Bob Dylan: Live from Riverside Church -- July 29, 1961

There's a new movie that's just come out called A Complete Unknown about Bob Dylan's early years in NYC. A Minnesota transplant, he hit the Greenwich Village club scene in 1961, and within a couple of years he was famous, his folk songs becoming an indeliable part of American culture. 

During those early days in NYC, Dylan was gigging everywhere he could, most famously at the Gaslight Cafe in the Village. But his first known broadcasting gig happened on July 29, 1961 -- just six months after he'd moved to NYC -- at Riverside Church in Morningside Heights. He was one of several singers to perform at the Riverside Church Hootenanny, and it was broadcast on the church's radio station WRVR 106.7 (today it's the much listened to Lite FM).

Below is a segment of that broadcast featuring young "Bobby" and you can find the set list of the songs he sang here. It was also at this event where Dylan met Suzy Rutolo who would become his girlfriend and creative muse -- they would be together when Dylan began to produce his most famous, legendary works. And even though Dylan in NYC in the early 1960s is most commonly associated with Greenwich Village (as the Bowery Boys have recently done an episode about), it was actually uptown -- in the same neighborhood that produced George Carlin, Fiona Apple and Mr NYC -- that the first step in the legendary journey of Bob Dylan through American culture was taken. 

P.S. Riverside Church means a lot to me -- it's right near where I grew up, it's where I went to nursery school and where I eventually got married. So it's really cool to find out what an important piece it played in both the lives of Bob Dylan and yours truly.

P.P.S. And while we're thinking about Bob Dylan, let's not forget about Llewyn Davis because, remember, for every Bob there's a lot more Lleweyns. In fact, you might say the Mr NYC is the Llewyn Davis of NYC bloggers!

On the Street where George Carlin Lived ...

Many a time on this blog, I have quoted and paid tribute to the brilliant, late comedian George Carlin. He was a legendary comedian, pushing social boundaries that most of us didn't even know existed, saying things most of us would never dare even to think about let along say out loud. 

His place in history was secured in the 1970s when his "Seven Dirty Words" monologue challenged FCC guidelines that ended up in a Supreme Court case, and then in 1975 he was the very first host of "Saturday Night Live." Over the decades he influenced and inspired every comedian who came after him and his insights on the insanity of American life made him the Mark Twain of his time (in fact Carlin was posthumously awarded the Mark Twain Prize for comedy).

Carlin was an American original -- and a native New Yorker. 

Best of all, he grew up in Morningside Heights -- my neighborhood! (I've only mentioned that on this blog a couple million times.) Now there is an effort underway to rename a part of 121st street, the street where Carlin lived on Morningside Drive, after the late genius. This effort is, not surprisingly, something that Carlin would have mocked and pointless vanity. But his daughter Kelli is supporting this drive and so are many others. Thus far, almost 3,500 people have signed this petition, including yours truly. It is a petition to Community Board 9 in Morningside Heights, formally requesting that this name change be considered. And I greatly encourage all of my readers all over the world to sign this petition as well.

Oh, and while some might thing this re-name is a bit silly, consider this: Carlin was a life long, avowed atheist and yet he grew up, as all of us Morningside Heights natives did, in the shadow of Riverside Church. So a street bearing the name of an infamous atheist just down the block from a house of worship has a certain irony to it -- and it's something that I'm sure the great one would have approved of.

Sign it now!

MLK at Riverside Church: Beyond Vietnam

This is a special Martin Luther King day: fifty years ago this March he was tragically assassinated. While King is remembered most as an activist who championed civil rights for fellow blacks, his remit was even bigger: a human rights and a peace activist, a man who wanted not only rights but also peace and human dignity for all. He saw the world with compassion mixed with clarity and logic.

In 1967, less than a year before he died, King gave this speech here in NYC called "Beyond Vietnam." A supporter of then President Lyndon Johnson (particularly in the 1964 election) who had been responsible for the Civil Rights Act, King broke with Johnson and support for the war. King saw, clearly as always, that this war a mistake and, as always, he had the courage to say so, even at the risk of alienating the president. This was one the most consequential speeches of King's career, and it turned out to be one of his last. On this MLK day, his vision and wisdom is more needed than ever.

 

Update: if you want to know more about Martin Luther King's relationship to NYC, there's a photo exhibit all about it at the Museum of the City of New York.