Bob Dylan got a music gig at the Café Wha? on the day he arrived in New York. From then on, the city had a profound influence on his life and his music. A new book, published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Dylan’s arrival in Greenwich Village, looks at the music landmarks that are forever linked to Dylan, many of which are still there. These include folk clubs and recording studios, his apartments and houses, the places he bought his records and his newspapers, through to important buildings like the New York Public Library and Madison Square Garden.
Bob Dylan New York: the Author
June Skinner Sawyers lives in Chicago but she knows her New York. She certainly knows her Bob Dylan too, and rock music generally. She’s written books about Bruce Springsteen, the Beatles, and Celtic Music (she was born in Glasgow), and is the author of The Greenwich Village Reader. As part of her teaching work in Chicago, she taught a course titled ‘The Country I Come from Is Called the Midwest’: Bob Dylan and the American Song Tradition.
Bob Dylan’s Song Tradition
It was that American Song Tradition which was the major influence on Dylan’s own music when he arrived in New York in January 1961. His hero was Woody Guthrie, and Dylan says he moved to New York specifically to visit Guthrie, who by then was ailing. Dylan certainly did visit him several times, and played at most of New York’s leading folk clubs. The majority of them are still there, and the book provides maps and addresses to enable the curious reader to find places like Café Wha?, The Bitter End, The Gaslight Café, and Caffe Dante.
Dylan’s New York Homes
Bob Dylan New York follows in the singer’s footsteps, as he quickly builds up a keen following of people who recognised his talents as soon as he walked onto a stage and started to sing. When he wrote and played his own songs, his fame grew, and he was soon making recordings. The cover of his early album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, was shot on Jones Street in Greenwich Village, around the corner from Dylan’s small apartment at 161 West 4th Street. He later bought a townhouse at 94 MacDougal Street, when he returned to New York after his time spent upstate in Woodstock. The author does a great job of weaving the facts of Dylan’s life into a coherent narrative that also takes the reader around New York to see the places most closely associated with him.
‘That Crummy Hotel Over Washington Square’
Featured in the book is The Washington Square Hotel, which back then was the Hotel Earle. Dylan stayed there with Joan Baez, who later described the hotel in Diamonds and Rust as ‘that crummy hotel over Washington Square’. Today it is far from crummy, having been renamed The Washington Square Hotel and turned into a chic place to stay - though you can still book the room Dylan and Baez stayed in.
New York Dylan Landmarks
Several public buildings have a special place in Bob Dylan’s New York story. These include the New York Public Library, where he studied constantly to try to educate himself further, and the Supreme Court Building. Here it was that Robert Zimmerman of Hibbing, Minnesota, officially changed his name to Bob Dylan. The author lists lesser landmarks too, such as newspaper kiosks, book stores, record stores, and musical instrument stores, through to places like Madison Square Garden, the Waldorf-Astoria, the Philharmonic Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Columbia’s Studio A, all of which any Dylan fan will want to see.
Bob Dylan New York
Bob Dylan New York is a must-read for any music fan visiting New York, as it’s both an entertaining story and an excellent practical guide to Dylan’s New York, with several maps and lots of photos too. Bob Dylan New York by Jane Skinner Sawyers is published by The Roaring Forties Press at $14.95.
Mike Gerrard - Mike is an award-winning travel writer who has worked for National Geographic, the London Times, and many other clients. ...
