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| Bob Dylan at the Chicago Stadium, Jan. 3, 1974 |
Some dates were easy to match to an event — Oct. 11, the Great Chicago Fire, March 3, the incorporation of the city, Aug. 15, the unveiling of the Picasso.
Then there was Jan. 3. Nothing really happened on Jan. 3 — the best I could come up with was a Bob Dylan concert in 1974. Which was a fact, not a story. So I started to dig. It was his first solo show since he nearly died in a motorcycle accident in 1966. Trivia, not a story.
Eventually I found a set list, mentioning the debut of a certain song. And a stuffy Tribune review. And I was on my way.
Jan. 3, 1974: The concert at the Chicago Stadium is almost over. Bob Dylan's first in eight years, since he stopped touring in 1966, blaming a motorcycle accident. He has sung his own classics, “Lay Lady Lay,” and “The Times They Are A Changing.” He has sung “Stage Fright” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” penned by the group backing him, The Band. After their “Rag Mama Rag,” Dylan launches into a song never before heard in public:
“May God bless and keep you always,” he begins. “May your wishes all come true.”
Even the Chicago Tribune's Thomas Willis—a classical music critic in his mid-40s who sometimes lowers his gaze to contemplate contemporary artists— notices. In his review, he first tut-tuts Dylan's use of obscure words. Then dismisses his singing ability. “Dylan will never win any performance prizes.” And his harmonica playing.
Finally, Willis gets down to picking apart one specific song. “He introduced, among others, one presumably titled, 'Forever Young,'” Willis writes. “It is highfalutin' in its diction and full of words like 'courage,' 'truth,' 'righteousness,' and 'joy.' Over and over, in unaccustomed subjunctive, it repeats the line, 'May you be forever young.' Make of it what you will.”
Artists make a lot of it, despite that grammatically unusual "may you be." The song will be covered at least 75 times, by artists from Joan Baez to Peter, Paul and Mary, Chrissie Hynde to Diana Ross, Harry Belafonte to Johnny Cash. All seem untroubled by the unaccustomed subjunctive, use of which will not prevent Dylan from winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016.
“May God bless and keep you always,” he begins. “May your wishes all come true.”
Even the Chicago Tribune's Thomas Willis—a classical music critic in his mid-40s who sometimes lowers his gaze to contemplate contemporary artists— notices. In his review, he first tut-tuts Dylan's use of obscure words. Then dismisses his singing ability. “Dylan will never win any performance prizes.” And his harmonica playing.
Finally, Willis gets down to picking apart one specific song. “He introduced, among others, one presumably titled, 'Forever Young,'” Willis writes. “It is highfalutin' in its diction and full of words like 'courage,' 'truth,' 'righteousness,' and 'joy.' Over and over, in unaccustomed subjunctive, it repeats the line, 'May you be forever young.' Make of it what you will.”
Artists make a lot of it, despite that grammatically unusual "may you be." The song will be covered at least 75 times, by artists from Joan Baez to Peter, Paul and Mary, Chrissie Hynde to Diana Ross, Harry Belafonte to Johnny Cash. All seem untroubled by the unaccustomed subjunctive, use of which will not prevent Dylan from winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016.
At least the critic got the part about not winning a prize for performance right.
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