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Bob Dylan and The Beatles
5 July 2014
4.15pm
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Ron Nasty
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Necko said

Von Bontee said
I never heard of Bob expressing any particular dislike for “Yesterday ” or “Michelle “, and I would think that he could appreciate the songcraft behind them at the least, but who knows? Maybe he didn’t care for Paul’s softer stuff. As for Pepper, I believe his stated opinion was that the songs were good but didn’t need all the “window dressing” and fancy production.

This is what the original poster is referring to.

 

The Almighty Wikipedia

Yesterday “, however, has also been criticized for being mundane and mawkish; Bob Dylan had a marked dislike for the song, stating that “If you go into the Library of Congress, you can find a lot better than that. There are millions of songs like ‘Michelle ‘ and ‘Yesterday ‘ written in Tin Pan Alley“. Ironically, Dylan ultimately recorded his own version of “Yesterday ” four years later, but it was never released.

It is cited, but it’s a book citation, so I can’t check it.

 

Personally, I think that he didn’t really “hated Beatles,” but rather, those songs.  I mean, given that he and George were friends for years…

The quote is correct. It’s from Robert Shelton’s No Direction Home. Shelton was the journalist who wrote the review that helped get Bobby signed, and ended up as part of his inner circle for many years. The quote comes from a long conversation they had during a flight from one gig to another in America in late-1965, the conversation taking up the majority of one chapter in the book.

Dylan didn’t hate The Beatles. Dylan loved The Beatles. They were a big part of the reason he turned electric. There is the story of him doing a road trip across America in early 1964, with The Beatles all over the radio, and getting out the car and drumming along to I Want To Hold Your Hand  on the car bonnet. He described their chords as “outrageous”, and said that they were doing things nobody else was doing.

He kept his Beatles infatuation quiet for a while, as The Beatles were a pop group and he was deeply embedded in the folk scene which dismissed pop.

He has never really been a fan of McCartney though. I believe the song he walked out on was Penny Lane . It was certainly something Pepper era. Paul loved it, whatever it was, and kept playing it again and again, and Bob got up and walked out the room after the third or fourth play without commenting.

If there was a group that Bob had a dislike of at the time, it was the Stones. There was an infamous encounter between Bob and Jagger at the Ab-Lib in 1965, where Mick was trying to convince Bob that they had much in common. Dylan responded, “The difference between us is that I could have written Satisfaction but you could never have written Desolation Row.” One of the great put-downs.

Of that Dylan version of Yesterday , recorded on 1 May 1970, it should be noted that on lead guitar is George Harrison .

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The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966

6 July 2014
2.51am
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These lines may be of interest. Known as Pneumonia Ceilings, they were written at the London Hilton in May 1966 (during Bob’s “Judas!” tour), and are reputed to be the work of John, Paul and Bob.

Words and phrases right
Cigarette ash keeps me up all night
How come your mama types so fast?
Is daddy’s flag flyin’ at half mast?
Pneumonia ceilings, pneumonia floors
Daddy ain’t gonna take it no more
Elephant guns blazing in my ears
I’m sick & tired of your applesauce tears!
Thermometers donat tell time no more
Since aunt mimi pushed them off the 20th floor
So say goodby to skyscrapers
You’ll read about it in the evening paper
I picked my nose & I’m glad I did.

Certainly, the Aunt Mimi reference points to John’s involvement.

@Ahhh Girl @meanmistermustard @Zig Could this thread be moved to Yesterday and Today as it is a Beatles-related discussion, rather than a non-Beatles discussion? Could the title also be changed to something like “Did Bob Dylan hate The Beatles?”, similar to the “Did Elvis hate John Lennon ?” thread. “Bob Dylan hated Beatles” has already been disproved.

EDIT by Ahhh Girl:I moved the thread and changed the topic title.

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The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966

7 July 2014
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trcanberra
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^^ Apparently Bob and George had quite a lengthy session – one of the future releases I’m hoping to see as part of the Dylan bootleg series.

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7 July 2014
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@trcanberra It was the first session for Bob’s New Morning, but also a bit of fun.

They recorded five takes of Sign on the Window; five of If Not for You (one of which appeared on the first volume of The Bootleg Series); four takes of Time Passes Slowly; the Dylan-Harrison co-write Working on a Guru (on the latest volume of The Bootleg Series); Went to See the GypsySong to WoodyMama, You Been on My MindDon’t Think Twice, It’s All RightYesterday (The Beatles); Just Like Tom Thumb’s BluesI Met Him on a Sunday (The Shirelles first single); two takes of One Too Many MorningsGhost Riders in the Sky (a Stan Jones song performed by many, including Johnny Cash); Cupid (Sam Cooke); All I Have to Do Is Dream (Everly Brothers); Gates of EdenI Threw It All AwayI Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)Matchbox  (Carl Perkins); Your True Love (Carl Perkins); Telephone WireFishin’ Blues (Henry Thomas); Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance (Henry Thomas); Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35; and It Ain’t Me, Babe.

All songs Dylan unless otherwise noted.

So there’s definitely enough for album.

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7 July 2014
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Damn, I want that album

GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty. 

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7 July 2014
2.52am
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Bootlegs of Bob and George’s session together are out there. 

Here has disc one of the ‘Dylan Harrison Sessions’, presumably the second disc will be upped at some time.

A different bootleg is here.

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7 July 2014
5.02pm
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My earlier post (above from July 4, 2014) was rather impromptu. I worked on doing a better job, which took a few days. This is my feeble attempt at writing a PARODY:

 

“Duelling Crutches” by S. B. Fields

with sincere apologies to Lennon (RIP) and Dylan

 

We sat on her rug.

I really dug

Smoking her sh*t.

Named “Norwegian Wood ”…

Man, was it good!

Hit after hit.

 

I said I was thirsty, she poured me some Jamaican rum.

As I tried to make her, she stood there and called me a bum.

 

She put down the bong,

I asked her what’s wrong

She hated this song:

“You are such a clown,

And, that twangy sound

Is bringing me down”

 

I know I’m a loser, ‘cause, with her I didn’t get far.

I blame it on George for plucking his bloody sitar.

 

And, when I awoke,

My head was on fire.

My brain it did throb.

So I made this tape,

Packaged it up,

Mailed it to Bob.

 

The writer requests constructive criticism, only…

Thank you,

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7 July 2014
6.03pm
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vonbontee
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lol A+ ! heart Can’t decide who I prefer to imagine singing that, Bob or John.

GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty. 

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14 July 2014
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parlance said

WETSRoosa said
He didn’t hate them. He might not have taken them seriously at first (and I don’t think he ever cared for Paul’s stuff), 

 

Didn’t he later call Paul the greatest songwriter?

parlance

 

Found the approximate quote. Melvyn Bragg of the South Bank Show references the quote at about 3:07.

parlance

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14 July 2014
4.31am
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Bragg there seems to be paraphrasing Dylan from memory; and he only says Dylan said something like “what a wonderful songwriter” Paul was — not necessarily “the greatest”.

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14 July 2014
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Funny Paper said
Bragg there seems to be paraphrasing Dylan from memory; and he only says Dylan said something like “what a wonderful songwriter” Paul was — not necessarily “the greatest”.

As I said, it was an approximate quote.

parlance

Beware of sadness. It can hit you. It can hurt you. Make you sore and what is more, that is not what you are here for. - George

Check out my fan video for Paul's song "Appreciate" at Vimeo or YouTube.

14 July 2014
7.43am
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never read anything that ever indicated that

15 July 2014
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Is this what you were referring to, parlance?

From NME:

Bob Dylan has spoken in depth about his longstanding friendship with The Beatles and his particular bond with George Harrison .

Talking to Rolling Stone magazine, Dylan talked freely about Harrison’s struggle to find his voice within the songwriting collective of John Lennon and Paul McCartney .

“George got stuck with being the Beatle that had to fight to get songs on records because of Lennon and McCartney. Well, who wouldn’t get stuck?” he asked.

Dylan highlighted the writing talents of Harrison, saying: “If George had had his own group and was writing his own songs back then, he’d have been probably just as big as anybody.”

Speaking against popular belief, the singer also denounced any rumours of competitiveness towards Lennon and McCartney, asserting, “They were fantastic singers. Lennon, to this day, it’s hard to find a better singer than Lennon was, or than McCartney was and still is.”

Nodding his cap to McCartney in particular, Dylan concluded: “I’m in awe of McCartney. He’s about the only one that I am in awe of. He can do it all. And he’s never let up… He’s just so damn effortless.”

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15 July 2014
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parlance
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Yes, that’s it. Thanks, @bewareofchairs.

parlance

Beware of sadness. It can hit you. It can hurt you. Make you sore and what is more, that is not what you are here for. - George

Check out my fan video for Paul's song "Appreciate" at Vimeo or YouTube.

15 July 2014
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MrMoonlight said
He introduced them to weed.

Sorry if this is a bit off-topic, but I have always wondered this:

Did he really introduce them to weed? Because Paul said in an interview in 1997 that it was a friend of Dylan who had introduced them to weed. Not Bob Dylan himself. I don’t remember it exactly and I can’t find the interview on Youtube anymore… So I am not exactly sure that what I said was right… 

Was Paul speaking the truth or was he protecting Dylan?

15 July 2014
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Ron Nasty
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@Beatleva Paul was talking about Al Aronowitz. He was a New York journalist who got to know The Beatles after writing a piece about them for the Saturday Evening Post. Aronowitz was also close friends with Dylan, and it was he who arranged the first meeting between Bob and The Beatles. This took place at Hotel Delmonico, Park Lane, NY on 28 August 1964. Aronowitz was present at the meeting, and it was at this meeting The Beatles were introduced to marijuana.

Now, exactly how the conversation went nobody can know. Versions of it have been given over the years. Dylan showing surprise that they had never tried marijuana, which was his drug of choice at the time, “What about that song, I get high, I get high?” John laughing, “That’s I can’t hide, I can’t hide.” Dylan suggesting they retreat to the bathroom, as there were so many police around.

The likelihood is that Aronowitz was probably the one carrying the dope, as it was usual for the “star” not to carry just in case (Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans often fulfilled the same function for The Beatles). So, in that way, Paul is probably right, and that it was Aronowitz who had the drugs. However, it is unlikely Aronowitz was the one who suggested they all share a joint, just that he was Dylan’s “bagman” that night.

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29 August 2014
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Guardian article – When Dylan Met The Beatles

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29 August 2014
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Dumb article. As far I as I know, nobody has ever framed the meeting as a “coincidence”, and it’s no less significant a summit for being entirely planned, anyways.

GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty. 

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29 August 2014
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How did the “celebration” go last night, von? a-hard-days-night-george-4

To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.

29 August 2014
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To be honest, I had a long working day (left the office at 8) and was too tired to do much more than watch “Mad Men” DVDs for a few hours. I don’t think I would’ve even made it to the liquor store before it closed at 9 had I tried! Just before midnight, I ritually inhaled a single token lungful of the dread smoke, (uh, DON’T DO DRUGS, KIDS!) and symbolically played a few period-specific Beatles tracks (their first few post-pot recordings), then considered playing some Bob but wasn’t in the mood, so I played Cecil Taylor’s “Steps” instead. (It has nothing to do with Bob or the Beatles and is in fact from 1966 (whatta great year!) but is awesome.) Then I went back to my DVDs until bedtime. The end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..8NEL2tagOs

I figure between 1964 Beatles, fictional 1960s Manhattan ad-men, and 1966 avant-garde jazz, I got a reasonable dose of 1960s nostalgia.

GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty. 

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