54 Bob Dylan Photos from the Year 1961

Bob Dylan Cafe Wha – early 1961 with Karen Dalton & Fred Neil – by Fred McDarrah When Dylan first arrived in New York City on Tuesday, January 24, 1961, he caught a subway down to Greenwich Village and blew into the Café Wha? in a flurry of snowflakes… Dylan asked the owner, Manny Roth, if he could perform — and he did, playing a short set of Woody Guthrie songs. In the following weeks, Dylan would appear occasionally at the coffeehouse, playing harmonica… behind Mark Spoelstra and Fred Neil…

Bob Dylan – Cafe Wha – venue of Dylan’s first NYC appearance – 24 January 1961 – Cafe Wha 1960s 115 Macdougal New York, NY 10012

“On his first night in Greenwich Village, on or around Jan. 24, 1961, Bob went into the Cafe Wha? on Macdougal Street,” Mr. Sounes writes. “It was ‘hootenanny’ night, open-mike night when almost anybody could get up and perform. ‘I been travelin’ around the country,’ he told the crowd. ‘Followin’ in Woody Guthrie’s footsteps.’ ”

Bob Dylan had previously joined other unknowns like himself onstage at Gerde’s during the club’s Monday “Hootenanny Night,” but the invitation to appear on a regular bill presented a bit of an administrative problem. At just 19 years old, Bob Dylan was too young to obtain the necessary union card and cabaret license. One of the clubs owners, Mike Porco, was interested enough in getting the young man on the bill, though, that he signed on as Dylan’s guardian—”the Sicilian father I never knew I had,” as Dylan put it.

Dylan got to play five songs that first night. “House of the Rising Sun,” “Song to Woody,” “Talkin’ Hava Negeilah Blues,” and two others, identified only as “unknown Woody Guthrie song” and “a black blues,” according to New York magazine.

Gerdes Folk City (sometimes spelled Gerde’s Folk City) was a music venue in the West Village, part of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, in New York City. Initially opened as a restaurant called Gerdes, by owner Mike Porco, it eventually began to present occasional incidental music. First located at 11 West 4th Street (in a building which no longer exists), it moved in 1970 to 130 West 3rd Street. It closed in 1987. On January 26, 1960, Gerdes turned into a music venue called The Fifth Peg

Bob Dylan April 1961 at Gerdes Folk City – photos by Irwin Gooen

Bob Dylan sings with Mark Spoelstra, Indian Neck Folk Festival, May 6th, 1961.Bobby Neuwirth in the foreground with the shades

The fextival took place at the Montowesi Hotel in Branford, Connecticut. It was at this occasion that Dylan first met Bobby Neuwirth. Dylan’s entire set is presented here and it comprises three songs only. The tape starts with Dylan being introduced by someone and ends with the same announcer requesting a banjo and some other instruments for the next act.

Dylan is shown to be in the midst of his Woody Guthrie period because all three songs are Guthrie tunes. It’s hard to hear whether or not he did justice to the songs because you can barely hear the vocal even though the guitar comes through loud and clear. The audience is very appreciative, though. Mono audience recording. There are worse sounding live tapes around and for historical purposes this is a must. Not for the casual Dylan listener.

Bob Dylan sings with Mark Spoelstra, Indian Neck Folk Festival, May 6th, 1961. Photograph by Joe Alper.

6 May 1961- Indian Neck Folk Festival with Mark Spoelstra

6 May 1961- Indian Neck Folk Festival with Mark Spoelstra

THE GREENBRIAR BOYS (ORIGINAL LINE-UP, 1958): JOHN HERALD, vocals, lead guitar BOB YELLIN, banjo, tenor vocals ERIC WEISSBERG, banjo, mandolin, dobro, fiddle (replaced by RALPH RINZLER in 1959)

JOHN HERALD: Dylan took us by storm when he opened for us that gig. He was getting a bigger hand than we were… We were supposed to be the main act, and he just won the place over… Between Sep 25 and Oct 8, 1961, Dylan was the supporting (opening?) act for The Greenbriar Boys at Gerde’s Folk City.

3 October 1961- Bob Dylan Gerdes Folk City

SETLIST Ranger’s Command (Woody Guthrie cover) San Francisco Bay Blues (Jesse Fuller cover) The Great Divide (Sara Carter Bayes and Maybelle Carter cover) See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Blind Lemon Jefferson cover) Ain’t No More Cane on the Brazos ([traditional] cover) Dink’s Song (Fare Thee Well) ([traditional] cover) He Was a Friend of Mine ([traditional] cover) Pretty Boy Floyd (Woody Guthrie cover) In the Pines ([traditional] cover) Sally Gal

In 1961, Hester met Bob Dylan and invited him to play on her third album, her first on the Columbia label. Hammond, her producer, quickly signed Dylan to the label.

Bob Dylan 29 – 30 September – CBS recording session with Carolyn Hester – NYC In 1961, Hester met Bob Dylan and invited him to play on her third album, her first on the Columbia label. Hammond, her producer, quickly signed Dylan to the label.

The events which led up to [recording for Columbia Records] were very unexpected. … John [Hammond] had first seen and heard me at Carolyn Hester’s apartment. Carolyn was a Texan guitar-playing singer who I knew and played with around town. She was going places and it didn’t surprise me. Carolyn was eye catching, down-home and double barrel beautiful. That she had known and worked with Buddy Holly left no small impression on me and I liked being around her. Buddy was royalty, and I felt like she was my connection to it, to the rock-and-roll music that I’d played earlier, to that spirit.” – Bob Dylan, Chronicles

Carnegie Chapter Hall, New York City, New York (time unknown)[2] “This Land Is Your Land” (Woody Guthrie) – Live recording released on The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack

This was the 20-year-old Dylan’s first New York concert beyond the Greenwich Village coffeehouse scene. When the booking was made, it was recorded in the booking ledger only as “Folk Concert,” along with the name of the promoter (Izzy Young). The Carnegie Chapter Hall booking fee for one of the most auspicious Carnegie Hall debuts of the 1960s was $60. All tickets were priced at $2.

The Bitter End has stood at 147 Bleecker St. since 1961. Self-described as “the oldest rock and roll club in New York City” on its website, the charm of the venue, like that of the entire neighborhood, has evolved.