Bruce Springsteen’s tribute to Bob Dylan has made the rounds after those watching A Complete Unknown spotted a link to The Boss.
The Timothée Chalamet-starring biopic charts Dylan’s life in the 1960s, ending at his electric turn at the Newport Folk Festival. But a shot from earlier in the film has Springsteen enthusiasts excited as they spot a venue both men played during the 1960s and 1970s. Taking to the Bruce Springsteen subreddit, one user wrote: “I just watched the movie A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic, and saw there were some shots of Café Wha?, one of the coffeehouses in Greenwich Village where Dylan would play in the early ‘60s.
“That, in turn, made me think of when I read on the Brucebase website about how Bruce played a few of his early shows with his backing bands at that same venue in the late ’60s and early ’70s – basically, some forays into “The City” that Bruce and his band made amidst their barnstorming around New Jersey. Anyway, that got me thinking: I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out that Bruce might have run into Bob Dylan at some point during that period, or at the very least, drawn some inspiration from his music.”
Springsteen’s admiration for Dylan is well-documented, with The Boss having previously covered The Times They Are-A Changin’ at the 1997 Kennedy Center Honours. Fans of The Boss are now discussing where tributes to Dylan can be found in his music, and it does not take long to find some of the more obvious examples.
One user wrote: “Hell, his first album was a lyrical tribute to Bob, especially Blinded By The Light. I saw Bob join Bruce onstage at Shea Stadium on the closing night of The Rising Tour. The performance of Highway 61 Revisited was chaotic but I loved every second of it.
“Bruce looked like he was a 16-year-old kid who couldn’t believe his idol was onstage with him. It’s what all teenage musicians dream about — one day I’ll be playing with my hero. In Bruce’s case, it came true.” Another wrote: “Dylan was a HUGE influence on Springsteen. You don’t get Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty or Mark Knopfler without Bob Dylan.”
What did Bruce Springsteen think of Bob Dylan? Was Bob an early inspiration/influence for Bruce?
byu/Waterpark_Enthusiast inBruceSpringsteen
A post to Springsteen’s own site from 2016 has now made the rounds once again, with the tribute to Dylan posted following the Like a Rolling Stone songwriter’s Nobel Prize in Literature win. The extract of Springsteen’s autobiography, Born to Run, reads: “Bob Dylan is the father of my country. Highway 61 Revisited and Bringing It All Back Home were not only great records, but they were the first time I can remember being exposed to a truthful vision of the place I lived.
“The darkness and light were all there, the veil of illusion and deception ripped aside. He put his boot on the stultifying politeness and daily routine that covered corruption and decay. The world he described was all on view, in my little town, and spread out over the television that beamed into our isolated homes, but it went uncommented on and silently tolerated. He inspired me and gave me hope. He asked the questions everyone else was too frightened to ask, especially to a fifteen-year-old: ‘How does it feel… to be on your own?’
“I had the opportunity to sing The Times They Are A-Changin’ for Bob when he received the Kennedy Center Honours. We were alone together for a brief moment walking down a back stairwell when he thanked me for being there and said, ‘If there’s anything I can ever do for you…’ I thought, ‘Are you kidding me?’ and answered, ‘It’s already been done’.”
