YOUNGER THAN WHAT?

I don't remember what I was listening to in 1992, but I know I wasn't listening to newer Bob Dylan stuff. When it comes to artists with long careers, I tend to listen to their classic material and maybe dabble in some of their newer stuff. There was a Dylan LP that came out in 1992 that I know I was cognizant of (I recognize the LP cover) but I never even looked into. It was a live recording of his 30th anniversary concert (30th annniversary of his recording career) held at Madison Square Garden. I'm not usually into all star events, but after seeing a clip on YouTube, when I looked deeper I was blown away by the amount of artists involved.

The clip was just one song, "My Back Pages" and it featured Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, George Harrison and Eric Clapton. I was first taken aback seeing Neil Young and Tom Petty sharing a mic doing background vocals. It hit me that it might have been the first and last time those two ever shared a stage. That in itself made me stop and think about the collective history of the musicians on that song. Between just the featured artists on that one song, their past history (sometimes shared) includes Bob Dylan (solo), Traveling Wilburys, the Byrds, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Neil Young (solo/Crazy Horse), Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, George Harrison (solo), the Beatles, Eric Clapton (solo), Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, and Derek and the Dominos. Then I realized that Steve Cropper was there so the other MGs could have been as well.

 

 

I went to Wikipedia to see if I could find a listing for everybody that played on that night. I figured that there was no way that all of the artists on that particular song were on stage for the entire show. When I saw the listing I realized that I may have to pony up and get the DVD or the album. Among the participants on other songs not listed above were Willie Nelson, Lou Reed, Johnny Winter, the O'Jays, Johnny Cash, the Band, Al Kooper (who played the rolling organ intro on the studio version of "Like a Rolling Stone"), Richie Havens, Chrissie Hynde, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Wood and Stevie Wonder. That's less than a third of the participants. Think about the collective history of that mob. Oh, and the backing band was Booker T and the MGs, responsible for backing a zillion Stax classics along with their own. If that venue had burned down that night, it would be the Shit Week to end all Shit Weeks.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Bob Dylan - My Back Pages mp3 at Tumblr 1964

Videos:

Search YouTube, there's a  bunch

Visit:

The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration  roster at Wikipedia