Hard Rain & Slow Trains: Bob Dylan & Fellow Travelers

Take a “Highway of Diamonds” back 62 years to the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in November of 1963. At this time, having completed his third album the previous month, his creative energy becomes more directed toward poetry, prose, and playwriting than songwriting. Also, this month he performed six concerts. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from...

50 years ago, Bob Dylan and The Band returned to the road after precisely 7 years, 7 months, and 7 days since their previous tour concluded. Having jumped from Columbia Records to David Geffen’s Asylum Records, Dylan released two albums under the new label in 1974. He spent the year intermittently living in Los Angeles (where he owned a new home north of the city in Malibu), San Francisco (where h...

We celebrate the 200th episode of Hard Rain & Slow Trains by first catching up with news about Bob Dylan and his fellow travelers since the previous episode in February. Then, things take an odd turn: the radio show is taken over by Ms. Maria and Miss Lucy who run things the way they want. Ms. Maria offers a detailed breakdown and analysis of the new teaser trailer for A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, whic...

In October of 1963, Bob Dylan performed one of his great shows on the stage of one of the great venues, he finished recording his third album, he performed in concert halls in Pennsylvania and Michigan, he dueted with Joan Baez in Los Angeles, he wrote a poem to Baez, he gave two interviews, and he was publicly humiliated by a weekly national magazine in an article that would mark a pivot in how h...

In August and September of 1963, Bob Dylan began appearing as a special guest at Joan Baez concerts; he had three recording sessions for THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN', his third album; he sang before a quarter of a million people at the March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C.; he recorded more demos for his publisher M. Witmark and Songs; and he accepted Baez’s invitation to return wit...

In July of 1963, Bob Dylan traveled to Greenwood, Mississippi, final resting place of Robert Johnson, to perform at a Voter Registration Rally, traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico to perform for Columbia executives, and traveled to Minnesota to perform for friends, he recorded a television performance that would air the following month, but above all he performed at the Newport Folk Festival. He per...

In May and June of 1963, Bob Dylan performed his first concert in California (where he sang his first duet with Joan Baez), walked off the set of THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW, and finally saw his second album, which he had been working on for a year, appear in record stores. Take a “Highway of Diamonds” back 60 years to the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in the late spring of 1...

50 years ago, Bob Dylan recorded the soundtrack to PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID, helped some friends in the studio, including producing the only non-Bob Dylan album he ever produced, began rehearsing with The Band for an anticipated concert tour, signed with a new record label after 11 years with Columbia, and went into a studio and recorded his only studio album with The Band. All of this occu...

In April of 1963, Bob Dylan showcased his own songs to his largest audience yet, he finished recording for his second album, and he returned to the stages of coffee houses and clubs…until he became too big for coffee houses and clubs. Take a “Highway of Diamonds” back 60 years to the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in April of 1963...60 years ago to the month. This episo...

A happy 82nd birthday to Bob Dylan from HARD RAIN & SLOW TRAINS: BOB DYLAN & FELLOW TRAVELERS from 2019 to today!

This episode is marchin ' down the line...to explore Bob Dylan's March of 1963. The 60th anniversary is the diamond anniversary – visit the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in March of 1963...60 years ago to the month. Dylan appears on television for the first time in the United States, he does a couple different radio shows, he again records for Witmark and Son...

Dylan is in the midst of a five-night residency at the Tokyo Garden Theater before he concludes his 11-date tour of Japan with three nights in Nagoya. To commemorate his 2023 tour of Japan, HARD RAIN & SLOW TRAINS: BOB DYLAN & FELLOW TRAVELERS concludes a two-part series featuring "'Pearls from Japan': Bob Dylan in Japan." Hear highlights of Bob Dylan's Japanese co...

On April 6, Bob Dylan returned to the stage for the first concert of 2023...in Japan. To commemorate the occasion, HARD RAIN & SLOW TRAINS: BOB DYLAN & FELLOW TRAVELERS launches the first of a two-part series featuring "'Pearls from Japan': Bob Dylan in Japan part 1". Hear highlights of Bob Dylan's Japanese concerts over the decades: 1978 to 2018. This first part f...

It is an ice-cold, snowy, slushy-street February in New York City in 1963, which is where the “Highway of Diamonds” takes us this month. The 60th anniversary is the diamond anniversary – visit the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in February of 1963...60 years ago to the month. Dylan appears on a radio show, records for both Witmark and Broadside, is photographed for the...

It is a new year, which means that the “Highway of Diamonds” that takes us back 60 years – the 60th anniversary is the diamond anniversary – now takes us back to a new destination: 1963 .  Visit the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in January of 1963...60 years ago to the month. The year begins with Dylan in London, rehearsing for the BBC television play authored by Evan...

We don't know what’s around the bend, but we’re heading there through 2023. This episode plays Dylan songs & those of fellow travelers dealing with what's around the bend. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan, which includes news about a new Dylan art book, a reminder about the forthcoming Bootleg Series, Dylan's ranking on ROLLING...

Our fourth annual end-of-year, year in review episode of HARD RAIN & SLOW TRAINS: BOB DYAN & FELLOW TRAVELERS looks back to the year's worth of activities of the philosopher pirate, Bob Dylan. We remember those who we lost in 2022 and also review 2022 highlights from the world of Bob Dylan from another busy year. Happy New Year everybody!

This episode concludes the 2022 monthly series that has been celebrating the tenth anniversary of TEMPEST with this the tenth and final episode, exploring the album’s final song, "Roll on John," John Lennon, and death as an odyssey. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan, which includes director James Mangold’s announcement about the title of...

In this episode we wrap up our year-long exploration of Bob Dylan's 1962. This month we are visiting December, when Bob Dylan enters Columbia Recording Studio A for the seventh and what he believed would be the final time before completing his second studio album (this turned out not to be the case), and then he boards a plane on December 16 in order to head to London to perform in Madhouse o...

This episode continues a monthly, ten-part series celebrating the tenth anniversary of TEMPEST, featuring the eighth track on the album, "Tin Angel," necessitating a consideration of the presence of the murder ballad in Dylan's work and his narrative songs in general. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan, which includes Dylan's sta...

Visit the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in November of 1962 as we travel "A Highway of Diamonds" back 60 years. Dylan returns to the Columbia Recording Studio A in Manhattan to finish recording his first single and to continue recording his second album. He performs at Gerde's Folk City and he prepares to leave for England. A 60th anniversary is a diamon...

This episode continues a monthly, ten-part series celebrating the tenth anniversary of TEMPEST, featuring the seventh track on the album, "Early Roman Kings." In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan, which includes the long-awaited news about Bootleg Series vol. 17 on TIME OUT OF MIND, the wrapping up of Dylan's 2022 tour, and the passing...

Because of the Cuban Missile Crisis, it is a fraught month, but the day before the Crisis begins — although the Crisis was not made public for another week — Dylan performs the first of what could legitimately join his (considerably long) list of "greatest concerts." Certainly, his Gaslight performance after hours with the closed sign on the door reveals Dylan in a character and mood he...

“It could have been a last waltz,” Bill Flanagan wrote, “instead, it turned out to be rock & roll's greatest half time show." Thirty years ago, Sony Music hosted Columbia Records Celebrates the Music of Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden on October 16, 1992. A double-CD concert album and a concert film, both titled Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration were released to...

Last Friday, September 30, 2022 was the 25th anniversary of the release of Time Out of Mind , an album whose artistic and commercial success proved an important contributor to Dylan’s continued reinvigoration and late career success, a success that has continued to this day. This episode celebrates that album with a consideration of its making, its distinctiveness, and, of course, through its musi...