QUOTES ABOUT BOB DYLAN:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ Joan Baez, songwriter of some note: "I heard about Bob Dylan before I heard him. Somebody invited me to Gerde's Folk City in 1961, and that was the first I heard him sing. He knocked me flat. Everything everyone said [about him] was right. I thought he was brilliant, amazing, a scuff ball." [A scuff ball?]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~Bono of U2: "I think he is a very tenacious character. I think underneath all the so-called eccentricity, which I think is just a mask, there's a very true person. He's a good father --- I've seen him with his children --- with a moral compass, and who can get lost at sea like everybody. But I think he's very strong." --- quoted in "The Day the Pope Stole My Shades," interview with Michka Assayas in The Sunday Times (London), May 29, 2005.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~Johnny Cash, the Man In Black: "I love Bob Dylan, I really do. I love his early work, I love the first time he plugged in electrically, I love his Christian albums, I love his other albums." --- quoted in: Musician, May 1988 (reprinted February, 1997).~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~Rodney Crowell, country songwriter: "I'm an intense Dylan fan... I think [Infidels is] one of the most remarkably written albums I've ever heard. And I thought that Desire was a brilliant album too. A song like 'I And I:' 'I took an untrodden path once where I dare not stumble or set foot...' [sic!] The language in that record is brilliant, it's beautiful. That song with 'sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace...' That's really inspired writing. ...I'm kind of rabid about that one [Infidels]. --- quoted in "Diamonds And Dirt," Songwriters On Songwriting, ed. Paul Zollo, 1991.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~DMC (Darryl McDaniels) of Run-DMC: "I always wanted to do in rap what Bob Dylan did for rock, when he picked up the electric guitar and everybody booed him, and yet he just played on, and he broke down that barrier." "I sat there and listened to Dylan and said he's like me. He don't care --- he's writing what he feels and needs to be said." --- quoted in: Listen To This! Leading Musicians Recommend Their Favorite Artists And Recordings, by Alan Reder and John Baxter, Hyperion, 1999.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~Donovan: [After mentioning the accusations of "ripping off" Dylan and being irritated with Dylan comparisons in general, Donovan tells this anecdote:] "I remember arriving, and Bobby Neuwirth, Dylan's roadie at the time, quietly bringing me into Dylan's suite... I went into a little television room, creeped in and shut the door. It was dark in there. Dylan was just a shadow. He was looking at the ice skating championships from Austria on television in a darkened room. He didn't say anything. We just sat down. Neither asked the other a question. There was nothing to say, nothing to ask. Slowly my eyes got accustomed to the dark, and I realized there were other figures in the room sitting on the couch. Slowly the figures became more real. It was John, Paul, George, and Ringo. I must say I felt a little out of my depth."~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits: [On his voice sounding like Dylan's:] "Yeah, well, it would. I'm not really a singing singer. You're not looking at Dolly Parton here. I listened to Dylan avidly from eleven years old on... [The similarity] just came out naturally that way. But probably, because he's so ingrained in the consciousness, that style, that you can't help but sound that way part of the time. But I was never conscious of trying to be someone else all the time." --- quoted in "Private Investigations," Songwriters On Songwriting, ed. Paul Zollo, 1991.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead: "His delivery is so unique, and I don't think any of the guys in the band ever tried to imitate him --- that would be impossible --- but surely the way his songs scan, their rythym and their meter [affected us]." --- quoted in: Listen To This! Leading Musicians Recommend Their Favorite Artists And Recordings, by Alan Reder and John Baxter, Hyperion, 1999.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~Dave Matthews of the Dave Matthews Band (of course!): [Asked to name his favorites.] "It wouldn't be fair if I didn't name every Dylan record. It almost makes me furious sometimes, how good his lyrics are. You know, you aspire to things. I'm trying and trying [to write a song], and I'll get something and I'll say, 'That's pretty good,' and then I'll listen to Blood On the Tracks and think 'Who the hell am I kidding? What the hell am I talking about?' 'Come in, she said / I'll give you / shelter from the storm.' Asshole!" --- quoted in: Listen To This! Leading Musicians Recommend Their Favorite Artists And Recordings, by Alan Reder and John Baxter, Hyperion, 1999.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ Roger McGuinn of the Byrds: "The first time I heard [Dylan] was in Greenwich Village at Folk City. He had just come to new York from the West Coast. He had only a couple of songs that he had written himself. Mostly he was doing Woodie Guthrie songs. I remember the little girls used to like him a lot. They'd kind of squeal when he got on stage and get all excited. I didn't have any idea that he'd get as big as he did. But he was really good."[On the Byrds recording "Mr. Tambourine Man:"] "...I didn't think it was commercial. I thought it was soft and ballad-like; it didn't have any punch to it. But we punched it up." --- quoted in "Flying With the Byrds," Songwriters On Songwriting, ed. Paul Zollo, 1991.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~John (Cougar) Mellencamp: "If Woody Guthrie set the bar for American songwriters, Bob Dylan jumped right over it. No one I know will ever come close to possessing the beauty of melody and the use of language that Dylan shares with us, with ease. I once asked Bob... 'Tell me how you did it. I mean, how did you write all those beautiful songs?' His response, so vague and so poignant, was nothing short of remarkable: 'I don't know what you're talking about. I've only ever written four songs in my whole life, but I've written those four songs a million times.'"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~Van Morrison, The Man Himself, songwriter supreme: "But there's still some people I admire and listen to who can't be ignored. You were talking about poetry. Dylan is the greatest living poet... Dylan's not pop. No way. We're definitely connected on various levels. It was interesting because I'd stopped thinking about the whole music business, making albums. I was quite fed up with it. Then I saw him recently and I thought, 'Well, here's somebody who's still doing it and he's good.' It sort of gave me a kick in the ass. "~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nobody puts Bob in the corner !]