The tribute site:
http://www.marytravers.com/
This will stay up until...
The link is down-I don't want to test the fates.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
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6 comments:
Dylan originally wrote and performed a two-verse version of the song; its first public performance, at Gerde's Folk City on April 16, 1962, was recorded and circulates among Dylan collectors. Shortly after this performance, he added the middle verse to the song. Some published versions of the lyrics reverse the order of the second and third verses, apparently because Dylan simply appended the middle verse to his original manuscript, rather than writing out a new copy with the verses in proper order. The song was published for the first time in May 1962, in the sixth issue of Broadside, the magazine founded by Pete Seeger and devoted to topical songs.
In June 1962, the song was published in Sing Out!, accompanied by Dylan's comments:
There ain’t too much I can say about this song except that the answer is blowing in the wind. It ain’t in no book or movie or TV show or discussion group. Man, it’s in the wind—and it’s blowing in the wind. Too many of these hip people are telling me where the answer is but oh I won’t believe that. I still say it’s in the wind and just like a restless piece of paper it’s got to come down some ...But the only trouble is that no one picks up the answer when it comes down so not too many people get to see and know ...and then it flies away I still say that some of the biggest criminals are those that turn their heads away when they see wrong and know it’s wrong. I’m only 21 years old and I know that there’s been too many ...You people over 21, you’re older and smarter...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW6NVcqcRVE
"Blowin' in the Wind" became world famous when it was recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary, who were also represented by Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman. The single sold a phenomenal three hundred thousand copies in the first week of release. On July 13, 1963, it reached number two on the Billboard pop chart, with sales exceeding one million copies. Peter Yarrow recalled that, when he told Dylan he would make more than $5,000 from the publishing rights, Dylan was speechless. Peter, Paul & Mary's version of the song also spent five weeks atop the easy listening chart.
By 1964, more than 60 other professional versions of "Wind" were recorded. Even the late Pope John Paul II acknowledged the classic. At Dylan’s 1997 special appearance before him during a concert tour of Europe, the Pope said to Dylan and the audience of 300,000, "The answer to your questions about life is blowing in the wind."
sblake,
I remember listening to this song and wondering why we abided injustices. I was young and naive, but the words stir me to want to make the world a better place, not to turn my head.
I'd like to agree with Dylan, "...it’s got to come down some..."
Somewhere in my basement I've got a copy of that issue of Broadside, along with about the next 10 years and that wonderful book, "Broadside: Volume I" . The box is marked "valuable" so the kids think twice before tossing it when they get back to the house after my funeral.
sblake:
a small correction, Broadside was founded by "Sis" Cunningham and Gordon Friesen. "Sis" was a onetime member of the Almanac Singers and a pretty good tunesmith herself. Here song "How Can You Keep On Movin' (Unless You Migrate Too)?" - one of my favorites - was recorded by Ry Cooder and also NLCR.
John,
I hope valuable is in huge red letters and underlined several times! Do you sit and read them once in a while? I'd think they'd bring back singers and songs forgotten a bit through time.
Kat,
Every once in a while I pull those old Broadsides off a shelf, or go through my old Sing Out magazines. God, they bring back so many memories, especially sosme of the one's my wife wishes I would lose forever.
My fingers never seemed to work that well on the guitar and banjo that were once my constant companions, and I could never carry a tune in a paper bag (one of God's little pranks) but I loved the "Folk Era" and all the trappings that came with it. The music, the people, the parties, the politics, and.... the youth. It's no wonder my wife wishes the memories were gone.
This summer I've made the rounds of local folk festivals, carrying a camera rather than an instrument. It's been wonderful, hearing the music I love and meeting new people that share an old love of that music. We're all still here, still sitting on the grass listening to the performers (although taking longer to return to a standing position), still humming along on a verse of Kumbaya now and then and, for a moment or two, we're all 20 again.
My parents never quite had the bond with the music of their youth that I have. Sure they loved "the old tunes" , but they seemed to put those tunes away with so much of their past. They always seemed to be the generation looking towards the future. Perhaps it was coming of age during The Depression and WWII, two eras that contained so much one would want to put behind one's self. Me? I often sit for awhile and wrap myself in those memories like an old security blanket that I'm still not ready to part with. They're good memories.
John,
I would have loved to have been blessed with a singing voice. With people I listen, alone I sing along with all my favorites. I still remember being told in the third grade to mouth the words during the May procession.
My mother loved music and played it all the time. From her I learned all the standards. When she got a cassette recorder, it went in the kitchen and she played it when she was cooking or cleaning. I know she gave me a love for music.
I love on Cape Cod but we do have two venues for folk, and I hit both of them. I wish there was more outside though. I remember when PP&M did their reunion tour, and I drove all the way to Tanglewood to see them back together. We sat on the grass and had a picnic. We were transported back in time.
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