Bob Dylan / 3:15
Musicians
Bob Dylan: guitar (?), harmonica
Charlie Daniels: guitar
Norman Blake: guitar
Pete Drake: pedal steel guitar
Bob Wilson: piano (?)
Hargus Robbins: piano (?)
Charlie McCoy: bass
Kenneth Buttrey: drums
Recording Studio
Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville: February 17, 1969
Technical Team
Producer: Bob Johnston
Sound Engineers: Charlie Bragg and Neil Wilburn
“Nashville Skyline Rag” was the first instrumental to come out on an official Dylan record. In fact, it was the second one he recorded, the first during the sessions for The Times They Are A-Changin’ in October 1963, with “Suze (The Cough Song),” which resurfaced in 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3. Placed as the second track of the album, this piece sounds like the true introduction to Nashville Skyline. Bob Dylan, as the master of ceremonies, introduces his musicians in a series of joyful and rhythmic presentations: Pete Drake, Charlie Daniels, Norman Blake, and Bob Wilson (or Hargus Robbins) did solo after solo, supported by the rhythm section made up of Charlie McCoy (bass) and Kenneth Buttrey (drums).
As its title indicates, “Nashville Skyline Rag” was a ragtime piece, a genre that was created in the 1880s as a blend of the polyrhythms of African styles and European classical music, especially Chopin’s mazurkas and Mozart’s minuets. It fit into the bluegrass tradition, a variation of country music that borrowed as much from blues as from Anglo-Saxon ballads.
Dylan could not have pleased country musicians more than by providing them with “Nashville Skyline Rag.” This piece with bluegrass flavor made it possible for each one of them to play a solo in the purest tradition of this style. Right from the intro, Dylan expresses himself on his harmonica. He seems to be accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. Then the excellent Pete Drake leaps forward, much more comfortable with his pedal steel guitar than on “Down Along the Cove” on John Wesley Harding. Then Charlie Daniels and Norman Blake follow suit on guitar and dobro, though it is impossible to tell who is playing what. Bob Wilson, or more likely Hargus “Pig” Robbins, comes next with a feverish piano chorus (although he was not credited on the record, his name appeared on the studio sheets, and his style was similar to the piece). Finally, Dylan concludes this series of brilliant solos with a new part on harmonica. If his goal was to tell listeners that the album would be country, he succeeded. As with most of the recordings for Nashville Skyline, the number of takes remains undetermined because of lack of documentation.