings.
This is the Wilburys’ largest selling single, “Handle With Care”
One of my favorite Wilburys songs is “The Wilbury Twist“, the final track on their 1990 album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3. The song was also released in March 1991 as a single from that album and shows off the very humorous side of the group. The original music video featured cameos from many contemporary celebrities including Jimmy Nail, Woody Harrelson, Whoopi Goldberg, Fred Savage, Milli Vanilli, Cheech Marin, John Candy, Eric Idle. and others. The band and special cameos were filmed at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.
Here is “The Wilbury Twist”
For my last song, I’ve chosen the one that is probably the best known. The video was filmed in Los Angeles in December 1988. Set in a moving passenger car pulled by a steam locomotive, it features the guys playing guitars and Jim Keltner playing the brushes. Roy Orbison had died after recording his vocals but before the video was made, so a shot of a guitar sitting in a rocking chair and a photo of him are shown when his vocals are heard. In the US, the single peaked at #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at #2 on the Album Rock Tracks chart. In the UK, the single peaked at #52 on the UK Singles Chart.
This is “End of the Line”
Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week. Please be sure to follow the link and check out Glyn’s site.
Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.
See you on the flip side. 😎
NAR©2024
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Where Is The Answer?
This is Week 33 of Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag and we are
being asked to choose a song by a group or solo artist
whose name begins with the letters O or P. This is my choice.
After meeting in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1961, folksingers Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers decided to form a group and they kept it very simple by calling their trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Playing in folk clubs and on college campuses, they built a youthful following with their lyricism, tight harmonies and spare sound, usually accompanied only by Yarrow and Stookey on acoustic guitars.
With Peter, Paul and Mary’s records and television appearances, they popularized both new and traditional folk songs by such songwriters as Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, the Weavers, and Laura Nyro. At the forefront of the folk music revival, the trio created a bridge between folk music and later folk rock.
Prominent in the civil rights movement and the struggle against the Vietnam War, Peter, Paul and Mary included protest songs in a repertoire that also featured plaintive ballads such as “500 Miles” and children’s songs like Yarrow’s “Puff the Magic Dragon.”
After splitting up in 1970 to pursue solo careers, the trio re-formed in 1978 to release the album Reunion. In 1986 they celebrated their 25th anniversary with a series of concerts and released the album No Easy Walk to Freedom.
During the course of their career, Peter, Paul and Mary received five Grammy Awards with multiple wins for “If I Had a Hammer” (1962) and “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1963). Their 1967 recording of John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane” became a #1 hit in 1969. They also earned a Grammy for the children’s recording “Peter, Paul and Mommy” (1969). Their final studio album, In These Times, appeared in 2003.
The song I have chosen to feature today is the beloved folk song, “Blowin’ in the Wind”, written in 1962 and originally recorded by Bob Dylan.
In the song, the speaker poses a series of huge questions about the persistence of war and oppression, and then responds with one repeated, cryptic reply: “The answer, my friends, is blowin’ in the wind.” Finding an end to human cruelty, the song suggests, is a matter of understanding a truth that’s all around but seemingly impossible to grasp.
Contrary to what many people think, it wasn’t Dylan who made this song a civil rights anthem …. it was Peter, Paul and Mary whose version sold 300,000 copies in its first two weeks of release. The trio’s version, which was the title track of their third album, peaked at #2 on the Billboard charts. The group’s version also went to #1 on the Middle Road charts for five weeks.
It was at the 6th Annual Grammy Awards in 1964 where Peter, Paul & Mary won the two previously mentioned Grammy’s for “Blowin’ in the Wind” …. for Best Folk Recording and Best Performance By A Vocal Group. In 2003, Peter, Paul & Mary’s version of “Blowin’ in the Wind” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Here are Peter, Paul and Mary with Blowin in the Wind”
Bob Dylan’s entire catalogue of songs, which spans 60+ years and is among the most prized next to that of the Beatles, was acquired by Universal Music Publishing Group in December, 2020. The deal covered 600 song copyrights and is estimated to be worth $400 million.
From 1963, this is “Blowin’ in the Wind” by 22 year old Bob Dylan
Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag each week; be sure to check out his site.
Thanks for stopping by and spinning some tunes. See you on the flip side. 😎
NAR©2024
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 