5 Suze

Chapter 5 Suze Soon Bob was playing in all the clubs. In July he was invited to play in a concert for WRVR-FM. The concert raised money for the radio station, which played a lot of folk music. The concert lasted twelve hours. Dylan got to do one set of five songs. He was in his Woody Guthrie phase and sang with Woody's Oklahoma twang.

Afterward Bob was introduced to Suze Rotolo. She was seventeen. He was twenty. Bob thought that Suze was cool. She'd grown up in New York City, and her parents were civil rights activists.

Bob and Suze fell hard for each other. For the next two years, Suze would be the most important person in Bob's life. "Outside of my music," he

wrote in his autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One, "being with her seemed to be the main point of my life. She was involved in the New York art scene, painted and made drawings for various publications, worked in graphic design and Off-Broadway theatrical productions, also worked on civil rights committees—she could do a lot of things." Suze recognized Bob's talent and worked hard to help him get better known. She and her older sister, Carla, persuaded the owner of Gerde's Folk City to book Bob Dylan for two weeks. A good review of the first show appeared in the New York Times. There was even a photo of Dylan playing his guitar. A young singer couldn't ask for better publicity.

Curious folk fans packed Folk City to hear Bob. Just by chance, Bob got to meet a famous music producer. His name was John Hammond. Bob asked for a chance to play for him. Hammond had a keen ear for talent. He had discovered musicians like Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Sonny Terry, Pete Seeger, and the folksinger Carolyn Hester. He decided to take a chance on Bob Dylan. Within the week, Bob signed a five-year contract with Columbia Records. Some Village musicians were jealous of Dylan. How did this new kid merit a review in the New

York Times? They also called him a "sellout" for signing a contract with a big company like Columbia. (A sellout is someone who will give up things he believes in just to make money.) Back in Dinkytown, his old friends couldn't believe what they read. How could Dylan have a record contract? He wasn't nearly as good as Spider John Koerner. The first album was simply called Bob Dylan. The cover photo shows a very young but confident Dylan staring into the camera. He is much skinnier than he was only a year earlier. His face is no longer round and chubby. He's wearing the black corduroy hat and holding his guitar. "Here I am," he seems to be saying. The only musician on it was Bob playing his guitar and harmonica. One song is written to Woody Guthrie.