4 Greenwich Village

Chapter 4 Greenwich Village Bob Dylan arrived in Greenwich Village in February 1961. Greenwich Village is a neighborhood in downtown Manhattan. It was the center of the folk music scene in the early 1960s. Bob was nearly broke and had no place to stay. Sometime between leaving Minnesota and arriving in "the Village," Bob had taken on a new way of dressing. He wore dark blue jeans, denim or plaid wool shirts, a sheepskin coat, and a black corduroy hat with a little brim. Bob Dillon from Dinkytown was gone. MacDougal Street was the Main Street of Greenwich Village. The most popular folksingers played in clubs on MacDougal, such as The Commons, Cafe Wha?, and Gerde's Folk City. The most famous folksingers were Dave Van Ronk, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Pete Seeger, Danny Kalb, and the Weavers. They all played at these clubs.

The community of singers was small and

welcomed newcomers. Everyone liked Bob, and people went out of their way to help him. He had a place to stay and free meals right from the start. Washington Square Park was like the town square of Greenwich Village. Folksingers met by the big fountain in the middle of the park to play together.

Dave Van Ronk was like the mayor of MacDougal Street. He was a gifted guitar player with a deep, rough voice that made songs come alive. He recognized Dylan's talent immediately. Bob spent a few weeks sleeping on Van Ronk's couch. The two became very close. Dave listened to all of Dylan's "life stories" and didn't believe most of them. Dave later told a writer, "We accepted him

not because of the things he said he'd done but because we respected him as a performer. His pose didn't bother us. Whatever he said offstage, onstage he told the truth as he knew it." One of Van Ronk's signature songs was his arrangement of a folk song called "The House of the Rising Sun." Dylan copied Van Ronk's version of the song word for word and note for note. Later he put it on his first album, even though he knew Van

Ronk was planning to record this song himself. Van Ronk felt betrayed and stopped talking to Bob for two months. Bob never said he was sorry.