Mr. Tambourine Man

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Album at Rhino.com

Written by: Dylan
Produced by: Tom Wilson
Released: March '65 on Columbia
Non-single

Inspired by Bruce Langhorne -- a session guitarist who played on several Dylan records -- "Tambourine Man" is the tune that elevated Dylan from folk hero to bona fide star. "[Bruce] was one of those characters. . . . He had this gigantic tambourine as big as a wagon wheel," Dylan said. "The vision of him playing just stuck in my mind." Written partly during a drug-fueled cross-country trek in 1964, the song was recorded on January 15th, 1965; five days later, based on a demo they'd heard, the Byrds recorded their own version. "Wow, man," said Dylan, "you can even dance to that!"

Appears on: Bringing It All Back Home (Columbia)

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