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Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Now this is interesting (to you maybe - ED!) but this is the first version of Mr Tambourine Man I ever heard. Released as a single and getting significant airplay my brother Steve was yet to buy the Bob Dylan album from whence it came in the UK 
It had a profound affect upon me - I was twelve and knew something was starting to happen . . . . . the sound and the above all the mesmerising words . . . . . take me for a trip upon your magic swirling ship my senses have been stripped my hands can't feel to grip my toes too numb to step
Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering. . . . . 


On this day in music history: June 26, 1965 - “Mr. Tambourine Man” by The Byrds hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 1 week. Written by Bob Dylan, it is the first chart topping single for the Los Angeles, CA based folk-rock band. The hit single version of the song is actually the second version cut by the band, having previously recorded it in mid 1964. Producer Terry Melcher (son of actress/singer Doris Day) is initially unsure of the entire bands’ musicianship and hire members of The Wrecking Crew including Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine, and Larry Knechtel to play along side Roger McGuinn (12-string electric guitar). McGuinn, Gene Clark and David Crosby sing on the track, recorded at Columbia Studios in Los Angeles, CA on January 20, 1965. Entering the Hot 100 at #87 on May 15, 1965, it leaps to the top of the chart six weeks later. “Mr. Tambourine Man” is also a huge hit on the other side of the Atlantic, hitting #1 on the UK singles chart. The Byrds sound make them pioneers of the burgeoning folk-rock movement, becoming highly influential with many acts that follow (We Five, The Mamas And The Papas, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Turtles, The Grass Roots, Barry McGuire, Simon & Garfunkel) scoring hits reminiscent of or directly mimicking them. The Byrds version of “Mr. Tambourine Man” is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1998.
with thanks to the most excellent Behind The Grooves by Jeff Harris

Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea circled by the circus sands with all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves. Let me forget about today until tomorrow

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