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The birth of Bob Dylan's extraordinary career in 1961...
The birth of Bob Dylan's extraordinary career in 1961...
Item # 721607
July 20, 1961
THE VILLAGE VOICE (weekly), Greenwich Village, New York, July 20, 1961
* Bob Dylan - Robert Allen Zimmerman (19 yrs. old)
* Very 1st photo of him in a publication
* Cafe Wha? music venue in Greenwich Village
* Photo taken 2 months prior to his 1st gig
* This photo was actually taken in early Feb., 1961
An exceedingly significant newspaper which offers witness to the pre-birth of the music career of the legendary Bob Dylan. And no other title exists for this type of content concerning Bob Dylan at the very beginning.
First, it is worth noting that "The Village Voice" was an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded just 6 years previous in 1955, the Voice began as a platform for the creative community of New York City.
The front page has a photo showing a extremely young Bob Dylan playing the harmonica in a hootenanny at "Cafe Wha?" on McDougal Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. Indeed, this photo only appeared in this Village Voice publication.
Dylan didn't perform his first professional gig until April 11 of the same year at Gerde's, supporting country blues singer John Lee Hooker. A year later on April 16, 1962 Dylan would debut "Blowin' In The Wind" at Gerde's. According to online research, this photo was taken months earlier but wasn't published until now. (date of this issue) See below for further details.
A very notable issue as the lives of both Bob Dylan and The Village Voice will forever be entwined in the exciting music culture of Greenwich Village in the 1960's and 1970's.
I suspect this to be an extremely rare item because there was really no reason to save it at the time.
Complete in 12 pages, tabloid-size, one crease across the center, very nice, clean condition.
Provenance note: This issue comes from The Village Voice's own archives, part of their in-house collection used to create their digital archive.
Alert: Many issues of The Village Voice contain articles and/or photos which some consider offensive, and are certainly inappropriate for children. Please purchase with discretion.
background: The July 20, 1961 issue of The Village Voice front page shows a young Bob Dylan playing harmonica at the Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village. The shot captures Dylan amid an informal afternoon folk “hootenanny,” flanked (left to right) by an unidentified conga drummer, singer Karen Dalton, folksinger-guitarist Fred Neil, and guitarist Mark Spoelstra. It was taken in early February 1961 by Voice staff photographer Gin Briggs (credited as “Gin Biggs”) and ran on that issue’s cover on July 20. The accompanying caption notes that “a folk hootenanny of sorts had been going on at the Cafe Wha? since early this year”. This photo is historically notable – widely cited as Dylan’s first newspaper image – capturing the then-unknown singer in the Village folk scene.
Category: The 20th Century
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