Författare Ämne: Två tidigare ocirkulerade versioner från 1963  (läst 607 gånger)

Utloggad Anders S

  • Global Moderator
  • Precious Angel
  • *****
  • Antal inlägg: 4582
    • Visa profil
    • E-post
Två tidigare ocirkulerade versioner från 1963
« skrivet: 16 februari, 2021, 22:40:38 »

Två tidigare ocirkulerade versioner av When The Ship Comes In & The Times They Are A-Changin', troligen från sommar/höst 1963, har dykt upp  :party:

https://soundcloud.com/bobg1960

Skulle kunna vara från Broadside Collection, 1962-1991, som arkiveras i  Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library.

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20289/9520    
Bob Dylan. Unidentified artist. Dubs.

Side 1.1. Audio letter to Pete Seeger. Unidentified speaker.

Side 1.2. "The Times they are a Changin',"  Bob Dylan. Dub.

Side 1.3. "When the Ship comes In,"  Bob Dylan. Dub.

Agnes (Sis) Cunningham, musician and magazine publisher of New York, N.Y., founded Broadside, a magazine devoted to topical songs, with her husband, Gordon Friesen, in the early 1960s. They recorded and published many of the leading folksingers of the folk revival. The collection contains materials from the Broadside offices. Sound recordings include open reel tapes and audio cassettes, many of which were used to transcribe topical folk songs for publication in Broadside. Additional recordings include demo tapes, live concert performances, and interviews, which were sent to the Broadside offices by friends, folk singers, and subscribers. The work of numerous performers is included (many of the most significant are listed in the online catalog terms below). Documentation materials include a log of the Broadside tapes, correspondence, and tape notes. The Broadside tape log is a list of the tapes in their original order. Correspondence and tape notes consist of materials included in the original tape boxes. Correspondence includes personal letters to Cunningham and Friesen from friends and contributors. Tape notes contain track listings of songs, dates of performances, and names of performers. 

My research concludes that it is the tape made by Sis Cunningham at her home in late August/early September 1963.

Sis Cunningham was the publisher of Broadside Magazine. Bob visited her around the time he made demos of the same two songs for Witmark. She recorded this tape to enable her to transcribe the songs for publishing in Broadside. It is not clear whether Suze accompanied Bob on the visit so the female voice could be Sis or it could be Suze; it's very unlikely to be Joan, although Bob did stay with Joan at her home in Carmel very shortly after this event.

When "The Times They Are A Changin'" was published in Broadside #39, dated February 7th 1964, it contained the about face line "Don't block up the doorways, don't stand in the halls", exactly as sung on this tape. Here is an image of the publication.


Greetings, everyone!

Here is the story behind this tape. About 19 years ago, I was doing some research for an ongoing project about Bob Dylan, Broadside Magazine, Phil Ochs, Pat Sky and the whole early-60s Village milieu. I’ve been a music reviewer for a suburban daily newspaper, where I interviewed folks like Frank Zappa, a recording engineer, where I got to work on a Ramblin’ Jack record, and a performing songwriter. And of course a fan of Bob’s, though I’ve only seen him perform once.

I’m fascinated by the power of social realist music to effect change, and I feel a song like "The Times They Are A-Changin’" really did change the world, for the better. My hero and dear friend Guy Carawan, who co-wrote “We Shall Overcome,” and who’s daughter connected me with my wife, proved words of action melded with the right melody and beat can move mountains.

In the course of my research, I discovered the newly-processed Broadside Collection at the Southern Folklife Collection in North Carolina. It is a truly amazing archive, and contains most of the tapes that Sis Cunningham and Gordon Freisen used to transcribe the music for publication in Broadside Magazine. These tapes often captured the first recordings of songs that became folk standards, and of artists who became household names. They all traipsed through the Broadside apartment and laid down their latest, or sat for an interview with Sis or Gordon, with the sound of squawking birds offering accompaniment.

Back then, the rules were not as strict as to who was able to access the Collection. These days, access is much more limited, and you have to be present on campus to even hear most of the tapes. I managed to acquire digital copies of much of the collection, and it was actually my interest and initiative, and money, that first got the collection digitized.

One of the features of the Broadside Collection is a series of tapes of Pete Seeger talking, or others talking to Pete Seeger, essentially audio letters. Apparently, Pete, who supplied the Revere tape deck used in the Broadside apartment, hired Sis to transcribe correspondence for him, so these tapes ended up getting mixed in with all the Broadside material.

Congrats, Pol2gem for your excellent research. You nailed it and found the tape, FT20289 / 9520. Great work!

The main thing about the curation of the tape that has led to its remaining hidden in plain sight for so long, is that when this particular Finding Aid lists something as a “Dub” it almost always means it was copied it from a record, or a known tape, which likely discouraged researchers from pursuing it further. All the other Bob material labelled “Dub” is such already known material. Believe me, I’ve checked, though there is always the possibility I’ve missed something. Also, labeling it “Unidentified speaker” made it seem trivial.

It took me years to figure out who the “Unidentified speaker” is, but I finally realized it is Theo Bikel. This morning I have posted the last missing piece of the puzzle, Theo’s audio letter to Pete Seeger, who was currently on his World Tour. Theo recorded the songs to send to Pete, because he thought “the songs are so good, Pete might want to perform them on the road.”

I agree with Pol2gem that Sis likely used this tape to transcribe the two songs for Broadside Magazine, for the reasons he states, and also there are no other recordings of these two songs in the collection. Also “the slowest one” is the printed Broadside lyric for “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”

You have now heard the entire tape. I have done a slight bit of audio restoration, to correct the levels in a couple of spots, and cut out irrelevant noises, but otherwise it is untouched, and just as Theo recorded it, pretty nicely, I might add.

Well, that is the story of this historic find. It has been fun revealing it! It would be great to hear from Bob, to see if he remembers that particular evening, and could perhaps identify the woman and location. I hope this tape works its way to him some how.

As for me, I’m still working on my long-term project, but have lately been suffering some serious health issues, which inspired me to get this tape out there, lest I don’t make it, and the tape never gets discovered. This tape is too important to stay masked and anonymous!

Thank you everyone. Happy Valentine’s Day! I love you all.

Cheers

BobG

 :d2: :party:
I'm looking for a place that's going to animal my soul,
knit my return, bathe my foot, and collect my dog.
Commission me to sell my animal to the bird to clip
and buy my bath and return me back to the cigarette!