Synopsis
Los Angeles, Jan 22 (NationPress) Bob Dylan’s 'Mr. Tambourine Man' remains a timeless classic. Recently, two pages of the original lyrics were auctioned for over $500,000, contributing to nearly $1.5 million in total sales during the event.Key Takeaways
- Bob Dylan's lyrics for 'Mr. Tambourine Man' sold for over $500,000.
- The auction featured 60 items related to Dylan, including photos and music sheets.
- Most items belonged to Al Aronowitz, a late music journalist.
- The auction generated a total of $1.5 million.
- Dylan wrote the lyrics at Aronowitz's home in New Jersey.
Los Angeles, Jan 22 (NationPress) Bob Dylan’s 'Mr. Tambourine Man' stands as one of the most legendary songs, continuously offering treasures. Recently, two pages of Dylan's original lyrics for 'Mr. Tambourine Man' were sold at auction for over $500,000.
Julien’s Auctions recently conducted an event to offer 60 items associated with the renowned musician, which included photographs, musical scores, his guitar, sketches, and an oil painting he created, according to reports from 'People' magazine.
Out of these items, 50 were part of the personal collection of the late music journalist Al Aronowitz, as stated by the auction house.
The auction amassed nearly $1.5 million through in-person and online bidding, with the typewritten lyrics representing one-third of this total, amounting to $508,000.
Reported by 'People', the sheets featured three drafts of Dylan’s 1965 song 'Mr. Tambourine Man' from his album 'Bringing It All Back Home'. The song was first released as the lead track on the acoustic side of the album. The Byrds covered it in 1965, and their version topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. as well as the U.K. Singles Chart.
The yellow pages also bore Dylan’s handwritten notes.
The auctioneer recounted that Dylan penned the original draft lyrics in Aronowitz’s home in New Jersey after experiencing a breakup with his girlfriend, Suze Rotolo, referencing Aronowitz’s 1973 article from Sunday News titled 'Bob Dylan: The Champ Has No Contenders'.
According to Julien’s, Aronowitz noted, “Bob Dylan wrote ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ one night in my house in Berkeley Heights, N.J., sitting with my portable typewriter at my white formica breakfast bar in a swirl of chain-lit cigaret (sic) smoke, his bony, long-nailed fingers tapping the words out on my stolen, canary-colored Saturday Evening Post copy paper while the whole time, over and over again, Marvin Gaye sang ‘Can I Get a Witness?’ from the 6-foot speakers of my hi-fi in the room next to where he was, with Bob getting up from the typewriter each time the record finished in order to put the needle back at the start.”
Aronowitz later mentioned that he “found a waste basket full of crumpled false starts.” He admitted he almost discarded the papers, but was compelled to keep them, stating he “took the crumpled sheets, smoothed them out, read the crazy leaping lines, smiled to (himself) at the leaps that never landed and then put the sheets into a file folder.”
