August 18, 2011
I’ve always loved the album cover of the Bob Dylan album, “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan."
It was released in 1963, but I didn’t buy it till I was in high school and was getting into Bob Dylan’s earlier albums. On the cover he’s walking in the middle of a street with his girlfriend at the time, Suze Rotolo. The two of them were living together at the time on West 4th Street in Greenwich Village and it was taken right outside of their apartment. I thought it might be fun tonight to go and try to recreate that photo (and yeah, I know it’s been done before). So that‘s exactly what I’m going to do.
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Down into the subway we go for a trip to Greenwich Village.
Aaaaahhh!
And through the magic of the internet, here we are, watching some guy sprinting down the stairs and hog the entire stairwell for himself. Asshole.
Okay, let's make our way to 4th Street and see if we can recreate this album cover.
But first, how about a Mister Softee stop?
I got a combination vanilla/chocolate with chocolate sprinkles.
It was served up by this friendly fellow and it was delicious!
Okay, here's the street, W. 4th Street. Positively.
161 W. 4th Street, where Bob Dylan lived in 1963.
Here's the street. It looks different at night from the album cover. Okay, now to find a couple to pose here.
So far I've asked five different couples and I've gotten responses ranging from: "No thanks," "Not tonight," "We're in a hurry," and two who basically pretended like I didn't exist. It's a lot easier talking to people in bars than on the street I'm finding out.
I just had a couple tell me they don't believe in blogs. I don't really know what that means, but they walked away before we could debate the subject.
Okay, this is starting to get old and I've had two more couples totally ignore me after asking them to pose in the street for the photo. Only one thing can save me at this moment. Ladies and gentlemen, I present...
The Freewheelin' Gumby! And please appreciate the fact that I almost got run over by a cab while snapping this photo in the middle of the street. Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.
Further reading: Rolling Stone, All Music, About.com and BBC (radio, Not Gene, Smoopy and Terry).
You Might Also Like: Hall of Fame, Hall of Shame and Hall of Blame.
Five Other New York Album Covers
Some Time In New York City—John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with Elephant’s Memory Plus Invisible Strings. (Whew.)
Physical Graffiti—Led Zeppelin
New York New York—Frank Sinatra
Safe In New York—AC/DC
NYC—Brazilian Girls
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