definitely one of MANY people in the Village folk scene that Dylan collaborated with and some might say cannily utilized in the early stages of his career.... some might argue that he got the better of his collaborations, interactions and personal relationships with so many of these people be it Langhorne, Carolyn Hester, Eric Von Schmitt, Dave Van Ronk and most notably of course Joan Baez... We will never know the true story although I suspect John Hammond (son not father) could give us the most honest account about what happened and how a nobody from Minnesota could conquer the world in a period of just a couple of years going from performing initially crummy versions of the folk canon to creating an entirely new folk canon then quickly leaving it in the dust- some would say in an almost unseemly manner- and moving on to creating something entirely new in that thin wild mercury sound... Was Bob talented and did he develop his talent mightily and rapidly.. yes, but a lot more than just having "it' had to fall into place to create "Bob Dylan".. a confluence of a large list of developments, factors, history etc etc...
In fact I find it notable how much of Bob Dylan's early years seems to run through John Hammond be it from getting a contract with Columbia- the number one label at the time- as a nothing 19 year old from legendary Columbia A&R man John Hammond Sr... to getting involved with the Band - initially John Hammond's band... The fact Hammond (son) and Dylan were roommates at least for a little while in Bob's early NYC days must have something to do with it all..It must be said that John Hammond (son) was by all accounts not very close to his father as his parents had divorced or separated..still...
funnily enough I was walking around Bleeker St in the Village exactly this time last night thinking about Bob....
I always figured Bruce Langhorne with that name was some Irish or English bloke.. ha ha...boy was I wrong!
