ON THIS DATE (39 YEARS AGO) November 21, 1975 - Bob Dylan: Hurricane (Part I) b/w Hurricane (Part II) (Columbia 3-10245) 45 single is released in the US. Hurricane is a song by Bob Dylan co-written with Jacques Levy, about the imprisonment of Rubin Hurricane Carter. It compiles alleged acts of racism and profiling against Carter, which Dylan describes as leading to a false trial and conviction. After meeting with Carter in prison and later with a group of his supporters, Dylan began to write Hurricane. The song was one of his few protest songs during the 1970s and proved to be his fourth most successful single of the decade, reaching #33 on the Billboard chart and #43 in the UK chart. Carter and a man named John Artis had been charged with a triple murder during a robbery at the Lafayette Grill in Paterson, New Jersey in 1966. Carter and Artis were found guilty of the murders, which were widely reported as racially motivated. In the years that followed, a substantial amount of controversy emerged over the case, ranging from allegations of faulty evidence and questionable eyewitness testimony to an unfair trial. In his autobiography, Carter maintained his innocence, and his story eventually led Dylan to visit him in Rahway State Prison in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. Dylan had written topical ballads such as The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll and Bob wasnt sure that he could write a song [about Carter].... He was just filled with all these feelings about Hurricane. He couldnt make the first step. I think the first step was putting the song in a total storytelling mode. I dont remember whose idea it was to do that. But really, the beginning of the song is like stage directions, like what you would read in a script: Pistol shots ring out in a barroom night.... Here comes the story of the Hurricane. Boom! Titles. You know, Bob loves movies, and he can write these movies that take place in eight to ten minutes, yet seem as full or fuller than regular movies. Dylan was forced to re-record the song, with altered lyrics, after concerns were raised by Columbias lawyers that references to Alfred Bello and Arthur Dexter Bradley as having robbed the bodies could result in a lawsuit. Neither Bello nor Bradley were ever accused of such acts. Because there was too much leakage on the multitracks to make a vocal punch in, Dylan decided to re-record the entire song. At this time, Dylan was already rehearsing for his upcoming tour, and the musicians from the Rolling Thunder Revue were still at his disposal. Dylan took them back into the studio, and a new, faster version of Hurricane was recorded again with Don Meehan at the board, with Ronee Blakley providing a harmony vocal. There were no edits in the song that ran over eight minutes. Even though some offending lyrics were rewritten, the song still drew some legal action, from eyewitness Patricia Graham Valentine. Her lawsuit was dismissed by a federal district court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal. Even with the revised lyrics, Hurricane still raised controversy. The song included a description of Carter as the number one contender; according to the May 1966 issue of The Ring, he was ranked ninth around the time of his arrest and had never been ranked higher than third. Reporters for the Herald News, a New Jersey newspaper published not far from the scene of the crime, questioned Dylans objectivity at the time of the songs release and accused him of excessive poetic license. Dylan biographer Howard Sounes praised the song but noted there was no reference to his antagonistic rhetoric, criminal history, or violent temper.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 00:09:28 +0000
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