The Big Break: Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ Got First Airing on NYC Folk Club Stage
variety.comSteven Gaydos Executive VP of ContentThe first time Bob Dylan was mentioned in Variety was 60 years ago on March 28, 1962. The article’s thesis was that the indie labels were more adept at breaking new music acts.
However, near the end of the piece, Variety acknowledged “the majors’ potential for launching new artists,” noting that “Columbia is building Aretha Franklyn, Mike Clifford, Kenny Karen and the new folk singer, Bob Dylan.”Dylan was namechecked for the first time less than two weeks after Columbia released his first album, the self-titled “Bob Dylan.” But over the next few months, Dylan’s debut effort stalled, and the only mention of the future legend that summer was a September “Longplay Shorts” column entry where the (not) big news was “Bob Dylan, Columbia Records’ folk singer, profiled in September issue of Seventeen mag by Edwin Miller.” By the end of 1962, Dylan had garnered his name in a Variety headline as his first single release, upcoming European tour and Carnegie Hall premiere were all reported on December 19.
But the single was the eminently forgettable and surprisingly electric “Mixed Up Confusion,” a number so slight for the fast-rising folk star that it never made it onto his second album, “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan,” which was released in May of the following year.Bob’s big break, to put it mildly, was already in the works within weeks of that first album’s release.
Read more on variety.com