7 Changes

Chapter 7 Changes In February 1964, Bob and three friends set out in a Ford station wagon to see America. They planned to follow the same route as the writer Jack Kerouac did when he drove across country in 1948. Kerouac wrote about that trip in a popular novel, On the Road. Bob wrote "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Chimes of Freedom" while they drove to New Orleans and

then on to San Francisco. Both songs were very different from his protest songs. Dylan was writing lyrics that read like poetry: Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship My senses have been stripped, my hands can't feel to grip. Bob also started writing a novel called Tarantula. It wasn't like most novels. There was no plot. Tarantula was Dylan's dreamlike diary of his American journey. It was not published until 1971. After he finished Tarantula, Bob wrote one of his greatest songs, "Like a Rolling Stone." It's like a six-minute musical sum-up of his novel. Dylan recorded it as a rock song. Columbia did not know what to make of it. While driving across America, Bob and his friends heard the Beatles for the first time. The song was "I Want to Hold Your Hand." Bob was floored. "I knew they were pointing the direction of where music had to go." It was not the same direction as Bob was heading. But he understood why the

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Beatles were going to become such superstars. The 1964 Newport Folk Festival featured a very different Bob Dylan. After just one year of fame, Dylan was sick of being the "voice of his generation." Bob wanted to move on with his songwriting. He was tired of being tied to protest songs. He was tired of the constant criticism from the press, and even his fans. Some of them didn't even like

"Blowin' in the Wind." Others, including Joan Baez, only wanted songs like "Wind." Bob felt that everyone should just be content to listen to his music. Many people considered Dylan's solo concert at Newport in 1964 to be a disaster. He was nervous before the show and worried about how his new songs would go over with the crowd. But onstage he didn't act nervous. He acted mad. He sang "Mr. Tambourine Man" angrily. The song's beautiful melody was choppy and abrupt. Later, while singing another song, he turned his back on the crowd. None of his fans booed him, but they were clearly puzzled.

John Hammond watched from backstage. He couldn't believe it! Dylan owed his fans respect, and he wasn't showing it to them. But that night Bob Dylan simply didn't seem to care.