The Bob Dylan Center teased the newly acquired collection of early Dylan recordings by releasing a previously unreleased live version of “He Was a Friend of Mine.”
The performance comes from Dylan’s first major solo gig, Nov. 4, 1961 at Carnegie Chapter Hall in New York City. Izzy Young, the owner of Greenwich Village’s Folklore Center, organized the gig, which took place shortly after Dylan signed his Columbia record deal.
The reproduction of “He Was a Friend of Mine” Dylan performed at that Carnegie Chapter Hall show boasts a slightly different arrangement from the version he would record while making his 1962 self-titled debut (the song was bootlegged, but not officially released until it appeared on volume one of Dylan’s Bootleg SeriesIssued in 1991.
The complete Carnegie Chapter Hall concert tape — which boasts seven songs — was one of several new recordings acquired by the Bob Dylan Center, all of which offer new glimpses of the artist as a young man.
There’s also “The Madison Tapes,”Two open-reel audio tapes were recorded at Danny Kalb’s apartment in Madison, Wisconsin in the winter 1960 and 1961. The first tape shows Dylan as a 19-year-old performing over 20 songs (including some by Woody Guthrie), Jimmie Rodgers and Pete Seeger). The second reel, the “open-reel audio tape”, is Dylan’s second reel. “Madison Party Tape,”Features Dylan and friends performing folk music at a social event.
“The Bailey Tapes,”These tapes include more than a half-dozen open reel tapes that Mell Bailey and Lillian Bailey recorded in New York City between 1961-1962. They are key figures in Greenwich’s Greenwich folk scene. These tapes contain some of the earliest Dylan songs ever recorded. “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” “Oxford Town.”
The Bob Dylan Center also purchased a 4,200-piece collection, including LPs, journals, and pamphlets, from Harry Smith, the legendary folk figurehead. This collection was acquired in addition to the new tape acquisitions. The Anthology of American Folk Music This album was an important one for folk revivalists, such as Dylan. The Harry Smith Library acquisition contains a wide range of literature covering music, art, folklore, astrology and religion. While the album collection includes a broad range of genres, the Harry Smith Library acquisition also includes literature on music, art, and folklore.
These acquisitions are coming as the Bob Dylan Center is about to open its doors in Tulsa (Oklahoma) on May 10, 2022.