Bob Dylan is, always has been, and always will be in every single song in some way, shape, or form. This might be a hot take, but his influence mirrors that of William Shakespeare. However, that is an intellectual discussion for another time. Though, beyond being the pinnacle of modern songwriting, Dylan’s influence has also landed him a bit of cash incidentally. And in this particular instance, it’s thanks to Darius Rucker and Hootie & The Blowfish.
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Darius Rucker has always been a longtime fan of Bob Dylan. Notably, Rucker covered OCMS’ “Wagon Wheel,” which was previously owned and partially written by Dylan. He obtained that intellectual property legally. Although, when it comes to the song, “Only Wanna Be with You,” that is not the case in the slightest.
Darius Rucker & His Deep Affection for Dylan’s ‘Blood On The Tracks’
In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, Darius Rucker divulged just how much Bob Dylan influenced his music, and like the majority of Dylan fans, one of Rucker’s favorite albums is Bob Dylan’s, Blood On The Tracks. The songs on the album that Rucker took a particular liking to were “Idiot Wind” and “Tangled Up In Blue.” Matter of fact, both these songs’ lyrics wound up in “Only Wanna Be With You.”
In the song, Rucker and the band deliberately lifted a line from Dylan’s “Idiot Wind,” and made a singular edit to it. The line in question, They say I shot a man named Grey and took his wife to Italy / She inherited a million bucks and when she died it came to me / I can’t help it if I’m lucky’ was just so vivid. Of course, this is a huge no-no in the music industry, but Rucker was not intending to try and profit off Dylan’s genius.
He told Rolling Stone, “That was a straight tribute to my love of Dylan.” Regarding the copyright infringement, Rucker continued, “It never got to the point where we were sued” and “When we first did that song we sent it to the publishing company and everything was fine.”
“We played it for years and had a really big hit with it” and “Then they wanted some money, and they got it. We weren’t trying to rip anybody off. It was like, ‘If you think that’s the case, sure,’” concluded Darius Rucker. An exact dollar amount was never disclosed, but for Darius Rucker, it was never about the money. Instead, it was about paying homage to the bard, Bob Dylan.
Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for Hootie & the Blowfish
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