Today in Music (1965): Bob Dylan “The Times They Are A-Changin’” single released

The Times They Are A-Changin’ Bob Dylan

Writer(s): Bob Dylan (see lyrics here) First Recorded: October 24, 1963 Released (album cut): January 13, 1964 Released (single): March 8, 1965 First Charted: March 27, 1965 Peak: 2 CL, 9 UK, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 24.80 video, 220.05 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Bob Dylan’s 1962 self-titled debut didn’t make waves, but his second album, 1963’s The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, featured early classics like “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “Masters of War,” “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” and -most significantly – “Blowin’ in the Wind.” A cover of the latter by Peter, Paul & Mary reached #2 and “cast Bob Dylan into the …role of a spokesman for his generation.” SS Dylan said, “one man, the lone balladeer with the guitar, could blow an entire amry off the stage if he knew what he was doing.” SS The follow-up album, The Times They Are A-Changin’, wasn’t quite as loaded, but still featured “such socially conscious songs as ‘With God on Our Side’ and ‘The Ballad of Hollis Brown’” SS and, of course, the title song. It was “a song designed as an anthem.” SS He said “I wanted to write a big song, some kind of theme song…This is definitely a song with purpose.” TC Critic Michael Gray called it “the archetypical protest song.” WK “The phrase ’the times they are a-changin’ went quickly into the vernacular as one of the catch-phrases of that decade.” TC It was “a manifesto that implicated his elders in slowing the progress of the world.” TC “Not only is Dylan anticipating the coming troubles, he lays the blame on the shoulders of the older generation.” TC It “was inspired in part by U.S. Senate filibusters over civil rights legislation, and expanded in scope with Biblical allusions including a phrase adapted from the Serom on the Mount.” SS The song’s melody was partly adapted from “The Dreary Black Hills,” an 1872 song warning about the hard life of South Dakota. SS The song was influence by Irish and Scottish ballads. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Bob Dylan TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Pages 544-5. SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 314-5. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 5/23/2024.