Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues

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"Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues"
Song by Bob Dylan
from the album The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991
ReleasedMarch 23, 1991 (1991-03-23)
RecordedApril 25, 1962
StudioStudio A, Columbia Recording Studios, New York
GenreTalking blues
Length3:45[1]
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Bob Dylan
Producer(s)John Hammond

"Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was written by Dylan in June 1961, and recorded on April 25, 1962, at Studio A, Columbia Recording Studios, New York, produced by John Hammond. The song was released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991 in 1991.

Background and recording[]

In 1961, Dylan was often inspired in his song-writing by newspaper articles that he had read, and "Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues" was written after he was given a news clipping by Noel Stookey.[2] Stookey, who was a stand-up comic and master of ceremonies working at The Gaslight Cafe in New York where Dylan performed,[3] and later became a member of Peter, Paul and Mary,[2] had been impressed by Dylan's reworking of a folk song about a fur trapper into a humorous song about a nightclub, according to an interview for Howard Sounes's book Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan, and said of the reworked song: "This guy takes years of folk history and the evolution of the American ballad form, and uses it to reflect something contemporary. I was flabbergasted."[3] Stookey gave Dylan a clipping from the New York Herald Tribune of June 19, 1961, thinking that it might provide material for a song.[2] The news story related how a Harlem social club had hired a boat, the Hudson Belle, for a Father's Day picnic trip to Bear Mountain State Park, but after numerous forged tickets had been sold and the boat arrived late, more than twenty people were injured in a fracas.[2] Stookey says that he told Dylan "there's real humor about the state of human greed here."[3]

Dylan is reputed to have completed the song the following day, June 20, 1961,[2] and told Izzy Young that he wrote the song "overnight".[4] The song was regularly performed by Dylan in New York clubs, and was well-received.[2][5] Heylin says that these performances allowed Dylan to show off his "caustic wit in its raw state," and that it was the main "song that got him noticed" (along with "Song to Woody") in the months before his meeting with John Hammond, who signed him to Columbia Records in 1961.[4][6] Paul Williams, in the first volume of Bob Dylan, Performing Artist, also identifies those two songs as amongst the first that gained Dylan notice as a songwriter.[7]

The recordings for Dylan's debut album Bob Dylan, produced by Hammond, were made in November 1961. Hammond introduced Dylan to the publishers Leeds Music, and in January 1962, Dylan recorded five songs at the company's offices, including "Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues," so that they could be copyrighted and published. Bob Dylan was released on March 19, 1962.[8]

Three takes of the song were recorded on April 25, 1962, during the recording sessions for The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, but none feature on the album.[8][4] According to Clinton Heylin, Hammond had asked Dylan to record an insert, but Dylan was "furious" about this.[9] The third take was released in 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991,[1] and the Leeds Music version was released in 2010 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964.[10] A live version from May 10, 1963, was issued on In Concert – Brandeis University 1963 in 2011.[11]

The song is a talking blues, a form popularized by Chris Bouchillon and used by Woody Guthrie.[2] Trager says that the song "not only lampoons avarice, but paints an uproarious portrait of the debacle."[2] He notes that it combines a folk song sensibility with contemporary content.[2] Andy Greene rates the song as one of Dylan's most humorous.[12]

Personnel[]

The personnel for the April 25, 1962, recordings at Studio A, Columbia Recording Studios, New York, are listed below.[1]

Musician

  • Bob Dylan – vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica

Technical

  • John Hammond – production
  • George Knuerr, Pete Daurier – engineering

Official releases[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Margotin, Philippe; Guedson, Jean-Michel (2015). Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers. p. 76. ISBN 978-1579129859.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Trager, Oliver (2004). Keys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia. New York: Billboard Books. pp. 598–599. ISBN 0823079740.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Sounes, Howard (2011). Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan. New York: Grove Press. pp. 98–99. ISBN 9780802145529.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Heylin, Clinton (1995). Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1957–73. Constable & Robinson. pp. 58–59. ISBN 9781849012966.
  5. ^ Mastropolo, Frank (September 29, 2017). "Musicians Recall Dylan's First Big Gig and 25 Years of Music History at Gerde's Folk City". bedfordandbowery.com. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Gray, Michael (2008). The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 294–295. ISBN 9780826429742.
  7. ^ Williams, Paul (2004). Bob Dylan, performing artist: the early years, 1960–1973. London: Omnibus Press. p. 18. ISBN 1844490955.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Heylin, Clinton (1995). Dylan: Behind Closed Doors – the Recording Sessions (1960–1994). Penguin Books. pp. 7–18. ISBN 978-0140257496.
  9. ^ Greene, Andy (May 11, 2021). "Clinton Heylin Wrote Eight Bob Dylan Books. Then He Realized He Needed to Start All Over". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Still on the road: 1962 concerts and recording sessions". Olof Björner website. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Filcman, Debra (April 10, 2011). "Long-forgotten recording of Bob Dylan's Brandeis folk festival performance to be released". Brandeis University. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  12. ^ Greene, Andy (April 28, 2011). "Bob Dylan in Concert: Brandeis University 1963". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2021.

External links[]

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