Legendary songwriter Bob Dylan once left Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant “lost for words” at a party.
An encounter between the Mr. Tambourine Man songwriter and Grant led to a story now cemented in classic rock folklore. A chance encounter between the pair at a Los Angeles show in 1974 was recalled in the biography of Led Zeppelin’s box set release. Fans were equally as stunned by the back-and-forth between the band’s manager and Dylan. The latter is believed to have left Grant at a loss for words after Led Zeppelin’s manager introduced himself to Dylan. The story has circulated for decades and some are split on whether Dylan meant his comment as a dig at the band or a well-meaning joke.
The story goes: “Once introducing himself to Bob Dylan at an L.A. party, Grant offered a warm handshake. ‘I’m Peter Grant, manager of Led Zeppelin,’ he said. Dylan replied, ‘I don’t come to you with my problems, do I?’ It was the only time I’d ever seen Grant at a loss for words.)”
Fans are split on whether it was meant as a joke or not, with Dylan’s sense of humour often pointed to as a reason for his comment. One user on the r/TodayILearned forum suggested as much, writing: “It’s a joke, surely? Dylan is making the joke in reference to how notoriously difficult to manage Zeppelin were at the time. I really don’t think that he was being a jerk here.”
Another added: “I’m willing to consider both Dylan being a dick and it being a joke in reference to how out of control Zeppelin were, independently of each other. Because they are both true.”
A third added: “It’s not a dick or jerk comment; Zeppelin was probably a pain in the ass to manage, and were I in Grant’s shoes, I would have also have been speechless, mostly out of hilarity.”
Dylan has delighted members of Led Zeppelin with his live performances as both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant shared their love for the legendary songwriter. In an interview with The Guardian, Plant said: “I had to grapple with what he was talking about. His music referenced Woody Guthrie, Richard and Mimi Farina, Reverend Gary Davis, Dave Van Ronk and all these great American artists I knew nothing about.
“He was absorbing the details of America and bringing it out without any reservation at all, and ignited a social conscience that is spectacular. In these Anglo-Saxon lands, we could only gawp, because we didn’t know about the conditions he was singing about. Dylan was the first one to say, ‘Hello, reality.’ I knew that I had to get rid of the winkle-pickers and get the sandals on quick.”
Page also praised the songwriter in a post on Instagram, recalling an experience he had watching the songwriter perform at the Royal Albert Hall. Page wrote: “In May 1965 I experienced the genius of Bob at the Albert Hall. He accompanied himself on acoustic guitar and cascaded images and words from such songs as It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) and She Belongs To Me to a mesmerised audience. It was life changing.”
“In 2013, Bob Dylan played at the Albert Hall again – this was the first of three nights – when he would feature songs from his latest album Tempest and some re-arranged earlier material including She Belongs To Me and Tangled Up In Blue. It was intoxicating.”
