ON THE ROAD TO HWY 61 REVISITED

When Bob Dylan was growing up in the 1950s, Highway 61 stretched from Duluth, Minnesota (his birthplace) down to St. Louis, through Memphis, into the Mississippi Delta, and eventually ending in New Orleans. Along the way, the route passed the home towns of influential musicians like Muddy Waters, Son House, Elvis Presley, and Charley Patton. Blues legend Robert Johnson allegedly sold his soul to the devil for mastery of the blues. The location? Where Route 61 (now known as the “Blues Highway”) crosses Route 49 in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Dylan’s writing for the landmark album Hwy 61 Resisited began fifty years ago in the spring of 1965. When it was unleashed at the end of August, the music (“Like a Rolling Stone”) set the world on it’s ear combining folk with electric guitar. MFSL recently released a sonically superb 45rpm double LP remastering. Yes, that’s a Nikon SP rangefinder on the cover. Rumor has it that photographer Daniel Kramer gave his spare camera for Bob Neuwirth (Dylan’s road manager) to hold during the shoot.

(Cover Photo: Daniel Kramer)