Bob Dylan has always denied that "Mr. Tambourine Man" has anything to do with drugs, so never mind the "trip upon your magic swirling ship" or "disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind." Instead, he has explained that the title is a reference to his frequent session guitarist Bruce Langhorne, who also played a giant tambourine on some tracks.
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Here are a couple of natural follow-ups to this nice clip of Dylan:
Jerry Jeff Walker, Mr. Bojangles. As I understand it, JJW, a young white honkey-tonk singer, spent a night in a New Orleans dunk tank with "Mr. Bojangles":, an elderly African-American performer on the minstrel circuit. The song is an incredibly respectful homage, especially given the times. I can't find a great period video. This, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZgivVGsTQ, is decent, but very Nashville-influenced, which does not represent JJW at his best. A better period piece, though grainy and primitive, is this video shot live at Luckenbach Hall, a traditional German-Texas beer garden / dance hall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keImuXtH7DU
Also, Don Walser, "Rolling Stone from Texas". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdNht2kiSNQ To my knowledge, Don is truly the last great Texas yodeler, and this is an ideal showcase for his vocal acuity. Though he recorded as recently as the 1990s, his music harkens back to a much earlier era. I had the privilege of wandering into one of his performances at the Broken Spoke in Austin (thanks to U. Texas emeritus Julius Getman!).
Posted by: Rick Bales | December 09, 2019 at 10:20 AM