An on-stage collaboration between music legends Bob Dylan and Neil Young has been hailed as a “magical” moment.
The pair were joined by The Band during a performance at Kezar Stadium, which saw the overlap of talents perform Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. The impromptu supergroup was performing to over 60,000 fans as part of the SNACK Benefit Concert. Rock promoter Bill Graham brought the show together to raise money for the San Francisco school district, and on the line-up were Grateful Dead, Joan Baez, Santana, and Jefferson Starship. Also featured on the bill were Dylan, Young, and The Band, who came together for a staggering performance of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. The performance has since been uploaded to YouTube, where listeners were left thrilled by the collaboration.
One person wrote: “The two greatest rock poets of my generation, thank you for so many magical songs!” Another added: “I’ve heard these songs hundreds of times since they were first released and they are just as good today and they were fifty years ago.”
A third person who claims to have been at the show added: “I was there! I partied all night in Golden Gate Park and was one of the first people in Kezar Stadium. I found a spot right in front of the stage and lay on the grass. I fell asleep. When I woke up, there was people pressing all around me. There was a sea of people all the way to the top of the stadium and the roofs of the buildings near the stadium. It was one of the best concerts I have ever been to.”
Others praised the recording itself, which had not been as well-circulated as other bootlegs. One person wrote: “This has got to be my favourite of the obscure recordings I’ve come across on YouTube. Hope someday someone posts the whole concert.”
Another added: “Two men that never followed the norm. Courageous and unwavering their whole life, kicking down the door for all of US who refuse to have life dictate anything to any of us.”
A third added: “I went to this SNACK Sunday concert at Kezar Stadium in SF. I was just a kid. It was only $5 for a ticket. I remember Marlon Brando came out & told us not to do drugs. I didn’t realise the significance at the time. I’m now 62 & have great memories of this simple day in the rain.”
A review of the Kezar Stadium from Cult Following reads: “Neat works all in all but the potential for so much more can, frustratingly, be heard the more the gig plays on. This is a trio of musicians who moulded the future of music and the sound they provide here is a plain imitation of that.”
You can listen to Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and The Band perform Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door below.
