Mac McNeill
I’m spending a lot of my time at home working on a course on the Newport Folk Festival. Below is one of the stories from the 1964 festival.
Bob Dylan performed at the Newport, Rhode Island Folk Festival in 1963, 1964 and 1965. In July 1963, Dylan’s songs were better known than Bob Dylan the person. “Blowin’ in the Wind” had just been released by Peter, Paul and Mary, sitting on top of the charts for five-weeks, but Dylan could wander the festival largely unrecognized. Here is a great photo of Dylan. taken by a largely unknown photographer without a press pass, Rowland Scherman.
Even at 22-years old, Dylan could pull off a bullwhip as a fashion accessory.
By the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, Dylan was a star, on a par with Joan Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary and by 1965, Dylan owned the festival. What I want to share with you is the biggest Dylan event of 1964, his performance of “Mr. Tambourine Man.”
“Mr. Tambourine Man” was written by Dylan in early 1964. While it wouldn’t be released on a record until 1965, he had performed the song at a few small venues but, for most of the people in the festival audience, this was their first time hearing the song. The song has been endlessly analyzed, often interpreted as a song about a drug experience. But in 1985, Dylan said it was inspired by Bruce Langhorne, the guitarist that accompanied him on the song. Dylan said, “He had this giant tambourine. It was as big as a wagon wheel. He was playing, and this vision of him playing this tambourine just stuck in my mind.”
Langhorne has his own interesting story. At an early age, he was a violin prodigy but, when he was around 12-years old, he blew the tips of his fingers off playing with fireworks. The story is that he told his mother, “I guess I won’t have to practice the violin anymore.” He couldn’t play the violin, but he certainly could pick the guitar. Here is a photo of Langhorne and his tambourine.
Fortunately, Dylan’s 1964 Newport Folk Festival performance of “Mr. Tambourine Man” was filmed. Even nicer is that the black-and-white film has been colorized. Here’s a link to the colorized version of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” from the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. Enjoy!
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man-newport-folk-festival-colour-video-1964/
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