I write fast,.. The inspiration doesn’t last. Writing a song, it can drive you crazy. My head is so crammed full of things I tend to lose a lot of what I think are my best songs, and I don’t carry around a tape recorder.
-Bob Dylan (Jim Jerome Interview, Manhattan, New York – 10 October 1975)
In 1975 Dylan played:
- March 23 – Kezar Stadium, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco – S.N.A.C.K. Benefit
(With Neil Young) - July 3 – Other End, New York City (only 3 songs)
- September 10 – WTTW-TV Studios, Chicago – The World Of John Hammond (TV) (3 songs)
- October 24 – Gerde’s Folk City, New York City – Mike Porco’s Birthday Party (1 song)
The real tour – Rolling Thunder Revue (part 1) – startet on October 30 at the War Memorial Auditorium in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
The dramatic finale of the tour took place on December 8 in Madison Square Garden, where, to an audience of 14,000, Dylan performed a benefit concert for imprisoned boxer and Dylan’s latest cause, Rubin Carter. The concert was titled “The Night of The Hurricane,” in reference to Dylan’s song, “Hurricane”, which was released in November 1975. Among those appearing on stage were Muhammad Ali and Coretta Scott King, wife of slain civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr..
25 concert in the autumn of 1975.
To pick only 5 highlights from 1975 is painful, but here goes..
His presence burns from the video screen. His music bursts with aliveness. Anyone can see he’s being driven by some kind of primal force.
~Paul Williams (Bob Dylan: Performing Artist, Vol 2: The Middle Years 1974-1986)
September 10 – WTTW-TV Studios, Chicago
- Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar)
- Scarlet Rivera (violin)
- Rob Stoner (bass)
- Howie Wyeth (drums)
Hurricane
Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
Cries out, “My God, they killed them all!”
War Memorial Auditorium
Plymouth, Massachusetts
31 October 1975
Sara
I laid on a dune, I looked at the sky,
When the children were babies and played on the beach.
You came up behind me, I saw you go by,
You were always so close and still within reach.
Boston Music Hall
Boston, Massachusetts
21 November 1975 – Evening
Tangled Up In Blue
Early one mornin’ the sun was shinin’
I was layin’ in bed
Wondrin’ if she’d changed at all
If her hair was still red
Forum de Montréal
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
4 December 1975
Isis
I married Isis on the fifth day of May
But I could not hold on to her very long
So I cut off my hair and I rode straight away
For the wild unknown country where I could not go wrong
Forum de Montréal
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
4 December 1975
One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below)
Your breath is sweet
Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky
Your back is straight, your hair is smooth
On the pillow where you lie
Recommended concerts from 1975
Most of the Rolling Thunder concerts were great, here are some highlights.
- October 30, 1975 – War Memorial Auditorium, Plymouth, MA.
- October 31, 1975 – War Memorial Auditorium, Plymouth, MA.
- November 20, 1975 – Harvard Square Theater, Cambridge, MA
- November 21, 1975 – Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA.
- December 4, 1975 – Forum de Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
- December 8, 1975 – Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY