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Bob Dylan: New York
Packed with information, savvy insights, and surprising facts, this guide to Dylan’s years in New York City examines the role that the city played in the creation of his music, the evolution of his creative process, and the continual reinvention of his public persona.
In the landscape of Manhattan, Dylan created words and sounds that redefined the possibilities of popular music throughout the world. Chronicling where he lived, worked, and played, this book offers an evocative portrait of the city, especially its folk scene during the 1960s. With street maps featuring more than 50 sites—from fleabag hotels and avant-garde clubs to tiny coffeehouses and vast concert halls—readers can navigate Bob Dylan’s New York and experience the sites and sounds that influenced the singer, such as Café Wha?; the Chelsea Hotel; Columbia’s Studio A, where he recorded songs such as “Desolation Row” and “Positively 4th Street;” the Decker Building, where he hung out with Andy Warhol and Nico; the Delmonico Hotel, where he introduced the Beatles to marijuana; and the Bitter End, where he spent much of the summer of 1975 playing pool and guitar.
In the landscape of Manhattan, Dylan created words and sounds that redefined the possibilities of popular music throughout the world. Chronicling where he lived, worked, and played, this book offers an evocative portrait of the city, especially its folk scene during the 1960s. With street maps featuring more than 50 sites—from fleabag hotels and avant-garde clubs to tiny coffeehouses and vast concert halls—readers can navigate Bob Dylan’s New York and experience the sites and sounds that influenced the singer, such as Café Wha?; the Chelsea Hotel; Columbia’s Studio A, where he recorded songs such as “Desolation Row” and “Positively 4th Street;” the Decker Building, where he hung out with Andy Warhol and Nico; the Delmonico Hotel, where he introduced the Beatles to marijuana; and the Bitter End, where he spent much of the summer of 1975 playing pool and guitar.
- GenresMusic
140 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
4 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
June Skinner Sawyers
36 books4 followersBorn in Glasgow, Scotland, June Skinner Sawyers is the author or editor of more than twenty books, many with a Celtic theme, including Celtic Music; Dreams of Elsewhere: The Selected Travel Writings of Robert Louis Stevenson; Praying with Celtic Saints, Prophets, Martyrs, and Poets; The Road North: 300 Years of Classic Scottish Travel Writing; and The Scots of Chicago: Quiet Immigrants and Their New Society.
Her essays, Weeping Willows and Long Black Veils: The Country Roots of Rosanne Cash, from Scotland to Tennessee appeared in Walking the Line: Country Music Lyricists and American Culture and Celtic Music in America in The Encyclopedia of Music and American Culture, respectively. In addition, her work has appeared in Scottish Tradition, The Chicago Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle, Sing Out!, Dirty Linen, Booklist and The Common Review. In 2013, she was the recipient of the Flora Macdonald Award from St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, North Carolina, which is given to a woman of Scots birth or descent who has made an outstanding contribution to the human community.
Her essays, Weeping Willows and Long Black Veils: The Country Roots of Rosanne Cash, from Scotland to Tennessee appeared in Walking the Line: Country Music Lyricists and American Culture and Celtic Music in America in The Encyclopedia of Music and American Culture, respectively. In addition, her work has appeared in Scottish Tradition, The Chicago Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle, Sing Out!, Dirty Linen, Booklist and The Common Review. In 2013, she was the recipient of the Flora Macdonald Award from St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, North Carolina, which is given to a woman of Scots birth or descent who has made an outstanding contribution to the human community.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 15, 2013
Devoted to "untangling the relationship between New York and Dylan."
The book gets its stars from the maps in the front, keyed to specific named locations, something I've wanted on several trips to New York, which is valuable. The bulk of the book, though, in its discussions of the various times Dylan spent in New York, is pretty much a retread of several biographies and the memoir, and doesn't really bring a lot new to the party. Those who don't know the biography probably won't get a lot out of this because it's pretty brief and doesn't go into much detail about the work; those who do know the biography will only see its shallowness.
One thing: the list of references to New York on Page 87 misses at least three lyric references to New York places, and there are maybe more. I'll leave those as an exercise for the reader.
The book gets its stars from the maps in the front, keyed to specific named locations, something I've wanted on several trips to New York, which is valuable. The bulk of the book, though, in its discussions of the various times Dylan spent in New York, is pretty much a retread of several biographies and the memoir, and doesn't really bring a lot new to the party. Those who don't know the biography probably won't get a lot out of this because it's pretty brief and doesn't go into much detail about the work; those who do know the biography will only see its shallowness.
One thing: the list of references to New York on Page 87 misses at least three lyric references to New York places, and there are maybe more. I'll leave those as an exercise for the reader.
May 22, 2020
A concise but interesting look at Dylan's interactions with New York City. I only wish I'd had this copy when I was there about 18 months ago, although I did find Jones Street for my mock Freewheelin' cover photo. If you dig Dylan and will find yourself in the Big Apple, this is a fun way to hit some of the spots you're wondering about.
January 10, 2025
Good read.
I picked this book inspired by the atmosphere of early 60's Greenwich Village, as shown in the movie " A Complete Unknown". It provides insight into the influence the city and the Village arts subculture had on Bob Dylan. The book contains several city maps that highlight notable locations in the history of the folk music scene and Bob's life in the city.
I picked this book inspired by the atmosphere of early 60's Greenwich Village, as shown in the movie " A Complete Unknown". It provides insight into the influence the city and the Village arts subculture had on Bob Dylan. The book contains several city maps that highlight notable locations in the history of the folk music scene and Bob's life in the city.
August 2, 2018
If you are visiting NYC & have a love for Bob Dylan the maps are worth it alone from 1961 Greenwich Village onwards. A real buzz.
January 18, 2012
Bob Dylan celebrates his 70th birthday today. The original North American troubadour, Dylan’s career spans six decades and shows no signs of ending - good news for his ardent fans.
June Skinner Sawyers has penned Bob Dylan New York, the newest addition to the MusicPlace Series. The cover photo, courtesy of PBS, depicts a young Dylan not long after his arrival in New York City in 1961. The night Dylan arrived he scored a gig at Cafe Wha?, the free spirited epitome of Greenwich Village coffeehouses.
According to the author, Dylan was in search of his musical hero, Woody Guthrie, for whom he wrote, “Song to Woody.” His inimitable poetry set to music has maintained its clarity and commitment to Dylan’s values and integrity.
New York City serves as Dylan’s home base and the maps designed by Kim Rush, create context. For those not intimately familiar with the cafes, shops, taverns, live music locations, hotels and neighborhoods, the maps parallel Dylan’s adventure from the early 60s to the present day.
Since 1962, Dylan has recorded more than 50 albums of his inimitable poetry set to music. Many consider Dylan a Folk Singer but that moniker does not scratch the surface of a man who has worked without a pause.
A.O. Scott presciently wrote in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/mov... May 17, 2011, “Devotees who use the age of their idol to calculate their own dismaying senescence may be shocked that he is so old, but to many more of us he has always been around.”
Many around the world grew up with Dylan as the soundtrack to exact moments in life, relationships, and whereabouts. One’s momento mori comes into sharp focus when a particular track is heard. Skinner Sawyers’ compact book is a primer for those who are unfamiliar with Bob Dylan and a cherry atop a hot fudge sundae for those who can recite every lyric to every song.
Search the Internet and one will find more than 38 million entries and 1.3 million birthday wishes, articles and celebrations dated within the past few days. Look again and there are more than 1,700 books in print about Bob Dylan. For a man who rarely granted interviews throughout his career to date, there is a mammoth range of music and print media to draw on.
Cue up whichever albums make you sing and dance along and in Dylan’s words, may you stay “Forever Young.”
About the author:
June Skinner Sawyers’ themes include music, literature, and travel. Her credits include more than 20 books and untold articles and reviews. Her subjects have included the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen. She currently teaches at Loyola University’s School of Continuing and Professional studies and at the Newberry Library.
About the publisher:
Roaring Forties Press’ MusicPlace Series portrays the links between musicians and the cities they call home. According to the publisher’s note, each book in the series is “Packed with details about the musician’s life, and work and stories about the city’s neighborhoods and night spots, each volume in the series captures the mood, the culture and the sounds of a revolutionary ear in popular music.”
June Skinner Sawyers has penned Bob Dylan New York, the newest addition to the MusicPlace Series. The cover photo, courtesy of PBS, depicts a young Dylan not long after his arrival in New York City in 1961. The night Dylan arrived he scored a gig at Cafe Wha?, the free spirited epitome of Greenwich Village coffeehouses.
According to the author, Dylan was in search of his musical hero, Woody Guthrie, for whom he wrote, “Song to Woody.” His inimitable poetry set to music has maintained its clarity and commitment to Dylan’s values and integrity.
New York City serves as Dylan’s home base and the maps designed by Kim Rush, create context. For those not intimately familiar with the cafes, shops, taverns, live music locations, hotels and neighborhoods, the maps parallel Dylan’s adventure from the early 60s to the present day.
Since 1962, Dylan has recorded more than 50 albums of his inimitable poetry set to music. Many consider Dylan a Folk Singer but that moniker does not scratch the surface of a man who has worked without a pause.
A.O. Scott presciently wrote in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/mov... May 17, 2011, “Devotees who use the age of their idol to calculate their own dismaying senescence may be shocked that he is so old, but to many more of us he has always been around.”
Many around the world grew up with Dylan as the soundtrack to exact moments in life, relationships, and whereabouts. One’s momento mori comes into sharp focus when a particular track is heard. Skinner Sawyers’ compact book is a primer for those who are unfamiliar with Bob Dylan and a cherry atop a hot fudge sundae for those who can recite every lyric to every song.
Search the Internet and one will find more than 38 million entries and 1.3 million birthday wishes, articles and celebrations dated within the past few days. Look again and there are more than 1,700 books in print about Bob Dylan. For a man who rarely granted interviews throughout his career to date, there is a mammoth range of music and print media to draw on.
Cue up whichever albums make you sing and dance along and in Dylan’s words, may you stay “Forever Young.”
About the author:
June Skinner Sawyers’ themes include music, literature, and travel. Her credits include more than 20 books and untold articles and reviews. Her subjects have included the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen. She currently teaches at Loyola University’s School of Continuing and Professional studies and at the Newberry Library.
About the publisher:
Roaring Forties Press’ MusicPlace Series portrays the links between musicians and the cities they call home. According to the publisher’s note, each book in the series is “Packed with details about the musician’s life, and work and stories about the city’s neighborhoods and night spots, each volume in the series captures the mood, the culture and the sounds of a revolutionary ear in popular music.”
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December 26, 2016Knew very little about this great artist before reading this book.
March 18, 2018
Good overview for those unfamiliar with his biography, and a decent reminder for those of us who've read plenty about him. Added an extra star to the rating for the three maps alone. I now live in NYC and one of my first goals was to visit all the Bob Dylan sites, which I've now done a few times. This book helped that endeavor quite a bit.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews