In 1966, fresh from freaking out the folk music powers that be at the Newport Folk Festival in the summer of '65, Bob Dylan set out on his first ever full-throttle tour playing his particular brand of folk-rock music. Backing him up on that tour was a group of musicians who had previously been playing with Ronnie Hawkins, and had become known as the Hawks. Dylan, however, took to referring to them simply as the Band, and the name stuck.
Decades later, the Band has become hailed as one of the finest groups ever to champion the early emergence of what's now known as Americana music, and Bob Dylan has gone down in music history as one of the greatest songwriters of all time in any genre. (Both statements sound like hyperbole, except that if you ask just about anyone they'll tell you the same.)
On September 25, MVD Entertainment Group will release a DVD titled Bob Dylan & the Band: Down in the Flood. The film includes in-depth interviews with Garth Hudson, Ronnie Hawkins, Mickey Jones, Charlie McCoy (the long-time guitarist for Dylan) and other artists, record execs, and critics alike. It will also include no doubt plenty of concert footage from the tour and a history of the relationship between these two incredible artists. Mark your calendars.
image courtesy MVD ENtertainment
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