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Archive of previous FEATURE items


2000 Feature Archive2001 Feature Archive2002 Feature Archive2003 Feature Archive2004 Feature Archive2005 Feature Archive2006 Feature Archive
January 2, 2000......Judy Collins...•...Recollections
January 16, 2000......Song Sketches - da Dowland a Dylan
January 30, 2000......Jerry Murad's Harmonicats...•...What's New Harmonicats?
February 13, 2000......Happy Together: The Very Best of White Whale Records
February 27, 2000......The Tribe...•...Bangla Desh
March 12, 2000......Jackie DeShannon...•...Jackie DeShannon
March 26, 2000......Leon Russell...•...Leon Russell and The Shelter People
April  9, 2000......The Sidewalk Swingers...•...Folk Swingin' Harpsichord with 12-String Guitar
April  23, 2000......Dino, Desi and Billy...•...I'm A Fool
May  7, 2000......Golden Throats - The Great Celebrity Sing-Off !
May 21, 2000......The Heart of Gold Band
June  4, 2000......Bobby Darin...•...Golden Folk Hits
June  18, 2000......Richie Havens...•...Electric Havens
.July  2, 2000......Bud Shank & the Folkswingers...•...Folk ’n Flute
July 16, 2000......Julie Felix...•...This is... Julie Felix
July 30, 2000......JGB...•... Welcome To Our World  (For Members Only)
.August 13, 2000......Fairport Convention...•...Unhalfbricking
September 2000......Noel Harrison
October 2000......Billy Strange...•...Folk Rock Hits
November 2000......Earl Scruggs...•...His Family and Friends
December 2000......Chér...•...3614 Jackson Highway


January 2, 2000 Judy Collins  •   Recollections
US LP LP: Elektra EKS-74055 (US)  CD: Elektra 61350-2 (1992)
I have made this 1969 Judy Collins compilation my first FEATURE item because it is the album that has been suggested for inclusion the most often. But with four Dylan covers out of eleven tracks, it does not qualify for the VOCAL section or the NEAR-MISSES section. It is drawn from Judy's early 1963-1965 folk albums for Elektra.
Dylan Covers:
Tomorrow Is A Long Time • Daddy You've Been On My Mind • Mr. Tambourine Man • Farewell

January 16, 2000 Song Sketches - da Dowland a Dylan
CD (Italy) Sandro Naglia   voce  •     Franco Pavan   liuto e chitarrone
CD: Esperia E008 (Italy), 1998
One of the reasons collecting Dylan covers is so interesting to me is the variety of musical styles that have been applied to Dylan songs. Here we have "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" given a serious (as opposed to "pop") classical reading. It's hard to believe the same song was recorded by Guns n Roses! Some of the other composers featured are John Dowland (1562-1626), John Renbourn, and John Cage.
Dylan Cover:
Knockin' On Heaven's Door

January 30, 2000 Jerry Murad's Harmonicats   •   What's New Harmonicats?
US LP LP: Columbia CS 9225 (stereo)/CL 2425 (mono) - (US, 1966)
If you like Bob Dylan because of his harmonica, this is the album for you! Besides it's fashionably "mod" cover, it features 4 Dylan covers. Jerry Murad formed his harmonica trio in 1944 with Al Fiore (chording) and Don Les (bass). They were the top-selling of all harmonica groups, and had a #1 hit in 1947 with "Peg O' My Heart." The original trio recorded until the late '60s, and later line-ups performed until Murad's death in 1996.
Dylan Covers:
Blowin' In The Wind • Like A Rolling Stone • Mr. Tambourine Man • Positively 4th Street

February 13, 2000 Happy Together: The Very Best of White Whale Records
US CD CD: Varese Sarabande VSD-6035   (US, 1999)
This anthology of the White Whale Records label includes only 2 Dylan covers, the most recognizable being The Turtles' "It Ain't Me Babe" from 1965. The more interesting track to Dylan-cover collectors is the obscure 1966 single of "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" by the male-female duo of Lyme & Cybelle,
the male half being a 19 year old Warren Zevon.
Dylan Covers:
It Ain't Me Babe  •  The Turtles
If You Gotta Go, Go Now  •  Lyme & Cybelle

February 27, 2000 The Tribe     •     Bangla Desh
US LP LP: Pickwick /33  SPC-3300   (US, 1971)
This 1971 LP was apparently designed as a low cost alternative to the 3-LP "The Concert For Bangla Desh."   But buyers did not get George, Bob and Ringo - but an album of covers by The Tribe, or The Tribes, depending on where on the sleeve or label you read... apparently even the record company didn't know what to call the group!
Dylan Covers:
Blowin' In The Wind • A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall • Mr. Tambourine Man

March 12, 2000 Jackie DeShannon
US Mono LP LP: Liberty LRP-3320 (mono) / LST-7320 (stereo)   (US, 1963)
Many of these tracks were reissued on Jackie's 1965 In The Wind album on Imperial, but they date from this, her debut album from 1963. It was one of the earliest albums to feature Dylan covers.
Jackie later covered Lay Lady Lay (as Lay Baby Lay) on her 1971 album, "Songs" (Capitol ST-772)
Dylan Covers:
Walkin' Down The Line • Blowin' In The Wind • Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

March 26, 2000 Leon Russell     •     Leon Russell and The Shelter People
US CD (1989) LP: Shelter SW-8905 (US, 1971) •  CD: DCC/Shelter SRZ-8005 (1989); Capitol/Right Stuff 34030 (1995)
The original Shelter LP contained two Dylan covers, but the two CD reissues listed above contain an additional three Dylan covers as bonus tracks.  The small first pressing of his 1970 album Leon Russell included "Masters Of War (Old Masters)," which set Dylan's lyrics to the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner." The track was deleted on subsequent pressings of the vinyl album, but has been restored on the CD reissue.  Leon later covered "The Ballad of Hollis Brown" on his 1974 album Stop All That Jazz.
Dylan Covers:
It's A Hard Rain Gonna Fall • It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry •
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue  (CD bonus track) • Love Minus Zero/No Limit  (CD bonus track) •
She Belongs To Me  (CD bonus track)

April  9, 2000 The Sidewalk Swingers • Folk Swingin' Harpsichord with 12-String Guitar
US LP (1964) LP: Warner Bros. W1532   (US, 1964)
Mr.12-String Guitar, Glen Campbell, appears once again, in this instrumental group fronted by a harpsichord! To quote the back cover "There are fine traditionals... but there are also plenty of neo-folk tunes, like Bob Dylan's Don't Think Twice and Blowin' In The Wind, and good ones by Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and others."  Campbell also appeared on several albums with the group "The Folkswingers" on World Pacific Records.
Harpsichord: Russell Bridges / Guitar: Glen Campbell / Bass: Jimmy Bond / Drums: Hal Blaine /
Banjo, Mandolin: Bill Cunningham
Dylan Covers:
Blowin' In The Wind • Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
This album is not in print. Check GEMM for hard-to-find out-of-print music.

April  23, 2000 Dino, Desi and Billy •     I'm A Fool
US LP (1965) LP: Reprise R-6176 (mono) • RS-6176 (stereo)   (US, 1965)
Dino, Desi and Billy were Dino Martin, son of Dean Martin, Desi Arnaz, Jr., son of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, and friend Billy Hinsche. Frank Sinatra brought them to Reprise Records. "I'm A Fool" was their debut album, included 4 Dylan covers and their U.S. Top-40 hits, "I'm A Fool" (#17) and "Not The Lovin' Kind" (#25). Despite the connections and several more albums using top session musicians, they never reached the Top-40 again.
Dylan Covers:
Mr. Tambourine Man • Like A Rolling Stone • Chimes Of Freedom • It Ain't Me Babe

This album is not in print. Check GEMM for hard-to-find out-of-print music.


May  7, 2000 Golden Throats - The Great Celebrity Sing-Off !
US Compilation LP (1988) LP/CD: Rhino 70187   (US, 1988)
The infamous Rhino compilation of mostly American TV actors trying to sing. Besides two tracks from Sebastian Cabot's "Sebastian Cabot, Actor... Bob Dylan, Poet" album, this collection includes Eddie Albert of Green Acres doing "Blowin' In The Wind" and Star Trek's Captain Kirk/William Shatner's unbelievable version of  "Mr. Tambourine Man."   (Note Bob and The Beatles looking on from the sides!)
Dylan Covers:
It Ain't Me Babe -- Sebastian Cabot
Blowin' In The Wind -- Eddie Albert
Mr. Tambourine Man -- William Shatner
Like A Rolling Stone -- Sebastian Cabot

May  21, 2000 The Heart of Gold Band
US LP LP: Relix RRLP 2020   (US, 1986. Recorded 1980)
The Heart of Gold Band, fronted by '70s Grateful Dead members Keith and Donna Godchaux. This live LP of their only concert has only five tracks, two of which are Dylan covers. Keith was killed in an auto accident in 1980. A 1989 CD (Relix RRCD 2020) titled "Double Dose" paired this album with the 1984 release 
"The Ghosts Playing in the Heart of Gold Band," which also included Knockin' On Heaven's Door
and Solid Rock.
Dylan Covers:
Watchin' The River Flow • It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry •
Knockin' On Heaven's Door - CD only • Solid Rock- CD only
This album is not in print. Check GEMM for hard-to-find out-of-print music.

June  4, 2000 Bobby Darin   •   Golden Folk Hits
US Stereo LP LP: Capitol T-2007  (mono) / ST-2007  (stereo)   (US, 1963)
Most of the early Dylan covers were by artists already established in the folk music world (Baez, Odetta, Seeger) or just starting out themselves (Collins, DeShannon, Peter Paul & Mary). Bobby Darin was the first established star in the pop music world to record songs by the other B.D., placing two Dylan tracks on his 1963 LP "Golden Folk Hits."  He also introduced Dylan songs to Las Vegas show audiences, a big change from the coffee houses of NYC. Darin recorded more Dylan during his period at Motown, including another version of Don't Think Twice, It's All Right, released on the posthumous 1974 compilation "Darin 1936-1973." I'll Be Your Baby Tonight was part of Darin's Vegas stage show, and there were two different live versions released, one from 1969 at The Bonanza, Las Vegas, on the Rhino boxset "As Long As I'm Singing: The Bobby Darin Collection" and the second the Motown CD "Live At The Desert Inn", 1971.
Dylan Covers:
Don't Think Twice • Blowin' In The Wind
This album is not in print. Check GEMM for hard-to-find out-of-print music. 

June 18, 2000 Richie Havens  •Electric Havens
US Stereo LP LP: Douglas SD 780  (US);  Transatlantic ? (UK)  (1968)
Richie Havens has covered many Dylan songs over the years, but I believe this is his only album with two, not counting Sings Beatles and Dylan. It is an unauthorized release, these tracks were recorded in 1964 as publishing demos, and after the success of Havens' debut album on Verve, "Mixed Bag", in 1967, two albums worth of these demos were released by Douglas, "Richie Havens' Record" (SD 779) and this one, "Electric Havens." Both albums had newly recorded instrumentation added to the original solo recordings.
Dylan Covers:
Oxford Town • Boots And Spanish Leather
This album is not in print. Check GEMM for hard-to-find out-of-print music. 

July  2, 2000 Bud Shank & the Folkswingers •   Folk ’n Flute
US Stereo LP LP: World Pacific  WP-1819/S-1819 (US, 1965)
Jazz flutist Bud Shank takes a turn covering folk songs, including three by Dylan. Shank is backed by The Folkswingers, featuring Joe Pass on guitar. The rest of the group is not credited on this all-instrumental jazz/folk album.
A good companion album to Gene Norman's Dylan Jazz.
Dylan Covers:
Quit Your Low Down Ways • Don't Think Twice • Blowin' In The Wind
This album is not in print. Check GEMM for hard-to-find out-of-print music.

July 16, 2000 Julie Felix   •   This is... Julie Felix
UK compilation LP LP: Philips 6382 019 (UK)
This budget compilation collects four Julie Felix's Dylan covers from 1966, 67 and 68.  American-born, UK-based  Felix is often compared to Joan Baez.  She made no impact here in the US.  Felix recorded about 16 Dylan covers from the 60s to the 80s... her 1997 CD "El Condor Pasa" collects four of her 80s covers -- Mr. Tambourine Man, Blowin' In The Wind, We Better Talk This Over and Man Gave Names To All The Animals.
Dylan Covers:
Love Minus Zero/No Limit • The Gates Of Eden • Chimes Of Freedom • This Wheel's On Fire
This album is not in print. Check GEMM for hard-to-find out-of-print music.

July 30, 2000 JGB   •   Welcome To Our World  (For Members Only)
US  CD CD: House Of Blues  51416 1364 2   (US, 1998)
In 1986, the remaining members of the Jerry Garcia Band reunited as JGB. Three of the eight tracks on this 1998 live album are extended Dylan covers, with track times of 7:20, 11:40, and 9:23.
Dylan Covers:
Knocking On Heaven's Door • Tangled Up In Blue • I Shall Be Released

August 13, 2000 Fairport Convention •   Unhalfbricking
US  reissue LP LP: Island  ILPS 9102 (UK, 1969)  A&M SP-4206  (US, 1970)
[Shown: Carthage CGLP 4418, 1985 US Reissue]
CD: Hannibal/Carthage 4418  (US)
Fairport Convention have recorded several Dylan covers over the years, this their 1969 album containing the rarely covered  Percy's Song and Million Dollar Bash,   plus their French-language version of If You Gotta Go, Go Now, which reached #21 on the UK charts. Pictured on the cover are Sandy Denny's parents.  This album has been issued and reissued in numerous countries with several different sleeves.
Dylan Covers:
Si Tu Dois Partir  (If You Gotta Go, Go Now) • Percy's Song • Million Dollar Bash

September 2000 Noel Harrison
US  LP LP: London  LL 3459 (mono) / PS 459  (processed stereo)
Noel Harrison is perhaps unfairly included in the infamous group of actors-who-tried-to-sing, as evidenced by his inclusion on the Golden Throats collection. Noel is the son of actor Rex Harrison, but he did release a string of albums in the mid-late 60's, many of which included Dylan covers (see below)
Dylan Covers on this album:
(It's All Over Now)  Baby Blue • Love Minus Zero • Mr. Tambourine Man • To Ramona
1968  US LP Other Dylan covers by Noel Harrison:
One Too Many Mornings • Decca single  (London 9755 (US)/Decca AT 15 047 (UK), 1965)
Just Like A Woman • Collage (Reprise RS 6263, 1967 US)
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right • The Great Electric Experiment Is Over (Reprise RS 6321, 1968 US)
I'll Be Your Baby Tonight • The Great Electric Experiment Is Over (Reprise RS 6321, 1968 US)
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues • ?
These albums are not in print. Check GEMM for hard-to-find out-of-print music.

October 2000 Billy Strange   •   Folk Rock Hits
US  mono LP LP: GNP-Crescendo  GNP 2016  (mono) / GNPS-2016 (stereo)  (US, 1965)
L.A. session guitarist Bill Strange recorded a string of instrumental albums for the GNP-Crescendo label in the mid-late '60s, as well as appearing on many classic albums of the period.
"Folk Rock Hits" was also released in Germany (Deutsche Vogue  LDVS 17082)
Dylan Covers on this album:
All I Really Want To Do  •  It Ain't Me, Babe  •  Like A Rolling Stone
Other Dylan covers by Billy Strange:
Hey Mr. Tambourine Man • Billy Strange Plays The Hits! - GNP-Crescendo GNP 2012, 1965
Blowin' In The Wind • 12 String Guitar - GNP-Crescendo GNP 94, 1964
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right • The One And Only  (+ other albums)
This album is not in print. Check GEMM for hard-to-find out-of-print music.

November 2000 Earl Scruggs   •   His Family and Friends
US  mono LP LP: Columbia  C 30584   (US, 1971)  CD: Collectables COL6475 (US, 11/14/2000)
This month's feature was inspired by the release of this album on CD.  The album is comprised of performances from the soundtrack of a N.E.T. (National Educational Television -- now known as PBS) special.  All the tracks feature members of the Earl Scruggs Revue.
Dylan Covers:
Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word -- with Joan Baez
You Ain't Going Nowhere -- with The Byrds (Roger McGuinn, Clarence White)
Nashville Skyline Rag -- with Bob Dylan (guitar) -- so is it a "cover"?!
Earl Scruggs   •   Nashville's Rock
Scrugg's solo album, produced by Bob Johnston, contained his versions of the instrumental Nashville Skyline Rag and an instrumental version of  Love Is Just A Four Letter Word 
(Columbia CS 1007,  US)

December 2000 Chér   •   3614 Jackson Highway
US  mono LP LP: Atco SD 33-298   (US, 1969)
CD: Rhino Handmade RHM2 7733  (1/22/2001, Limited edition)
Another feature album inspired by it's reissuance on CD (see 11/18 entry on the NEWS page.)  This 1969 LP was Chér's only solo album for Atco, which released most of Sonny & Chér's duo albums.
Dylan Covers:
Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
I Threw It All Away
Lay Lady Lay  (as Lay Baby Lay)
Search GEMM for out-of-print music.  Limited-edition CD only available from the Rhino Handmade Website

GEMM is your best source for impossible-to-find music!

06/16/2004