Notes

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Bob Dylan signed with Columbia on October 26, 1961. It is not known whether there was a formal audition before he signed the contract. Between September 29 and November 20 there is no John Hammond audition listed in the recording diary (auditions are not listed with the artist's name) and therefore no evidence of a Bob Dylan audition.

The recordings for Dylan's first album were done during two days, but under the same job number.

Studio A
Columbia Recording Studios
New York City, New York
November 20, 1961, 7-10 pm
Produced by John Hammond.
Engineers: Knuerr and Dauria

1. You're No Good (Jesse Fuller) CO68726 Take 1C
2. You're No Good (Jesse Fuller) Take 2C
3. You're No Good (Jesse Fuller) Take 3b
4. You're No Good (Jesse Fuller) Take 4b
5. You're No Good (Jesse Fuller) Take 5C
6. You're No Good (Jesse Fuller) Take 6b
7. You're No Good (Jesse Fuller) Take 7b
8. You're No Good (Jesse Fuller) Take 8C

9. Fixin' To Die (Bukka White) CO68727 Take 1C
10. Fixin' To Die (Bukka White) Take 2C
11. Fixin' To Die (Bukka White) Take 3C

12. He Was a Friend of Mine CO68728 Take 1b
13. He Was a Friend of Mine Take 2C

14. House of the Risin' Sun (trad.) CO68729 Take 1b
15. House of the Risin' Sun (trad.) Take 2C
16. House of the Risin' Sun (trad.) Take 3C

17. Talking New York CO68730 Take 1C
18. Talking New York Take 2C

19. Song To Woody CO68731 Take 1b
20. Song To Woody Take 2C

21. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (Eric Von Schmidt)
CO68732 Take 1C

22. Man of Constant Sorrow (trad.) CO68745 Take 1C

23. In My Time of Dyin' (trad.) CO68733 Take 1C

Session: 7-9:45 pm.
Notes after November 22, 1962 session.

Studio A
Columbia Recording Studios
New York City, New York
November 22, 1961, 2:30-5:30 pm
Produced by John Hammond.
Engineers: Knuerr and Brosnan

24. Man on the Street CO68743 Take 1b
25. Man on the Street Take 2C
26. Man on the Street Take 3b
27. Man on the Street Take 4b
28. Man on the Street Take 6b

29. (As I Go) Ramblin' Round (Woody Guthrie) CO68744 Take 1C
30. (As I Go) Ramblin' Round (Woody Guthrie) Take 2C

31. Man of Constant Sorrow (trad.) CO68745 Take 1C
32. Man of Constant Sorrow (trad.) Take 2b
33. Man of Constant Sorrow (trad.) Take 3C

34. Pretty Peggy-O (trad.) CO68746 Take 1C
35. Pretty Peggy-O (trad.) Take 2C

36. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Blind Lemon Jefferson)
CO68747 Take 1b
37. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Blind Lemon Jefferson) Take 2C
38. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Blind Lemon Jefferson) Take 3C
39. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Blind Lemon Jefferson) Take 4C

40. Gospel Plow (trad., arr. Dylan) CO68748 Take 1C

41. Highway 51 (trad.) CO68749 Take 1C

42. Freight Train Blues (John Lair) CO68750 Take 1C

43. House Carpenter (trad.) CO68751 Take 1C

Session: 7-9:45 pm.

1-8 "You're No Good" on recording Sheet 29 and 30 "Ramblin' Blues" on recording sheet.
20 overdubbed at Columbia Recording Studios, December 8, 1964
5,11,16,18,20,21,23,33,35,39,40,41 and 42 released on Bob Dylan.
13,25 and 43 released on The Bootleg Series.
16 released on the CD-ROM Highway 61 Interactive in overdubbed version

Bob Dylan's first album is a lot like the debut albums by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones — a sterling effort, outclassing most, if not all, of what came before it in the genre, but similarly eclipsed by the artist's own subsequent efforts. The difference was that not very many people heard Bob Dylan on its original release (originals on the early '60s Columbia label are choice collectibles) because it was recorded with a much smaller audience and musical arena in mind. At the time of Bob Dylan's release, the folk revival was rolling, and interpretation was considered more important than original composition by most of that audience. A significant portion of the record is possessed by the style and spirit of Woody Guthrie, whose influence as a singer and guitarist hovers over "Man of Constant Sorrow" and "Pretty Peggy-O," as well as the two originals here, the savagely witty "Talkin' New York" and the poignant "Song to Woody"; and it's also hard to believe that he wasn't aware of Jimmie Rodgers and Roy Acuff when he cut "Freight Train Blues." But on other songs, one can also hear the influences of Bukka White, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, and Furry Lewis, in the playing and singing, and this is where Dylan departed significantly from most of his contemporaries. Other white folksingers of the era, including his older contemporaries Eric Von Schmidt and Dave Van Ronk, had incorporated blues in their work, but Dylan's presentation was more in your face, resembling in some respects (albeit in a more self-conscious way) the work of John Hammond Jr., the son of the man who signed Dylan to Columbia Records and produced this album, who was just starting out in his own career at the time this record was made. There's a punk-like aggressiveness to the singing and playing here. His raspy-voiced delivery and guitar style were modeled largely on Guthrie's classic 1940s and early 1950s recordings, but the assertiveness of the bluesmen he admires also comes out, making this one of the most powerful records to come out of the folk revival of which it was a part. Within a year of its release, Dylan, initially in tandem with young folk/protest singers like Peter, Paul & Mary and Phil Ochs, would alter the boundaries of that revival beyond recognition, but this album marked the pinnacle of that earlier phase, before it was overshadowed by this artist's more ambitious subsequent work. In that regard, the two original songs here serve as the bridge between Dylan's stylistic roots, as delineated on this album, and the more powerful and daringly original work that followed. One myth surrounding this album should also be dispelled here — his version of "House of the Rising Sun" here is worthwhile, but the version that was the inspiration for the Animals' recording was the one by Josh White.