January 10, 1971 – Bob Dylan – With Earl Scruggs

On January 10, 1971, Bob Dylan appeared in the NBC documentary, “Earl Scruggs: His Family & Friends.”

Dylan opens the documentary singing and playing “East Virginia Blues,” accompanied by Scruggs and others. They also perform the instrumental “Nashville Skyline Rag.”

One of the things you learn about Bob Dylan is there’s always something more to learn about Bob Dylan.  I had never heard of this documentary about Earl Scruggs, variously known as “Earl Scruggs Bluegrass Banjo Legend,” “Earl Scruggs: Family and Friends” and “The Bluegrass Legend” among other various titles, and the info about it is slim and as mysterious as the title changes or why Roger McGuinn’s last name is spelled as “McGwinn” in the opening credits.  The film was shot by documentary filmmaker David Hoffman, probably sometime between 1969 and 1972,  and aired on PBS (then known as NET, appropriately enough) in either 1970, 1971 or 1972.  You can find various sources claiming all those titles and dates.
Beginning in 1967, Bob Dylan and his Columbia stable-mate EARL SCRUGGS (with his long-time partner LESTER FLATT) shared a common producer, Bob Johnston, who urged substantial changes in the Flatt & Scruggs traditional bluegrass repertoire.

“Basically, Bob Johnston, with his emphasis on the new breed of singer-songwriters (as opposed to the staunch-traditional country and bluegrass songwriters) contributed to the break-up of Flatt & Scruggs. While Earl Scruggs expressed a growing boredom with traditional bluegrass (“I was playing the same thing over and over every night. I just couldn’t stand it any longer.”), Lester Flatt felt uneasy with Bob Johnston: “He also cuts Bob Dylan and we would record what he would come up with, regardless of whether I liked it or not. I can’t sing Bob Dylan stuff, I mean. Columbia has got Bob Dylan, why did they want me?”  — Neil V. Rosenberg, Liner notes for “Flatt & Scruggs”, Time-Life Records TLCW-04, 1982

Several Dylan songs were covered during their late 1960s recording sessions, until in Aug 1969, Flatt & Scruggs (following a final joint performance at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry on Feb 22, 1969) recorded together for the last time, fulfilling their contractual obligations to Columbia Records.

Mama, You Been On My Mind (May 16, 1966)
Girl From The North Country (May 15, 1967 – unissued/lost)
Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right (September 21, 1967)
Blowin’ In The Wind (September 21, 1967)
It Ain’t Me Babe (September 21, 1967)
Down In The Flood (September 26, 1967)
Mr. Tambourine Man (October 20, 1967)
Like A Rolling Stone (July 18, 1968)
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight (September 09, 1968)
Rainy Day Women No. 12 And 35 (September 09, 1968 – unissued/lost)
The Times They Are A-Changin’ (September 16, 1968)
Rainy Day Women No. 12 And 35 (September 17, 1968)
Nashville Skyline Rag (August 21, 1969)
Maggie’s Farm (August 21, 1969)
Wanted Man (August 21, 1969)
One More Night (August 21, 1969)
One Too Many Mornings (August 22, 1969)
Girl From The North Country (August 22, 1969)
Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance (August 22, 1969)

All tracks released on 1964-1969, Bear Family Records 6-CD set (BCD 15879).

Earl Scruggs continued to experiment with new styles and musical directions. On “Nashville’s Rock” (again produced by Bob Johnston), he recorded instrumental versions of “Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word” and “Nashville Skyline Rag” (also covering the Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women” and The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends” and “Something”).

Some of the Bob Dylan songs covered by THE EARL SCRUGGS REVUE (a rather rock-oriented group comprising Earl Scruggs and his sons Earl, Gary and Randy) include:

“It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry”
“Down In The Flood”
“Tomorrow’s A Long Time”
“Watching The River Flow”
and a terrific (IMO) version of
“Song To Woody”
(featuring — among others — Johnny Cash and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott).

In Dec 1970, Dylan recorded two songs,
“East Virginia Blues”
and “Nashville Skyline Rag,”
with Earl Scruggs and his sons Randy and Gary.

Both songs were broadcast in an NBC Documentary in Jan 1971; “Nashville Skyline Rag” was subsequently officially released on the album “Earl Scruggs Performing With His Family And Friends” (COLUMBIA KC-30584, mid-1971).

Earl Scruggs – The Bluegrass Legend – Family & Friends (1972).

Bob Dylan’s section information:

The Home Of Thomas B. Allen
Carmel, New York
December 1970
Earl Scruggs Documentary

1. East Virginia Blues (trad.)
2. Nashville Skyline Rag

https://www.bjorner.com/DSN01790%201970.htm#DSN01880

Bob Dylan (guitar & vocal), Earl Scruggs (banjo), Randy Scruggs (acoustic guitar), Gary Scruggs (electric bass).

source : https://plus.google.com/114972365014876681245/posts/JpytZ3ifYyf

[wp_ad_camp_2]