Dylan on a Kurtis Blow album??
Tuff Gong
friend of mine has a Kurtis Blow album with a song that says it has Bob Dylan
on it... It's a song called "Street Rock" off the album _Kingdom Blow_, which
came out in 1986. The liner notes to the album have the following
information:
"Bob Dylan's performance arranged by special efforts of Wayne K.
Garfield/Krush Records and Debra Byrd/Songbyrd Productions Inc."
I'm just having a hard time believing Dylan was on a Kurtis Blow album. I
know the 80's weren't the best time for Dylan, but still... This just seems
*really* unlikely. Of course, I could be wrong. Anybody know anything about
this??
For anybody who has RealAudio and wants to check this out, here's a URL with
the song in RA format:
http://www.hitlist.com/ram/music/artists/k/kurtis_blow/kingdom_blow/rock.ram
Gonigal
In article <BNiU1.1768$7.22...@news.rdc1.tn.home.com>, no....@my.mail (Tuff
Gong) writes:
Whoa, that was odd! I just listened to the RealAudio clip through my really
crappy computer speakers. First off, the "author" line on the RealAudio
display definetly lists the authors as "Kurtis Blow & Bob Dylan". Secondly, to
my ears it seems that Bob does a short, 10 second acapella "rap" at the very
begining of the song, and parts of that "rap" are sampled once or twice during
the song. The voice at the begining sounds very odd, but it seems to be Dylan,
although not his usual singing or talking voice. I can say this much, it's
definetly not a sample from an old Dylan song (I was expecting to hear samples
of Maggie's Farm or something), whatever that piece at the begining is, it was
done in mid-eighties "rap" style, and it sounds like the "rapper" was someone
who's not real familar with the form. BTW, I couldn't make out a lot of what
"Dylan's" rap was, but he ends it with something about the rich getting richer
and the poor getting poorer. Nothing about the lyrics Kurtis Blow sings seem
particularly Dylanesque.
And I thought Bruce Springsteen's "guest vocal" on Lou Reed's Street Hassle was
wierd.
-D.G.
Tuff Gong
>Whoa, that was odd! I just listened to the RealAudio clip through my really
>crappy computer speakers. First off, the "author" line on the RealAudio
>display definetly lists the authors as "Kurtis Blow & Bob Dylan".
Well, it's going to say that because my friend put the file up, and he's the
one who put that info in there... And he's the one who maintains that's Dylan
on there. :)
>of Maggie's Farm or something), whatever that piece at the begining is, it was
>done in mid-eighties "rap" style, and it sounds like the "rapper" was someone
>who's not real familar with the form. BTW, I couldn't make out a lot of what
Well, that's definitely Kurtis Blow, and he had his own unique style. And
like I said, it was 1986. I don't doubt the authenticity of the song, I know
it's Kurtis Blow from that period. I'm just having trouble believing it's
actually Dylan on there. I did a little poking around on the web and saw
nothing of this mentioned in any discographies or anything. Now, I'm
certainly no Dylan expert, especially in regards to his 80's activities, but I
know there's lots of people in this group who know Dylan inside and out... And
it's just hard for me to believe I've never heard about this before. You'd
think a pairing as odd as this would be better known.
Alan Fraser
>
>Does anybody know anything about Dylan appearing on a Kurtis Blow song? A
>friend of mine has a Kurtis Blow album with a song that says it has Bob Dylan
>on it... It's a song called "Street Rock" off the album _Kingdom Blow_, which
>came out in 1986. The liner notes to the album have the following
>information:
>
>"Bob Dylan's performance arranged by special efforts of Wayne K.
>Garfield/Krush Records and Debra Byrd/Songbyrd Productions Inc."
>
>I'm just having a hard time believing Dylan was on a Kurtis Blow album. I
>know the 80's weren't the best time for Dylan, but still... This just seems
>*really* unlikely. Of course, I could be wrong. Anybody know anything about
>this??
Unlikely or not, it's certainly right. Bob _did_ rap with Kurtis Blow in 1986,
thus proving to the world that rapping isn't one of his skills :-). Needless
to say, he didn't repeat this experiment.
For more details of other Bob rarities, check out my page at
http://www.bobdylan.com/etc/ (last link)
Alan
Alan Fraser
>Well, that's definitely Kurtis Blow, and he had his own unique style. And
>like I said, it was 1986. I don't doubt the authenticity of the song, I know
>it's Kurtis Blow from that period. I'm just having trouble believing it's
>actually Dylan on there. I did a little poking around on the web and saw
>nothing of this mentioned in any discographies or anything. Now, I'm
>certainly no Dylan expert, especially in regards to his 80's activities, but I
>know there's lots of people in this group who know Dylan inside and out... And
>it's just hard for me to believe I've never heard about this before. You'd
>think a pairing as odd as this would be better known.
I've been listing this track on my Official Rarities page since the page
was put up, about 12 months ago now - check out
http://www.bobdylan.com/etc/ (last link)
Dundas lists the recording session with Kurtis Blow at Greene Street
Recording, New York, in April 1986, with Street Rock released on the
Mercury album Kingdom Blow. Both Heylin's Recording Sessions
and Day By Day books list it too.
The song is credited by Dundas, not to Bob, but to "Kurtis Blow-Bill
Black-Tashim".
Alan
Dag
Alan Fraser wrote:
from
A Life In Stolen Moments - Bob Dylan Day By Day:1941-1995
by Clinton Heylin:
Spring 1986
Dylan raps a verse on Kurtis Blow's "Street Rock," returning the favor for Blow
lending him some backup singers at the time of Infidels. Blow is later quotes as
saying, "he raps, he really raps." The Song is featured on Kingdom Blow.
--
--------------------------
http://home.sol.no/~dylan/
--------------------------
SensOfWndr
"I've indulged in higher knowledge to scan over encyclopedias
Keep in constant reaches of reports in our news medias
Kids starve in Ethiopia, and we are getting greedier
The rich is getting richer and the needy's getting needier"
It's easy to see why Dylan had a hard time rapping these, as they don't scan
particularly well. Despite this, both the language and the sentiments
expressed are quite in keeping with such mid-80's screeds as "Foot of Pride"
and "Band of the Hand;" the latter particularly sounds like it could have
included something like the last two lines.
-your (long-dormant and rendered mostly irrelevant by Alan's web resource --
but still looking to buy or trade for the Broadside Reunion or Dick Farina/Ric
Von Schmidt albums, the only gaps in my collection ;) ) EDLIS Elston Gunn Guest
Appearances Agent,
Jeff
Alan Fraser
>
>-your (long-dormant and rendered mostly irrelevant by Alan's web resource --
>but still looking to buy or trade for the Broadside Reunion or Dick Farina/Ric
>Von Schmidt albums, the only gaps in my collection ;) ) EDLIS Elston Gunn Guest
>Appearances Agent,
>
>Jeff
Thanks for the compliment, Jeff.
Broadside Reunion is available by mail order from Folkways
http://www.si.edu/folklife/folkways/start.htm
They don't seem to list the Farina/Schmidt album, but if you contact them
they should be able to tell you when it might be available. I saw the vinyl
version recently in a used record shop, but they were asking a high price.
Alan
Alan
Peter Stone Brown
>
>
> Broadside Reunion is available by mail order from Folkways
>
> http://www.si.edu/folklife/folkways/start.htm
>
> They don't seem to list the Farina/Schmidt album, but if you contact them
> they should be able to tell you when it might be available. I saw the vinyl
> version recently in a used record shop, but they were asking a high price.
>
The Farina/Von Schmidt album was never on Folkways though some other Eric Von Schmidt
(solo) albums were. As far as I know it was never released on an American label.
--
"I can't even remember what it was I came
here to get away from." --Bob Dylan
Peter Stone Brown
e-mail: pet...@erols.com
http://www.tangible-music.com/peterstonebrown/
Alan Fraser
>
>The Farina/Von Schmidt album was never on Folkways though some other Eric Von
>Schmidt
>(solo) albums were. As far as I know it was never released on an American
>label.
Peter & I saw this on the wall of a record shop in the Village. I think
they were asking quite a high price for it. I didn't take a close look
at it so didn't see the label. On reflection I should have raided the
piggy bank and bought it!
Alan
BKawalec
>Schmidt
>(solo) albums were. As far as I know it was never released on an American
>label.
The copy I have is on the 'Folklore' label, and is from the UK.
Bill
Everyone is a philosopher. Not everyone is good at it. --Alfred North
Whitehead