Well, if songs were tea leaves or tarot cards, mine would be sort of confusing. #1 on Billboard on June 30, 1965 was "Mr Tambourine Man" by The Byrds. Their jangle pop version of this Bob Dylan song was one of the first "folk-rock" records, setting off a trend that really continues to this day. Dylan's version of the song, recorded in January '65, had not even been released to the public at the time The Byrds cut it as the lead single off their first album.
I say "jangle pop" because the Byrds record featured the soaring electric 12-string guitar of Jim (later Roger) (don't ask) McGuinn. McGuinn was the only member of The Byrds to play an instrument on the record; producer Terry Melcher (son of Doris Day) used LA backup band The Wrecking Crew as ghost musicians for the inexperienced Byrds, whose drummer, Michael Clarke, had never played drums before, but looked a lot like Brian Jones. The finished record sounded great, then and now!
Another jangle pop record that featured celestial electric guitar was "Needles And Pins," by The Searchers (1964.) Stun your friends at lunch today by pointing out that this song was written by Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono, the noted husband, performer, and congressman.
Dylan's version was more stark, less pop, and almost all acoustic, excepting a touch of electric guitar by Bruce Langhorne. And on July 25 of 1965, Dylan appeared at the Newport Folk Festival, which was a very big Rhode Island deal at the time, and was booed off the stage for daring to show up with an electric guitar. Folk music purists were appalled that a man would dare to amplify his guitar!
It's really funny, the stuff that people used to get all worked up over. And Dylan came back onstage and did "Mr Tambourine Man" in the acceptable acoustic manner, mollifying the angry roiling mob so that they would get back in their Volkswagens and go home happy with their wineskins and their yoghurt.
Sometimes I like jangly music, sometimes I like stripped-down acoustic, so in that measure, this song does define my life. As to the various interpretations of what the song is about, scholars have posited that it's about drug dealing (not a part of my experience on either end), or insomnia (rarely in my life), God (I'm a big fan) and a four-inch deep tambourine actually owned by Langhorne, the guitarist.
What the song means is between Bob Dylan and his thoughts, but I've enjoyed looking back and sharing my thoughts. Now it's time for my bootheels to be wandering!
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