Jerry Jeff Walker / 5:35
Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar
Al Kooper: organ
Charlie Daniels: bass
Russ Kunkel: drums
Hilda Harris, Albertine Robinson, and Maeretha Stewart: backup vocals
Recording Studio
Columbia Recording Studios / Studio E, New York: June 2, 1970
Technical Team
Producer: Bob Johnston
Sound Engineers: Don Puluse and Ted Brosnan
“Mr. Bojangles” was written and recorded by American country-and-western singer and songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker. He wrote the song in memory of a curious character he met in a New Orleans jail who called himself “Mr. Bojangles.” Even if the name is pure fantasy, Walker was inspired to write the song after an encounter with an unparalleled street performer, a master tap dancer. The song does not refer to the famous African-American actor and movie star Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. Indeed, Jerry Jeff Walker describes his encounter with Mr. Bojangles, and the life of the man as, “Silver hair, ragged shirt and baggy pants, that old soft shoe / He’d jump so high, he’d jump so high, then he lightly touched down.”
Walker’s tale attracted a large number of artists. “Mr. Bojangles” was covered by J. J. Cale, Garth Brooks, Neil Diamond, and Nina Simone, not to mention the US country music band the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, whose version reached number 9 on the US Billboard chart and number 2 on the Canadian RPM chart in 1971. A few months earlier, Dylan had also recorded a gorgeous version of “Mr. Bojangles” in six takes on June 2, 1970. The last take was selected for Dylan. The version carries the folk spirit of the songwriter, who performs the ballad with feeling. With a little more work, it could have found its place on Self Portrait. The backup vocals and Al Kooper’s organ part bring a gospel touch. Dylan only played guitar.
Traditional / Arrangement Bob Dylan / 2:44
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; David Bromberg: guitar; Ron Cornelius: guitar; Al Kooper: organ; Charlie Daniels: bass; Russ Kunkel: drums; Hilda Harris, Albertine Robinson, and Maeretha Stewart: backup vocals / Recording Studio: Columbia Recording Studios / Studio E, New York: June 1 and 2, 1970 / Producer: Bob Johnston / Sound Engineers: Don Puluse and Ted Brosnan
This new traditional song by Bob Dylan evokes an important theme for the songwriter since the early 1960s and his breakup with Suze Rotolo: farewell to the beloved, in this case a young sailor who goes ten thousand miles from home. In this respect, “Mary Ann” is reminiscent of “Farewell,” recorded for Witmark (The Bootleg Series Volume 9). To some extent, it is also similar to “Girl from the North Country” (The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan) and “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” ([att1]Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II).
Dylan liked “Mary Ann” and devoted no less than seven takes on June 1 and nine takes the following day to the song. Al Kooper made his own mix in July in order to eventually incorporate the title onto the album New Morning. This is quite surprising, because the version offered on this record (the seventh take of June 2) is not very successful. The whole piece is poor, the gospel chorus offers nothing, and Dylan sings without conviction. “Mary Ann” is far from a memorable song.
Joni Mitchell / 2:16
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Al Kooper: organ; Charlie Daniels: bass; Russ Kunkel: congas; Hilda Harris, Albertine Robinson, and Maeretha Stewart: backup vocals / Recording Studio: Columbia Recording Studios / Studio E, New York: June 4, 1970 / Producer: Bob Johnston / Sound Engineer: Don Puluse
Joni Mitchell says, “I wrote ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ on my first trip to Hawaii. I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart… this blight on paradise. That’s when I sat down and wrote the song.”
“Big Yellow Taxi,” released on Mitchell’s monumental album Ladies of the Canyon (1970), is one of the first manifestos of the “Woodstock Nation” in favor of ecology. The tune was a major hit in Mitchell’s native Canada, reaching number 14, number 11 in the United Kingdom, and peaking at number 6 in Australia. The song has a personal character. The “big yellow taxi” is a reference to the taxis of Toronto, where the Canadian singer made her debut, and it symbolizes a departure (her father?) or a breakup (husband? lover?). Dylan took the liberty of changing “big yellow taxi” to “big yellow bulldozer.”
Dylan’s version is not far from Joni Mitchell’s: similar acoustic atmosphere, similar percussion, similar backup vocals. Only Al Kooper’s organ part keeps some distance from the original. Dylan’s vocal contrasts with the angelic tone of the Canadian soprano. The master take results from the fifth and sixth takes recorded on June 4, 1970.
Bill Trader / 2:41
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Charlie Daniels: guitar; Norman Blake: guitar; Fred Carter Jr.: guitar; Pete Drake: pedal steel guitar; Bob Wilson: piano; Charlie McCoy: bass; Kenny Buttrey: drums; June Page, Dolores Edgin, Carol Montgomery, Millie Kirkham, and Dottie Dillard (?): backup vocals / Recording Studio: Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville: April 26, 1969 Producer: Bob Johnston / Sound Engineer: Neil Wilburn
A popular song written by Bill Trader, “(Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I” was a major success for the pioneer of country music, Hank Snow. The tune peaked at number 4 on the country charts in early 1953. This love song tells the old story of an abandoned lover who proclaims his love until the last day of his life. The song was covered by many artists, including Elvis Presley, who released it on the B-side of “I Need Your Love Tonight,” peaking at number 1 in the United Kingdom and number 2 in the United States in 1959.
During the sessions for Self Portrait on April 26, 1969, in Nashville, Dylan and his band recorded a rhythm ’n’ blues adaptation of the song (in one take) that was lighter and bouncier than the King’s shuffling version. While Dylan’s version is serviceable, it lacks some magic. Although excluded from Self Portrait, the song found its place on Dylan. Yet it had already been recorded with the Band during The Basement Tapes sessions of 1967. Columbia released the song as a single with “Lily of the West” on the B-side in 1973, but it was not a big hit, reaching only number 55 on the US charts.
Traditional / Arrangement Bob Dylan / 4:17
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Charlie Daniels: guitar; Norman Blake: guitar; Fred Carter Jr.: guitar; Peter Drake: pedal steel guitar; Bob Wilson: piano; Charlie McCoy: bass; Kenny Buttrey: percussion; (?): xylophone; June Page, Dolores Edgin, Carol Montgomery, Millie Kirkham, and Dottie Dillard (?): backup vocals Recording Studio: Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville: April 24, 1969 / Producer: Bob Johnston / Sound Engineer: Neil Wilburn
Dylan here is in his crooner period; guitar, mandolin, syrupy vocals, xylophone—nothing is spared. However, ignore this version, recorded in Nashville on April 24, 1969, in seven takes (the last being the best), and listen instead to the take from June 2, 1970, where Dylan, playing piano, transcends himself.