Few compilation albums are quite as unique as Bob Dylan‘s Greatest Hits, with a whole history behind Greatest Hits Vol. II.
From the inclusion of five previously unreleased songs to Dylan‘s hands-on approach in selecting the songs for this album, Greatest Hits Vol. II goes far beyond the usual run of best-of compilations. Not just because it featured at-the-time recent singles like Lay, Lady Lay, but also because of where the cover art is taken, and who Dylan had been looking at in the full picture. Fans were delighted to learn the album cover is taken from a live Dylan performance, where the veteran songwriter appeared alongside The Beatles‘ George Harrison. But few had seen the full photograph, which has since been shared to the r/BobDylan subreddit.
Fans were thrilled by the full photograph, which was posted alongside the album cover to give viewers the full Greatest Hits Vol. II cover. One fan wrote: “He was looking at George Harrison this whole time? How did I not know this? I bought a really pristine condition Concert for Bangladesh, and I was going through the book in it when I found this!?”
The image is taken from The Concert for Bangladesh performance, a charity event hosted by Harrison. Dylan’s inclusion in the show was reportedly last minute, with Harrison and the organisers left wondering if the Mr. Tambourine Man hitmaker was going to show up at all. He did, and while the rest is history, many fans of Dylan cite this release as a major reason for why they’re such a fan of him.
One person wrote: “It was the Concert for Bangladesh that made me a Bob fan. George made me fall in love with music, and so his adoration of Bob is what interested me.” Another added: “Same here. I only bought the Bangladesh concert album because I was a Beatles fan, and I was blown away by Dylan’s set. He seemed so eloquent and confident. It wasn’t until years later that I read that he was so wracked with stage fright that George had to drag Dylan out of the men’s room where he was hiding to get him onstage.”
Dylan’s aversion to being on-stage around that time certainly seemed fair; it had been five years since he’d performed by that time. While Dylan seemed close to pulling out of the show, some harsh words from Harrison pulled him back into the performance. The so-called quiet Beatle reportedly said: “Look, it’s not my scene, either. At least you’ve played on your own in front of a crowd before. I’ve never done that.”
Even with the long-standing friendship between the two, Harrison only knew Dylan would perform that night when he saw him approaching the stage. Up to that point, it had all been up in the air. “And I looked around,” Harrison said, “and he was so nervous – he had his guitar on and his shades – he was sort of coming on, coming [pumps his arms and shoulders] … It was only at that moment that I knew for sure he was going to do it.”
Years later, Harrison would reflect on how Dylan had felt that night. Dylan would not return to on-stage performances that year, outside of an appearance with The Band. But he seemed elated after having performed at the benefit concert, with Harrison recalling: “He picked me up and hugged me and he said, ‘God! If only we’d done three shows!'”
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