3 Folk Gems From 1963 That Show How Bob Dylan Transformed Pop Music

In 1963, Bob Dylan was only two studio albums into his career, but he had already transformed the sound of popular music. Then the decade became partly defined by artists covering his songs, which introduced New York’s Greenwich Village folk scene to wider audiences. Even before The Byrds landed a hit with Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” in 1965, the singer-songwriter born Robert Zimmerman was inspiring his contemporaries.

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For this list, we’ll begin with one of Dylan’s fellow folk legends and a former romantic partner. Next, a trio that topped the charts thanks to a pair of Dylan singles. And finally, we’ll hear from the singer in his own voice as he longs for a past lover in his hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota.

“Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” by Joan Baez

The sequel to Joan Baez’s In Concert features live renditions of contemporary folk songs as she expanded her repertoire beyond traditional tunes. A Bob Dylan poem appears in the liner notes of In Concert, Part 2, and her covers of Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and “With God On Our Side” further highlight the connection between them.

Though the covers were a nod to the modern scene, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” borrows from an early standard, “Who’s Gonna Buy Your Chickens When I’m Gone”. Dylan was introduced to the song by Paul Clayton, who performed it as “Who’s Gonna Buy You Ribbons”. But in Baez’s reading, with only her voice and guitar, you can hear the old world of folk conversing with the new.

“Blowin’ In The Wind” by Peter, Paul & Mary

Propelled by two Bob Dylan covers that became hits, Peter, Paul & Mary’s third LP, In The Wind, arrived a few months before the British Invasion brought The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and others to American shores and airwaves. It was a groundbreaking time for pop music, with Dylan seated front and center. The trio of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers helped introduce New York’s folk scene to pop audiences. And together, their sunny harmonies smoothed the edges of Dylan’s sneering howl.

“Girl From The North Country” by Bob Dylan

The narrator in Dylan’s wistful tune asks a traveler to check in on a former romantic partner. Many believe Dylan wrote the song about his high school girlfriend, Echo Helstrom. In 1969, Dylan recorded a duet of “Girl From The North Country” with Johnny Cash. The rework appears on Nashville Skyline, which finds Dylan fully immersed in country music. Both renditions reveal a longing for home, for another time, for youth. But in the 1963 original, the tone is tender but the aching loss feels frozen over, like the cold northern winters.

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