Willie Simpson

Tag: Robert Zimmerman

  • Bob Dylan and Donovan, It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

    Who was “baby blue?”  Was it Joan Baez, Dylan’s folk loving audience, Bob Dylan himself?  No one knows, maybe not even Bob.  “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” is one of the greatest pieces of symbolist poetry ever, one of the greatest folk songs ever, and one of Bob’s best.  Released in 1965 0n the…

  • John Lennon Was Wrong About Bob Dylan's New Morning LP

    Here is an exchange between John Lennon and Jann S. Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine on Bob Dylan’s 1970 release New Morning, ” WENNER: What do you think of Dylan’s album? LENNON: I thought it wasn’t much. Because I expect more–maybe I expect too much from people – but I expect more. I haven’t been…

  • Jeff Bridges, The Man in Me

    For part 77 of my countdown, I got Jeff Bridges performing “The Man in Me” at a Lebowski Fest in Los Angeles.  The song of course was featured beautifully in the Coen Brothers ultra cult classic, “The Big Lebowski,” when the Dude is riding that magic rug.  Dylan wrote this song for his 1970 LP…

  • George Harrison, Bob Dylan, If Not For You

    The hits keep rolling, and for part 37 of my youtube countdown I present this incredible and rare video of George Harrison and Bob Dylan playing Bob’s “If Not For You.”  Holy shit, where to begin.  First of all, this was a rehearsal for George’s “Concert for Bangladesh” show, the first rock charity show ever. …

  • Bob Dylan & Eric Clapton, Crossroads

    Part 36 of my youtube countdown rolls on with a performance of Robert Johnson’s ‘Crossroads Blues’ by Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton.  I’ve been in a real bluesy mood this week, and a clip like this really hits the sweet spot.  The song, a gem in Robert Johnson’s absurdly mythological repertoire, is heavily electrified by…

  • Willie Simpson, Positively 4th Street

    My performance of Bob Dylan’s Positively 4th Street. This one has WAY better audio this time because it dawned on me to use a real mic. Expect my videos to get much better in the future when I get more confidence recording these things, though I like the little rasp I’ve got going here.  I…

  • Willie Simpson, Buckets of Rain

    As promised, my performance of Buckets of Rain by Bob Dylan.  I played it on my Epiphone Casino because the mic picked it up better.  Also, I did it in Open E tuning, so that’s why I’m looking at my guitar so much, to make sure I’m playing the right chords.  I hope to have…

  • Neko Case, Buckets of Rain

    In part 32 of my youtube countdown, we find Neko Case covering Bob Dylan’s Buckets of Rain from Bob’s “Blood on the Tracks” album.  There are two things you need to understand.  First, Neko Case is my favorite female singer in the world.  Her voice is just a soaring laser beam of power and clarity. …

  • Bob Dylan, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll

    It’s kind of shame that it took 23 notches in my youtube countdown to get to Bob Dylan, one of my immortal heroes of music..and uhh..life.  The video I present to you is utterly fantastic.  It’s from the old Steve Allen Tonight Show in 1964.  Steve Allen gives Bob an lovely epic introduction to the…