Mr. Tambourine Man Dies, 78 – IOTW Report

Mr. Tambourine Man Dies, 78

The man who inspired the lyrics to Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man, Bruce Langhorne, has died.

The legend is Langhorne showed up for a session with a large drum with bells on it.

25 Comments on Mr. Tambourine Man Dies, 78

  1. That almost looks like the first time he ever played that song. I don’t know why, because I dislike most of his genre, but I’ve liked him.Tangled Up In Blue is an example of an album that had some good songs. Does he deserve a Nobel Prize? I don’t think so.

  2. Dylan is okay in my book. Talented man. voice not so much, but I have nothing against him and have enjoyed his music. First record of the Travelling Wilburys was very good.

  3. Joe6pak I saw John Prine and Jerry Jeff Walker together in a concert at Eastern Wash. University way back in the late 70’s. It was a good concert, I’ve always liked both especially John Prine since I first head their music back in the early 70’s. His first album with Sam Stone, Illegal Smile, Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore etc. is still a classic.

  4. And Kris Kristofferson, especially his song Why Me Lord. Bob Dylan has just become background noise anymore for the baby boomer generation. And Jerry Jeff Walker singing Up Against Wall Redneck Mother and Kinky Friedman singing They Don’t Make Jews Like Jesus Anymore.

  5. Dylan is good. Lots of people aren’t into lyrics as the primary driver of songs and so they hear his voice as simply a mediocre instrument, but strip away the production from other artists and try reading their hits In a spoken word forum and it’s easy to see why he gets credit for being a great writer and melody maker. I love Prine and Jerry Jeff too, they are less intellectualized, Dylan is more like Cohen in more ways than one

  6. Go read about Dylan’s conversion as a born again Christian

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Train_Coming

    Then listen to his, “Slow Train Running” and “Saved” albums for the straight-up message of Christianity in these songs. As Foto said, in many of his songs Dylan writes lyrics of deep meaning but, unless you really listen or read the story of the lyrics, you just hear a song on the radio. And there was definitely a period were Dylan was just phoning it in with a mumbling voice no one could understand.

  7. joe6pak… “Tangled Up In Blue” is a cut off the album ‘Blood On The Tracks’. Dylan’s earlier writings were definitely Nobel Prize Material. Don’t know why they waited so long. He probably could have used the money back then.

    “Like A Rolling Stone” is all one needs to know about Dylan’s skill as a songwriter/poet. Then there’s the line “They’re selling postcards of the hanging” from ‘Desolation Row’. Actually, the list of one liners is endless. And then there’s these lines are from a timeless autobiography…

    … She lit a burner on the stove and offered me a pipe
    “I thought you’d never say hello” she said
    “You look like the silent type”
    Then she opened up a book of poems
    And handed it to me
    Written by an Italian poet
    From the thirteenth century
    And every one of them words rang true
    And glowed like burning coal
    Pouring off of every page
    Like it was written in my soul from me to you
    Tangled up in blue…

  8. Frank Zappa doesn’t get enough mention.

    About the same time as Shatner, Leonard Nimoy also recorded an album of covers.

    First Nimoy published “I AM NOT SPOCK”, then later published ” I AM SPOCK”.

    I was hoping he would write one more, ” I CAN BE SPOCK FOR THE RIGHT PRICE”.

    RIP all our 1960s.

  9. I tried not to know too much about the man’s life behind the poetry, which stood alone. I always liked his voice.
    I am sorry to hear about Mr. Langehorne’s passing.

  10. got nothing against Zimmerman … prefer John Hiatt myself
    … only man I ever heard that could write a song about a man going crazy & wreaking his daughter’s Barbie Shopping Mall (felt that way a few times myself … lol)

    ‘when they get home won’t they be sorry. it ain’t the end of the world, it’s just the wreck of the Barbie Ferrari’

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