Typed transcript of Bob Dylan's interview with Tony Glover on March 24, 1971, thirteen pages, 8.5 x 11, extensively annotated in blue felt tip by Dylan: on every page, Dylan strikes through passages and pens new thoughts as he revises his own story. The upper right corner is annotated in black felt tip by Tony Glover, "BD, Dylan Corrected, 1st Correction." Also includes an original, uncorrected copy of the transcript.
Among the topics discussed here are Dylan's albums John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline, his marriage, musical collaborations, the idea of selling out, the process of songwriting, and reading and writing. Often, the changes Dylan makes reveal his personality and sense of humor—straightforward replies are transformed into quippy questions, while some passages are deleted entirely.
On the idea that he kept his marriage a secret, he strikes through his initial response ("I didn't keep it a secret, I just didn't find it—I just didn't think anybody needed to know that") and writes, "My wife knew." Denying that his collaboration with Johnny Cash meant that he had adopted a right-wing ideology, he ponders: "What if I'd have played with Howling Wolf? Nobody would have thought twice about that." Riffing on the idea of lyrical truth, he playfully asks: "Do you think Johnny Cash shot a man in Reno? Would Paul Simon throw himself down over a troubled Hudson river and let someone use him for a bridge?"
Clearly displeased when the subject turns to money and 'ripping off the youth culture,' Dylan deletes his original responses, re-writes several lines, then strikes those through as well. He settles on a firm denial: "There is no youth culture. It's a term made up by the media and supported by the system." The focus turns to literary efforts, and Dylan talks reading and writing: he found Kerouac's On the Road forgettable, but enjoyed The Slave by Isaac Bashevis Singer—"I must have thought about that for months afterwards." He also digs B. Traven, Norman Mailer, and Kenneth Patchen. In fine condition.
The inclusion of the uncorrected transcript allows one to ponder the changes Dylan makes throughout the interview, juxtaposing his original candid answers with his revised thoughts on several subjects. In many cases, these deletions and changes are as telling as his responses, and offer key insight into Dylan's thought process as he crafts his public persona.
From the Tony Glover Collection.
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