32 LIFE BOB DYLAN
of old, bald guys (“I’m proud that I’m young. And I only
wish that all you people who are sitting out here today or
tonight weren’t here and I could see all kinds of faces with
hair on their head”). He certainly gladdened the hearts of
all in his audience when he continued that he saw parts of
Lee Harvey Oswald in himself.
You can imagine how that played back in Hibbing.
Many who know Dylan well say that he is a sensitive,
shy, often insecure guy, and this is not to be doubted. He
was no doubt pained by the reaction to his appearance at
the Tom Paine Award function, and quickly apologized.
But he was about to choose personal and artistic paths for
which he would not say “I’m sorry,” and for which there
was no need to.
The folkies didn’t know or care that he had once dug
Danny and the Juniors, and if now he was heading back
that way—well, that wasn’t their business. Except that they
thought it was. He recorded Another Side of Bob Dylan on a
single night in 1964, and if his listeners didn’t understand
that “It Ain’t Me, Babe” wasn’t written just to a lover, well,
they should have. In March 1965, he released Bringing It
All Back Home, which despite its woodsy title featured his
first forays into electric backing; “Subterranean Homesick
Blues” stands today as a bridge from Chuck Berry to hip-
hop. The fans were getting worried, and Dylan didn’t help
them out. His frizzy hair was grown ever outward, the
sunglasses were now worn day and night, the jeans were
skintight and the footwear transitioned to Beatle boots.
Beatle boots!
The revered prince of rebellion, the voice of the revolu-
tion, was starting to rebel against what it was thought he
stood for.
He was about to turn the volume up—way up.NOW, IN 1964, DYLAN IS SQUARELY IN THE
center of the spotlight—and it will remain
this way the rest of his days. Not only does he
no longer have to lean on anyone for support
or advice, he is insistent that this is now his
show, from lights-up until curtain call, and
if he has any guests on stage it will be by
very special invitation. To be sure: Dylan
will accept all responsibility for whatever
outcome awaits. If the audience rejects him
for no longer being a duo with Baez, then
the audience rejects him. If the audience
rejects him for fronting a former roadhouse
band who play at a higher decibel level,
then the audience rejects him. If, several
years down the road, the audience rejects
him for loaning out his famous “message”
songs for Madison Avenue ad campaigns,
then the audience rejects him. He was on his
own when he made his way from Hibbing to
New York City, and now, as he prepares to
take another plunge, he’s on his own again.
Judging by what we know about Bob Dylan,
half a century on, this is the way he likes it.
And always has. PHOTOGR APH © DANIEL KR AMER08-35 LIFE_Bob Dylan 2020 Folksinger.indd 32 FINAL 1/13/20 4:17 PM