BOB DYLAN:

From Folk Revivalist to Country Crooner
Bob Dylan would have been considered one of the most important figures in Americana music even if he had not embraced country music in the late 1960s. The fact that he did embrace such music through recordings like Nashville Skyline makes him an essential figure in the development of country rock and in the history of Americana music.

Dylan’s affinity for country music is reflected in his earliest recordings. His self-titled debut album in 1962 contained a cover of the traditional bluegrass tune "Man of Constant Sorrow." That same year Dylan recorded a version of Hank Williams’ "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle" for The Freewillin’ Bob Dylan. Unfortunately, the track didn’t make the final cut and was omitted from the release.

In July of 1966, Dylan suffered a serious motorcycle accident and retreated to upstate New York to work on demos with his backing band. At a rented house - affectionately known as Big Pink - Dylan and his band began working though a collection of songs heavily influenced by traditional Americana, including country, blues and folk ballads. The backing band, which had endured the wrath of Dylan’s die-hard folk fans during his first electric performances in 1966, consisted of Ronnie Hawkins’ former backing band, The Hawks. Soon to became legends in their own right as The Band, the backing musicians’ own musical tastes clearly influenced the sessions recorded at Big Pink. Though the demos were not formally released until 1975 as The Basement Tapes, bootleg copies of the sessions were almost immediately available to music fans and collectors under the title The Great White Wonder. Tracks from the bootleg soon began to appear on recordings by other artists. The Byrd’s 1968 classic, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, featured a cover of "You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere" from the Big Pink sessions. 

Dylan’s first official release following his motorcycle accident and the Big Pink sessions was a return to folk-oriented acoustic music. Though the album, John Wesley Harding, suggested a move toward a more country-oriented sound, it is not a country album. Only the final track, "I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight," can be fairly described as country. Nevertheless, the album hinted at what was to come next.

In 1969, Dylan returned to Nashville and joined forces with some of country music’s top session men. Dylan was also joined in studio by Johnny Cash who had befriended the somewhat controversial folk-rock hero and had embraced Dylan as a songwriter by recording several of his songs. The resulting release was a full-fledged country music album. Nashville Skyline became one of the best selling releases of the year and its first single, "Lay Lady Lay," became one of Dylan’s highest charting singles. Instead of alienating his legion of folk and rock fans, Dylan helped to steer his audience toward an altogether new sound by openly embracing the Nashville establishment. 

Though Dylan would continue to flirt with country music on his subsequent releases, Nashville Skyline remains Dylan’s only pure country music album. His follow-up albums, Self-Portrait and New Morning, reflected Dylan’s return to a more rock-oriented sound. Nevertheless, Nashville Skyline had already left its mark. Though the album was released on the heels of the Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo, it probably had a greater impact on the development of country rock than the Byrd’s classic release simply because of Dylan’s commercial and critical status at the time.  

GRAM PARSONS

International Submarine Band, The Byrds and Flying Burrito Bros.
During his short career and abbreviated life, Gram Parsons pioneered the concept of country rock (though he hated the term). From his earliest demo recordings, through his involvement with some of the major rock bands of the 1960s, to his final solo efforts, Parsons left a legacy which is still being felt and heard on recordings today.  In fact, Parsons served as one of the primary influences behind the growth of the country rock and alt-country movements and remains an essential figure in the development of modern Americana music.

Born on November 5, 1946 in Winter Haven, Florida, Gram Parsons was the grandchild of a prominent Florida citrus field owner.  As a teenager Parsons played in a variety of small rock and folk-oriented bands around Florida and the Southeast.

After high school, Parsons briefly attended Harvard University where he formed the International Submarine Band. The International Submarine Band cut two obscure singles in New York before moving to Los Angeles in 1967.  After relocating to the West Coast, Parsons reorganized the group and signed a recording contract with LHI records.  The first and only album recorded by the International Submarine Band was released in early 1968 and titled Safe at Home.  Safe at Home is generally considered to be the first "Country Rock" album and original copies of the album are prized by collectors.

By the time Safe at Home was released by LHI records, Parsons had already been invited to join The Byrds.  Following the departure of David Crosby from the Byrds, bassist Chris Hillman suggested to Roger McGuinn that Parsons be invited to join the band.  Shortly after joining the Byrds, Parson began to exert his influence on the band.  Largely due to his influence, Sweetheart of the Rodeo evolved as an exciting blend of country and rock very much in the tradition of Gram's earlier projects.  Upon its release in 1968, Sweetheart of the Rodeo shocked the rock music world then dominated by psychedelic and acid rock.  Unfortunately for Parsons, he remained under contract with LHI records.  Due to the legal restraints, his voice had to be replaced on the record prior to its release.

Parsons' influence with the Byrds was not matched by the length of his tenure with the band.  Only three months after joining the Byrds, Parsons decided to leave the band after objecting to a tour of South Africa because of the country's Apartheid policies. Parsons announced he was leaving the Byrds along with Chris Hillman to form the Flying Burrito Brothers.

Parsons' new band provided an opportunity to continue his blend of country and rock without the restrictions inherent in an established band led by the highly-regarded McGuinn.

In 1969, the Flying Burrito Brothers released their first album, Gilded Palace of Sin.  The album's songs would be mined by country rock and alt-country artists for decades to come. Songs like "Christine's Tune," "Sin City," and "Hot Burrito #1" would emerge as alt-country classics.  The anti-war "My Uncle" reflected Parson's willingness to address political issues in his recordings as well. The band's follow-up album, Burrito Deluxe, was released in 1970.  Parsons played a more laid-back role on this release and the recording suffers somewhat as a result.  The release is perhaps most notable for the first appearance of Keith Richards' "Wild Horses" which was directly influenced by his friendship with Parsons. Immediately prior to the release of Burrito Deluxe, Parsons announced he was leaving the Flying Burrito Brothers.  

At the end of 1972, Parsons began work on his first solo recording, G.P.  The album may have marked the high-point of Parsons' recording career.  Backed by stellar studio musicians, including guitarist James Burton, Parsons' poured his heart and soul into this alt-country classic.  Songs like "She" and "A Song For You" emerged as classic recordings which would be covered by numerous rock and country artists for decades to come. G.P. also introduced a then unknown female singer named Emmylou Harris.  Parsons had been introduced to Harris by Burritos bandmate Chris Hillman.  Harris would emerge as more than Parsons' back-up singer.  She would become his collaborator and a prominent voice on both G.P. and Parsons' follow-up release, Grievous Angel. 

Grievous Angel is in many ways an extension of the musical approach set forth in G.P.  Stand-out tracks included "Hearts on Fire," "Ooh Las Vegas," "In My Hour of Darkness," and "Return of the Grievous Angel."  The release also featured the haunting Parsons-Harris duet "Love Hurts."    

By the time Parsons' solo career was underway, he had coined the phrase "Cosmic American Music" to define his sound.  He rejected the term "country rock" and preferred a term unrestricted by such conventional labels. 

Unfortunately, Parsons would not live to see the impact his Cosmic American Music would have on the music industry.  His death from a drug overdose in 1973 was greeted with little more than a passing glance by many music fans and journalists at the time.  However, the emerging musical movement which bore the hated moniker "country rock" would soon dominate the radio airwaves.  By the mid-1970s, country rock bands were routinely citing Parsons' work as an important influence.  As a result, Parsons posthumously emerged as a major musical figure in the development of alt-country and Americana.

THE BAND: 

Dylan's Band Becomes "The Band"
In 1966, Bob Dylan embarked on a controversial tour in support of his latest release, Blonde on Blonde. Joined on stage by a backing band for the first time in his career, the ensuing performances of electrified Dylan songs incurred jeers, heckles and boos from die-hard folk fans who refused to accept Dylan’s change in musical direction. Few fans could have realized at the time that the band members who were being booed from the stage would emerge as one of the most important and influential bands of the era.

Nearly a decade before the 1966 Dylan tour, drummer Levon Helm joined The Hawks - the backing band for fellow Arkansan Ronnie Hawkins. Hawkins relocated to Toronto shortly after Helms’ arrival. In Toronto, Hawkins’ acquired the services of Canadians Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson. For the next several years, Hawkins and the Hawks toured the United States and Canada playing honky tonks and juke joints from coast to coast.

Richard Manuel passed away in 1986. In the 1990s, the band re-united without its primary songwriter, Robbie Robertson. However, the death of Rick Danko in 1999 effectively marked the end of The Band.