History and Recording
Bowie premiered "Song for Bob Dylan" on 3 June 1971 during a BBC concert session, with George Underwood (King Bees band mate and school friend) singing lead vocals. During broadcast, Bowie introduced the song as "Song for Bob Dylan - Here She Comes."
The song was first recorded at Trident Studios for Hunky Dory on 8 June 1971, with Bowie singing lead vocals and the title changed to "Song for Bob Dylan." During the Hunky Dory sessions the song went through numerous rejected retakes, with the final version recorded on 6 August.
When asked about the song at the time of Hunky Dory's release, Bowie said, "This is how some see BD." Bowie later revealed his true intention for writing the song in a 1976 Melody Maker interview saying,
- "There's even a song - Song For Bob Dylan - that laid out what I wanted to do in rock. It was at that period that I said, 'okay (Dylan) if you don't want to do it, I will.' I saw that leadership void. Even though the song isn't one of the most important on the album, it represented for me what the album was all about. If there wasn't someone who was going to use rock 'n' roll, then I'd do it."
Read more about this topic: Song For Bob Dylan
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