Category Archives: money

So, Would You Want the Newport Guitar or Bob Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ Lyrics?

Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival performing “Like A Rolling Stone.”

In response to my post yesterday, “Bob Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ Manuscript Sells for $2 Million But Dylan’s Secrets Remain Secret,” Mike Jones commented:

The LARS lyrics went for more than I thought they would…how are a few pieces of paper worth more than the Newport guitar? I don’t get the whole ephemera thing. I guess people like to have historical stuff, just to look at or whatever. But I would much rather have the Newport guitar, which sold for like half as much. That seems very strange to me.

I understand why some folks, especially musicians, would want the guitar Bob Dylan played at the Newport Folk Festival gig that drew the line between the old Dylan, and the new.

For me though — and I’m not saying paying $2 mil makes any kind of sense — between the guitar and the manuscript, I’d go for the manuscript.

Guitar:

Bob Dylan’s Newport guitar sold for $965,000.

Here’s why.

Certainly the guitar is an iconic object, symbolic of Dylan’s rejection of so-called ‘folk music’ for rock ‘n’ roll, but he could have played any Strat that day and made the same music, made the same impact. Dylan’s art and his creativity didn’t hinge on that particular guitar. In fact, he played many guitars over the years. It’s always been Dylan, not his instruments, that makes the difference.

But that manuscript.

That’s the artist at work. That’s the artist in the throes of the creative process.

On those pages we see the song take shape. Words crossed out and other words written in. The chorus forming before our eyes from page to page.

And those cryptic notes to the side of the lyrics. “Al Capone,” “On the Road,” “Pony Blues,” “Butcher Boy.”

From these pages and the ones for “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” we get the curtain pulled back a little on Dylan’s creative process.

And when one combines what’s on these pages, with what he reveals in “Chronicles: Volume One” and elsewhere, we do get a vague sense of the Dylan mind at work.

We’ll never get to the bottom of it, and it’s probably better that way, but still.

So Bob Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ lyrics are very different from the Newport guitar. They’re a time machine that takes us back to that day (s) when Bob Dylan put the ideas that were in his head down on hotel stationary, and created a timeless song, a song that, nearly 50 years after he wrote it, stands tall.

But what do you think?

Would you opt for the Newport guitar, or the “Like A Rolling Stone” manuscript pages?

Manuscript:

Bob Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ lyrics: The four pages went for half a million a page.

Or is there something else that you’d go for instead. If you had the money, and if you could afford to spend it in this way.

Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 singing “Like A Rolling Stone”:


Bob Dylan – Like a Rolling Stone (Live… by toma-uno

— A Days Of The Crazy-Wild blot post —

Bob Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ Manuscript Sells for $2 Million But Dylan’s Secrets Remain Secret

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The manuscript for Bob Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ (his first rock ‘n’ roll hit) sold today at auction for slightly over two million dollars — $2.045 mil to be exact — to a mystery buyer, according to Sotheby’s, the auction house that handled the transaction, but that buyer didn’t get a key to unlock the mysteries of the manuscript.

For instance, why did Dylan write “Al Capone” in the margin with a line from the gangster’s name to the word “direction” in the chorus?

“Al Capone” might have worked in terms of a rhyme, but it would make no sense in terms of what the song is about.

Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” sold for $485,000.

But back to Bob Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ manuscript:

There are various alternate phrases written on the manuscript that Dylan wisely rejected, but they don’t reveal much.

On the second page of the manuscript is a version of the chorus with “path unknown” as one of the lines.

At the top of page three is written: “How does it feel/ Behind the wheel.”

At the bottom of page three the chorus is again a work in progress:

How does it feel to be on your own
It feels real (dog-bone)
Does it feel real.”

Then he wrote “New direction home” but put a line through “new” and wrote “no” under it.

Then: “When the winds have (unreadable word that could be “flown”)
“Shut up and deal like a rolling stone
Raw deal
Get down and kneel.”

More interesting perhaps, Dylan has written names of songs and books on the pages, which may or may not relate to the song itself: “Pony Blues,” a song by Charley Patton; “Midnight Special” (and above it “Mavis”); “On the Road”; and “Butcher Boy,” which likely refers to “The Butcher Boy,” an old folk song that the Clancy Brothers recorded.

Other revisions.

There’s a mostly discarded verse that reads:

“You never listened to the man who could (illegible) jive and wail
Never believed ‘m when he told you he had love for sale
You said you’d never compromise/ now he looks into your eyes
and says do you want make a deal.”

And what ended up being the third verse reads like this in part:

“You never turned around
To see the frowns
On the jugglers and the clowns
When they all came down
And did tricks for you to shake the money tree.”

There’s a line drawn through that entire last line.

Two million bucks and change.

— A Days of the Crazy -Wild blog post —

Money Changes Everything Dept.: Which Artists Have Earned at Least a Billion from Touring?

Rolling Stones top the list. Photo via the Rolling Stones Facebook page.

A new report in Billboard lists artists who have earned at least a billion dollars from touring.

The list is of the 25 highest-grossing touring artists from 1990 through 2014. Here are the top five:

1. The Rolling Stones

Gross: $1,565,792,382

Attendance: 19,677,569

Shows: 538

2. U2

Gross: $1,514,979,793

Attendance: 20,536,168

Shows: 526

3. Bruce Springsteen

Gross: $1,196,116,507

Attendance: 15,010,773

Shows: 727

4. Madonna

Gross: $1,140,230,941

Attendance: 9,694,079

Shows: 382

5. Bon Jovi

Gross: $1,030,082,884

Attendance: 12,333,668

Shows: 578

Check out the whole list here.

In The News: Devo, Johnny Cash, Julian Casablancas, Neil Young, John Coltrane

Devo Redux: Devo will perform its experimental music from 1974-1977 on a North American tour this summer. The 10-date North American tour is dedicated to the memory of the late Robert “Bob 2″ Casale, whose family will get a portion of the proceeds. According to Bob 2’s brother Gerald, Gerald Casale, Bob 2 “had no will or insurance.” — Slicing Up Eyeballs

Dylan’s Bed Jumping: Bob Dylan jumped on Johnny Cash’s bed the first time they met, according to the account the singer gave to his son, John Carter Cash which he commented about in a Reddit Q&A. Johnny Cash met Dylan in a New York City hotel room in the early Sixties. Although they had exchanged letters, upon finally meeting one another, “Dylan rushed into his room, jumped on the bed and began bouncing up and down chanting, ‘I met Johnny Cash, I met Johnny Cash.'” Although they fell out of touch as time went by, they remained friends. — Rolling Stone

Break the Code?: Fans think they’ve discovered the release date for ç upcoming album in a teaser video released this week. The date? May 26, 2014. Time will tell. — NME

Check out the video for yourself:

Gimme Money!: Neil Young’s PonoMusic Kickstarter campaign has now passed the $5 million mark. As of Saturday, March 29, 2014 14,808 people had contributed $5,006,618.

A Love Supreme: Six rolls of undeveloped film shot by Chuck Stewart during sessions for John Coltrane’s transcendent album, A Love Supreme, were found by his son. Check out a few of the photos at the NPR website. — NPR

-– A Days of the Crazy-Wild blog post: sounds, visuals and/or news –

Watch: David Byrne & Friends Cover Biz Markie’s ‘Just a Friend’

David Byrne, Mike Mills formerly of R.E.M, Cake’s John McCrea, Tift Merritt, and Marc Ribot performed at NYC’s Le Poisson Rouge Tuesday evening. The concert supported Content Creators Coalition-NYC, a group currently petitioning congress for pay-for-play radio royalties for artists, Consequence Of Sound reported.

As it stands now, when a recording is played on the radio, the composer is paid a royalty but not the recording artist (unless they happen to be the composer.)

Byrne covered “Just a Friend” by Biz Markie to make a point.

“Mr. Markie didn’t write that tune (although he did probably write the rap),” Byrne wrote in his e-newsletter. “The drum and keyboard loop was lifted from a Freddie Scott recording, but the song was written by Gamble and Huff, the great songwriting team that wrote for The O’Jays and The Spinners. So chances are Biz Markie didn’t see any royalties from all the radio play that song got.”

-– A Days of the Crazy-Wild blog post: sounds, visuals and/or news –-

Video: Bob Dylan’s ‘I Want You’ Not a Fit with Chobani Yogurt Ad; Plus Chrysler Ad

Image from ad.

The use of Bob Dylan’s “I Want You” in this Chobani yogurt commercial makes no sense.

It’s so random, which maybe is why Dylan agreed to it.

It’s as if the radio is on and “I Want You” just happens to be playing.

I’ve always dug the song.

Here’s the Chrysler ad:

-– A Days of the Crazy-Wild blog post: sounds, visuals and/or news –-

Video: Neil Young Performs ‘Mother Earth’ – ‘a little hymn for Canadians, and for Canada’

This is knock-out gorgeous and heartbreaking.

Neil Young, “Mother Earth” from “Honour The Treaties” tour, Calgary, Jan 20, 2014:

-– A Days of the Crazy-Wild blog post: sounds, visuals and/or news –-

Unheard Tom Waits’ Demo Sells for at least $4000

A demo tape that the owner claims is Tom Waits’ first recordings was sold at Recordmecca today for at least $4000.

The seven-song tape includes one that Tom Waits never rerecorded or released, “Tornado In My Soul.”

Here’s the info that was posted at Recordmecca:

An unreleased and undocumented 1971 Tom Waits demo tape, including the never recorded song “Tornado In My Soul.” This tape came from the collection of Waits’ first manager, Herb Cohen, with “Tom Waits Demos Tape 1″ on a card taped to the box front, and song titles in an unknown hand. The back of the box has crossed out song titles of tracks by the Michigan band The Litter.

The seven demos include the completely unknown song “Tornado In My Soul” and unreleased, alternate demo versions of tracks that appear on Waits’ debut Closing Time and The Early Years and The Early Years Vol. 2 cd‘s. The tracks are:

1. Pancho’s Lament – Unreleased version with spoken introduction, different lyric from The Early Years.

2. My Old 55 – Unreleased version with spoken introduction, piano backing instead of the guitar on The Early Years.

3. Tornado In My Soul – Unreleased and undocumented song.

4. Rockin’ Chair – Unreleased version with spoken and sung introduction and different lyric to The Early Years.

5. Virginia Avenue – Unreleased version with different lyric to The Early Years.

6. Rosie – Never released as a demo and different to Closing Time version.

7. Mockin’ Bird – Unreleased spoken introduction, similar to version on The Early Years Vol. 2 but possibly a different take.

To our knowledge, this tape is completely uncirculated and previously unknown. A truly unique and historic artifact from the earliest days of Waits’ recording career.

A professional digital transfer of the tape is included. Note: We are selling this as an artifact only, and no rights to release or duplicate this tape are included nor implied.

-– A Days of the Crazy-Wild blog post: sounds, visuals and/or news –-

Listen: Rare Beatles 1963 Recordings For Sale at iTunes, Hear Excerpts

A 59-track collection of previously unreleased but bootlegged recordings, The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963, is currently for sale at iTunes today for $40.

A BBC news report explains: “The 2-disc set was apparently released, then removed, early on Tuesday, causing speculation it was only being published briefly to extend the copyright period.”

In Europe, in order for copyright of recordings to be extended past 50 years, the recordings have to be made available to the public. This accounts for two sets of Bob Dylan recordings, one from 1962 and one from 1963, that have been released in very limited quantities by Columbia Records during the past two years. And for the availability of the Beatles’ recordings.

However, the set is currently available. I just purchased and downloaded the recordings from iTunes.

Listen to 30-second excerpts here, where you can also currently buy them.

The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963 Tracklist:

01. There’s A Place – Takes 5, 6 (2:19)
02. There’s A Place – Take 8 (1:58)
03. There’s A Place – Take 9 (2:04)
04. Do You Want To Known A Secret – Track 2, Take 7 (2:17)
05. A Taste Of Honey – Track 2, Take 6 (2:12)
06. I Saw Her Standing There – Take 2 (3:07)
07. Misery – Take 1 (1:54)
08. Misery – Take 7 (1:56)
09. From Me To You – Take 1 & 2 (3:24)
10. From Me To You – Take 5 (2:17)
11. Thank You Girl – Take 1 (2:09)
12. Thank You Girl – Take 5 (2:04)
13. One After 909 – Take 1 & 2 (4:29)
14. Hold Me Tight – Take 21 (2:42)
15. Money (That’s What I Want) – RM 7 Undubbed (2:48)
16. Some Other Guy – Live At BBC For “Saturday Club” / 26th January, 1963 (2:02)
17. Love Me Do – Live At BBC For “Saturday Club” / 26th January, 1963 (2:31)
18. Too Much Monkey Business – Live At BBC For “Saturday Club” / 26th January, 1963 (1:50)
19. I Saw Her Standing There – Live At BBC For “Saturday Club” / 16th March, 1963 (2:38)
20. Do You Want To Know A Secret – Live At BBC For “Saturday Club” / 26th January, 1963 (1:50)
21. From Me To You – Live At BBC For “Saturday Club” / 26th January, 1963 (1:54)
22. I Got To Find My Baby – Live At BBC For “Saturday Club” / 26th January, 1963 (1:59)
23. Roll Over Beethoven – Live At BBC For “Saturday Club” / 29th June, 1963 (2:29)
24. A Taste Of Honey – Live At BBC For “Easy Beat” / 23rd June, 1963 (2:01)
25. Love Me Do – Live At BBC For “Easy Beat” / 20th October, 1963 (2:29)
26. Please Please Me – Live At BBC For “Easy Beat” / 20th October, 1963 (2:08)
27. She Loves You – Live At BBC For “Easy Beat” / 20th October, 1963 (2:29)
28. I Want To Hold Your Hand – Live At BBC For “Saturday Club” / 21st December, 1963 (2:19)
29. Till There Was You – Live At BBC For “Saturday Club” / 21st December, 1963 (2:16)
30. Roll Over Beethoveen – Live At BBC For “Saturday Club” / 21st December, 1963 (2:16)
31. You Really Got A Hold On Me – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 4th June, 1963 (2:54)
32. The Hippy Hippy Shake – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 4th June, 1963 (1:43)
33. Till There Was You – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” /11th June, 1963 (2:14)
34. A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 18th June, 1963 (2:06)
35. A Taste Of Honey – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 18th June, 1963 (1:56)
36. Money (That’s What I Want) – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 18th June, 1963 (2:41)
37. Anna – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 25th June, 1963 (3:02)
38. Love Me Do – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 10th September, 1963 (2:29)
39. She Loves You – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 24th September, 1963 (2:16)
40. I’ll Get You – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 10th September, 1963 (2:05)
41. A Taste Of Honey – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 10th September, 1963 (2:00)
42. Boys – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 17th September, 1963 (2:12)
43. Chains – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 17th September, 1963 (2:22)
44. You Really Got A Hold On Me – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 17th September, 1963 (2:57)
45. I Saw Her Standing There – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 24th September, 1963 (2:41)
46. She Loves You – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 10th September, 1963 (2:15)
47. Twist And Shout – Live At BBC For “Pop Go The Beatles” / 24th September, 1963 (2:36)
48. Do You Want To Know A Secret – Live At BBC For “Here We Go” / 12th March, 1963 (1:55)
49. Please Please Me – Live At BBC For “Here We Go” / 12th March, 1963 (1:57)
50. Long Tall Sally – Live At BBC For “Side By Side” / 13th May, 1963 (1:49)
51. Chains – Live At BBC For “Side By Side” / 13th May, 1963 (2:23)
52. Boys – Live At BBC For “Side By Side” / 13th May, 1963 (1:53)
53. A Taste Of Honey – Live At BBC For “Side By Side” / 13th May, 1963 (2:04)
54. Roll Over Beethoven – Live At BBC For “From Us To You” / 26th December, 1963 (2:17)
55. All My Loving – Live At BBC For “From Us To You” / 26th December, 1963 (2:06)
56. She Loves You – Live At BBC For “From Us To You” / 26th December, 1963 (2:21)
57. Till There Was You – Live At BBC For “From Us To You” / 26th December, 1963 (2:12)
58. Bad To Me – Demo (1:29)
59. I’m In Love – Demo (1:32)

-– A Days of the Crazy-Wild blog post: sounds, visuals and/or news –-

Who Knew? Dept.: Keith Richards… Painter?

Photo via The New Zealand Herald.

A painting made by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has surfaced in New Zealand, according to a report in The New Zealand Herald.

Richards painted it at a bed and breakfast while recuperating from an injury sustained in 2006 after falling out of a tree in Fiji. The paper says experts believe the painting to be worth several hundred thousand dollars.

He gave the painting to Gloria Poupard-Walbridge, owner of Cotter House, as a gift when he was leaving.

The painting — watercolor and pastels — has been in a drawer beneath some linen for the past seven years. Richards signed the painting with a thick black marker, and Poupard-Walbridge says that ruined it.

“It was a pretty good picture until he signed it with a felt pen and stuffed it up,” she told The New Zealand Herald.

News of the painting came to light after the Stones announced they would play a show at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday April 5, 2014.

The New Zealand Herald describes the painting like this: “Painted over several days on a $3.95 canvas and a small table easel, the delicate pastel and watercolour depicts a water scene at sunset, with a steamship at full throttle. Seagulls soar above the ship, the smoke effect created by careful artistic smudging.”

No skull and crossbones, Keith?

-– A Days of the Crazy-Wild blog post: sounds, visuals and/or news –-