Marshall - Bob Dylan The Never Ending Star

BOB DYLAN

Celebrities series

Series editor: Anthony Elliott

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Chris Rojek: Frank Sinatra

Nick Stevenson: David Bowie

Lee Marshall is a lecturer in Sociology at the University of Bristol where he specialises in popular music. His first book, Bootlegging: Romanticism andCopyright in the Music Industry (2005) was awarded the Socio-Legal Studies Associations Hart Early Career Prize.

BOB DYLAN

THE NEVER ENDING STAR

LEE MARSHALL

polity

Copyright Lee Marshall 2007

The right of Lee Marshall to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act

1988.

First published in 2007 by Polity Press

Polity Press

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Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK

Polity Press

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Malden, MA 02148, USA

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-3974-1

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For Catherine,my fairest critic

CONTENTS

The theoretical bit

Why looking at stardom is important for understanding Dylan. Different approaches to stardom, and the most important bits of the theories. How we hear songs. Whether words or voice are most important. How stardom affects the meaning of songs.

Dylans sixties stardom

Dylans emergence in the folk revival and the contradictions of being a folk star. His move into rock, political individualism and the tensions between culture and commerce. Dylans withdrawal from the scene in the late sixties. His attempts to reclaim his stardom and their effect on the rest of his career.

Dylans later stardom

Changing social values and Dylans problems in the 1980s. Dylans attempt to reconstruct the relationship with his audience. An overview of the Never Ending Tour and its key features. Debates about Dylans later work. Time Out Of Mind and the changes in Dylans stardom since 1997.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I guess that the first mention should go to my dad, as it was through his scratched LPs that I first heard the music that has held me enthralled for so long (even if I was resistant at first). Thanks should also be offered to the other members of my family, who are always wonderfully supportive, and to Catherine, who really does have to put up with far too much and attends more Dylan shows than necessary without complaint. On that subject, thanks to all those I have passed time with at gigs Mike, Elaine, Pauline, Les, Step and Steve to name just a few. It is a remarkable feeling to arrive at a show alone in the safe knowledge that Ill soon bump into someone I know. Following Dylan has given me some of my longest-lasting friends, even if (or is it because?) we only see each other a couple of times a year

It was series editor Anthony Elliot who first asked me to write a book on Dylan. It was something I said I would never do, but in the end Im glad I did, and so I am grateful for his request. Andrea Drugan at Polity has been very helpful and, unusually for a publisher in my experience, has actually shown an interest in the work. Several people have read draft chapters of this book, so my thanks go to: Catherine Dodds, Simon Frith, Dai Griffiths, Dave Hesmondhalgh, Gregor McLennan and Graham Stephenson. All of you offered very useful advice, most of which I was sensible enough to take. A particular mention should go to Keith Negus, who offered me engaged comments on many parts of the book and encouragement to persist with my ideas.

A NOTE ON REFERENCING

Song Titles are written in quotation marks; Albums in italics. Any substantive footnote is marked with an asterisk and given on the bottom of the page; endnotes, which are numbered,merely provide reference to academic sources.

INTRODUCTION

I have experienced many spellbinding moments at Bob Dylans concerts, but one stands out: Bournemouth, 1 October 1997. Dylans new album, Time Out Of Mind, had been released at the start of the week and many of us congregating on the front few rows were hoping to hear some songs from it. All through the main set, however, there was nothing new and by its end I had resigned myself to the fact that the new songs would have to wait, consoled that it had been a very good show regardless. Then, as he returned for the encores, the opening bars of Love Sick creaked through the air, and Dylan stepped up to the mike and began the song. The moment was electric. The reason I remember it so clearly, however, is not just the excitement of hearing a live debut but, rather, a realisation I had during it. Towards the end of the song, Dylan sang:

Im sick of love, I wish Id never met you

Im sick of love, Im trying to forget you

I felt at that moment that Dylan was singing directly to us, the audience in front of him. That you for which he expressed so much contempt was actually us. The love he was so sick of was that given to him by the thousands of fans around the world. There is a sting in this tale, though, for in the songs final lines, the singer himself capitulates:

Just dont know what to do

Id give anything to be with you

Whether or not Im right in this reading of Love Sick, it is certainly true that Dylans relationship with his audience has always been marked by this kind of ambivalence. Around the same time as the Bournemouth show, he said in an interview that:

A lot of people dont like the road but its as natural to me as breathing. I do it because Im driven to do it, and I either hate it or love it. Im mortified to be on the stage but, then again, its the only place where Im happy. Its the only place you can be who you want to be. You cant be who you want to be in daily life. (Jon Pareles interview, 1997)

This ambivalence has been a defining feature of Dylans career since he emerged as a star in 1962. Since then he has been involved in what at times seems like a constant battle with fans and media over what he should perform, how he should relate to others, how he should act, and more. Such ambivalence inhabits his songs:

People see me all the time, and they just cant remember how to act

Their minds are filled with big ideas, images and distorted facts

(Idiot Wind)

In short, Dylan has been in a battle about what the concept Bob Dylan means. This book is about that battle. It is not, however, a biography detailing a poor, misunderstood singer harassed from all sides, constantly misinterpreted by the media. It is instead a sociological account of Dylans stardom. Dylan is a singer, a songwriter, a live performer, but, more than anything else, Dylan is a star. His stardom is an essential feature of his existence. It is the lens through which everything in his life is understood, not just his creative achievements but inherently personal things like fatherhood and divorce. Because Dylan is a star, his life has public meaning. This means that what Bob Dylan stands for is open to social determination and not under the control of Dylan himself.