When The Beatles Met Bob Dylan

MSN UK ^ | 9/10/09 | Tom Townsend

[pissant]

With the entire Beatles back catalogue now available in digitally remastered form, not to mention their appearance in the latest version of Rock Band, Tom Townshend takes an in-depth look at a crucial moment in their musical development - the day they met Bob Dylan…

When future generations look back on the music of the twentieth century, two names will loom larger than all others. In the British corner, The Beatles will represent musical innovation, melodic sophistication and the phenomena of global pop fame. In the American corner, Bob Dylan will stand for lyrical mastery, stylistic reinvention and unprecedented artistic longevity. And our awed ancestors will place particular significance on August 28, 1964.

This was the day, 45 years ago, that The Beatles met Bob Dylan, and everything changed.

[pissant]

A superficial article. Dylan said long ago that it was the Animals that inspired him to go electric.

[4Speed]

ping

[San Jacinto]

The Beatles were much more influenced by Buddy Holly than they ever were by Dylan.

[swarthyguy]

That’s the day the Stones went marching in.....

[Snickering Hound]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNMhPQoEbJE

[Tallguy]

The Beatles were much more influenced by Buddy Holly than they ever were by Dylan.

... and Little Richard, and Elvis, and Carl Perkins. Hey, Dylan might be in the Top Ten!

[irishjuggler]

In the same interview, Paul reveals that when Bob first heard I Wanna Hold Your Hand, he'd mistaken the lyrics in the middle eight to be "I get high, I get high"

Until now, I also thought those were the lyrics. Learn something new every day!

[aruanan]

Until now, I also thought those were the lyrics. Learn something new every day!

I guess it was because I heard the lyrics before I ever heard of drugs that I heard them as

"And when I touch you I feel happy inside
It's such a feeling that my love, I can't hide,
I can't hide, I can't hide..."

and was referring to an erection.

[JoeProBono]

[PureSolace]

I seem to remember the Beatles looking at the Beach Boys and the wild music structure stuff they were doing. :-P I’m just stirring the pot.

[Huck]

That’s definitely true. That’s because they were doing folk songs electrically—House of the Rising Son, for example. Anyway, Dylan was a Little Richard imitator before he became a commie folk guy.

[Huck]

I don’t hear much of a Buddy Holly influence. Paul’s vocal was clearly influenced by Little Richard. The guitar work definitely influenced by Chuck Berry. The harmonies and songwriting were influenced by the Everly Brothers. But Buddy Holly? I don’t hear it.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

I remember an interview with Joh Lennon where he said that he was really interested in Dylan’s music at first but soon lost interest in him. That doesn’t sound like much of an influence to me.

[Huck]

I think Dylan influenced a lot of pop/rock artists in a very general way, by getting into very heady, strange lyrics, getting away from the silliness of pop music at that time ("doo wa diddy diddy"). He was already doing pretty intense stuff by 64, while the Beatles were just breaking in the US at that time with pop love songs. But beyond that, there's not much of an influence.

And anyway, I've never been that impressed with Lennon. McCartney smoked him as a songwriter, singer, and musician.

[San Jacinto]

I don’t hear much of a Buddy Holly influence.

The Beatles were so taken by Buddy Holly that they took the name for their band from his group -- Buddy Holly and the Crickets. Their early stuff was not just reminiscent to what Holly was doing before he died-- it was very, very similar. Compare "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" to "Peggy Sue" and "Rave On".

[a fool in paradise]

[a fool in paradise]

AFIP reveals that when he first heard Bob Dylan’s Rainy Day Women, he’d mistaken the lyrics in the middle eight to be “anoma an anomanoma nom”

[Skooz]

Bump for later

[Huck]

I know all those songs. I don’t hear the connection. I mean, I guess all the skiffle groups ended up sounding a little like the Crickets just from the instrumentation. If anyone sounded like the Crickets it would be Ringo. The Chuck Berry, Everly Bros, Little Richard, and Carl Perkins influences are all glaringly obvious. If Buddy Holly influenced them they hid it well.

[SunkenCiv]

Bob Dylan will stand for lyrical mastery, stylistic reinvention and unprecedented artistic longevity.

Yeah, right.