Maps of Music

The Times They Are a-Changin' (1964)

Where the lyrics of The Times They Are a-Changin' take you, and where it was really made.

The title track, the album's most famous song, was recorded only on October 24, 1963, near the end of the six sessions that made the record.

Key places

Where the album's first session began (1963)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Dylan began work on the album here on 6 August 1963, with eight songs recorded in the first session. The source places the studio at 799 Seventh Avenue, but this map point is set at the centre of New York City. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Times They Are a-Changin': third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan
• Released February 10, 1964 through Columbia Records
• Earlier albums mixed original songs and covers; this was the first to contain only original compositions
• Mostly stark, sparsely arranged ballads on issues such as racism, poverty, and social change
• The title track is often seen as capturing the social and political upheaval of the 1960s

Background

• Previous albums Bob Dylan (1962) and The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963) combined originals and covers
• By the time of recording, Dylan had become a popular, influential cultural figure
• Between recording sessions, Dylan toured briefly with Joan Baez, and those concerts raised his profile in the media
• The album was made during a period when Dylan's public image as a protest singer was growing

Recording

• Recording took place over six sessions, from August 6 to October 31, 1963
• The first session was held at Columbia's Studio A, located at 799 Seventh Avenue in New York City
• Tom Wilson produced the entire album
• The title track was recorded on October 24, 1963
• The final session focused on one song, "Restless Farewell", which closed the album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota; raised in Hibbing, Minnesota.
• Moved to New York City in January 1961 to pursue a music career.
• Signed to Columbia Records after playing harmonica on Carolyn Hester's album; debut album Bob Dylan released in 1962.

Members

• Solo artist; backed over the years by bands including the Hawks/the Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and his touring band led by bassist Tony Garnier.

Career

• Breakthrough with The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963); protest songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" became anthems for the civil rights and antiwar movements.
• Went electric with Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited (1965) and Blonde on Blonde (1966), provoking controversy among folk fans.
• Motorcycle accident in 1966 led to nearly eight years without touring; Basement Tapes recorded with the Band.
• Converted to Christianity in the late 1970s and released gospel albums; won Album of the Year Grammy for Time Out of Mind (1997).
• Has toured since 1988 on the Never Ending Tour; won an Academy Award and ten Grammy Awards; awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Acclaimed at release, but some critics and fans were less taken with the album as a whole than with his previous work
• Criticism pointed to its lack of humor and musical diversity compared with his earlier albums
• Many critics noted the stark pessimism of the album

Reappraisal

• Critics later saw the album's pessimism as a major part of its character
• Its set of stark, sparsely arranged ballads on social themes is what separates it from his earlier albums

Records

• Peaked at No. 20 on the US chart
• Eventually went gold in the United States
• Belatedly reached No. 4 in the UK in 1965
• Ranked number 378 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• In 1994, Dylan licensed the title track to an advertisement for the auditing and accountancy firm Coopers & Lybrand, performed by Richie Havens.
• The title track was used as the background to the opening montage of the film Watchmen.
• Three days after the final session, Dylan performed at Carnegie Hall on October 26, 1963, playing eight songs from the album.
• Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs mentions the album and the song as works of Dylan that were especially meaningful to Jobs.
• The 2015 film Steve Jobs references the song, with Jobs and John Sculley debating which lyrics to use at the Macintosh unveiling.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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