It’s hard to tell which musicians will stand the test of time. Though many artists earn their “15-minutes,” only a select few outlast fleeting fame. One band that certainly stood the test of time are the Beatles. Though some may have chalked the band up to teenage fantasy fuel, they became innovators–moreover, one of the most revered bands of all time. Not everyone saw it coming, but Bob Dylan did…Learn more about which song keyed Dylan into the Beatles’ staying power, below.
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Bob Dylan Could See the Beatles Coming From a Mile Away
Oh, yeah, I’ll tell you somethin’
I think you’ll understand
When I say that somethin’
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
Oh, please, say to me
You’ll let me be your man
And please, say to me
You’ll let me hold your hand
You’ll let me hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
The Beatles debuted only a couple of years after Dylan did, but the folk icon still became a hero in the band’s eyes. The Fab Four often spoke of their reverence for Dylan, putting elements of his songwriting prowess into their own. Though he kept it to himself for a while, Dylan also admired the band.
One of the Beatles’ earliest tracks, “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, was (and is) many people’s introduction to the English rockers. After Dylan heard this track, he knew the Fab Four were destined for greatness.
“I just kept it to myself that I really dug them,” Dylan once said. “Everybody else thought they were for the teenyboppers, that they were gonna pass right away. But it was obvious to me that they had staying power.”
“I knew they were pointing the direction of where music had to go,” he added. “I was not about to put up with other musicians, but in my head the Beatles were it.”
Dylan Was in Awe of Paul McCartney
Dylan, notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to praising his fellow musicians, spoke highly of the Beatles often–namely Paul McCartney. Dylan nodded to McCartney’s musicianship several times, even going as far to say he is “in awe” of him.
“That’s what you have to be in awe,” he added elsewhere. “I’m in awe of him maybe just because he’s just so da** effortless. I mean I just wish he’d quit, you know? Just everything and anything that comes out of his mouth is just framed in a melody.”
Because of Dylan’s selective compliments, his praise of the Beatles becomes all the more special. Revisit “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, below.
And when I touch you
I feel happy inside
It’s such a feelin’ that my love
I can’t hide
I can’t hide
I can’t hide
Yeah, you got that somethin’
I think you’ll understand
When I say that somethin’
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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