Bob Dylan often relates that the first job as a musician he got was as a harmonica player in Greenwich Village to the tune of dollar a day and a cheeseburger. He received high compliments for his ability, but to Bob they were high compliments that were only worth a dollar. Often never explicitly mentioned by Dylan, Fred Neil was the performer to hire the young folkie as accompaniment.
Bob Dylan was born and raised Robert Allen Zimmerman in Hibbing, Minnesota although in interviews he claimed to hail from South Dakota, possibly to extend his folk credibility. In high school, Bob's bands were rock and roll with one of his young influences being Little Richard. His perspective changed while attending the University of Minnesota and felt unattached to the driving slogans of rock and roll as they couldn't say anything of substance. He became more entrenched in learning folk music and began performing around Minneapolis. About this time, he began introducing himself as Bob Dylan.
Knowing he had much more to learn and wanting to learn from the best, Bob Dylan dropped out of school and, in January 1961, ventured to New York to meet his idol, folk singer and American troubadour Woody Guthrie. At the time, Guthrie suffered from Huntington's Disease but was still able to teach the young acolyte a few techniques and a few songs. He developed a relationship with fellow Guthrie student, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, who further taught him some of Guthrie's techniques. Dylan, with an introductory role from Fred Neil, began playing the Greenwich circuit and developing his reputation. He also started playing as a session musician. On one session where he played the harmonica for Carolyn Hester, Hester's producer and legendary talent scout John H. Hammond felt so impressed by Dylan that he signed him to Columbia Records in October 1961.
Recording of Dylan's debut album started soon after the signing with Hammond as producer. The young folk-singer feared revealing too much of himself too quickly to his audience. As a result, the album only featured two of his original songs despite being a very prolific songwriter. The eleven other songs were traditional and folk songs arranged by Bob himself or friends of his. Only half of the songs came from his live sets and were played with more energy and speed than he normally played them. According to Hammond, Dylan played the undisciplined and difficult novice in the studio who 'popped every p', 'hissed every s' or 'wandered off mike'. Dylan later told interviewers that he refused to play second takes as he couldn't bear the idea of playing the same song twice in a row.
Bob Dylan was released in March of 1962 just over a year after Bob had moved to New York. The album received little acclaim and revealed Dylan as the young musician who idolized Woody Guthrie and wished to be Woody Guthrie. The little bit of himself he did reveal on the album seemed more of a a mix of influences without much original voice. The album was unsuccessful, Dylan was deemed "Hammond's Folly" around Columbia, and both Dylan and Hammond wished to quickly move on from it.
Here is the discography surrounding Bob Dylan's debut album:
Minnesota Hotel Tapes (1961 bootleg recordings)
Bob Dylan
"Man of Constant Sorrow" by Bob Dylan
"Song to Woody" by Bob Dylan
If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.
Pass the Headphones!!
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