Dylan covers 1: top 100 Dylan cover songs by Moondance

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This chart reveals/uncovers the incredibly rich and diverse realm of Bob Dylan cover songs. One estimate puts the number of Dylan cover songs to be over 105,000; however my own research suggests that the number of verified, publicly available number of Dylan cover songs is closer to 10,000! In any event, to make a chart of my top 100 Dylan cover songs is both hard & easy.
To fully acknowledge and represent this diversity and to cover Dylan's entire 60 year recording career, I set certain parameters:
* Limit any artist to only one cover song;
* Limit any Dylan tribute album to only one cover song ~ Note: the number/diversity of Dylan tribute albums discovered during the making of this chart has amazed me. Despite having listened to over 50 tribute album, including the 30 tribute albums listed in this chart, I have only scratched the surface {elsewhere on the BEA site I am aware of a user who has a 'top 100 chart of 100% Dylan cover albums'; and during my research, I stumbled across a website that listed over 400 albums comprising between 50% - 100% Dylan cover songs};
* For Dylan albums with only a small number of original songs (eg 'Bob Dylan'; 'Greatest Hits Vol II'; 'Self Portrait'; 'Masterpieces'; 'Knocked Out Loaded' etc), this chart includes at least one cover song to showcase those albums;
* For each of the 27 Dylan albums that contain all or mostly original songs, this chart includes between two - four cover songs with the exception of 'Under The Red Sky' ~ for which finding quality cover songs proved a challenge and thus only one cover song is included in this chart;
* In other words, every Dylan album that includes, in part or in full, original songs is referenced in this chart (at last count, that added up to 40 Dylan albums);
* Some songs written/co-written by Dylan but never recorded by Dylan have been included in this chart (eg Clapton, Goffin, O'Keefe);
* Dylan side projects (eg Traveling Wilbury's, movie soundtracks) have also been included in this chart, to give this chart the most comprehensive feel that I could put together.
The order of the chart listing will be chronological - based on the release date of the corresponding contemporaneous studio album or the recording date for those songs that were released much later on compilation albums (Greatest Hits VolII, Masterpieces), the 1975 Basement Tapes or the various Bootleg Series albums.
The only exception to the chronological order is the #1 entry by Linda Mason, which is recognised as the first album to be released that was 100% dedicated to covering the songs of Bob Dylan.
The data in this chart - eg number of times Dylan has performed a particular song in concert is as at June 2023.

Chart updated: 03/20/2024 10:45
(Created: 05/22/2022 06:40).
Chart size: 100 albums.

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1. (=)

How Many Seas Must A White Dove Sail: Linda Mason Sings Bob Dylan

Linda Mason

Farewell: The historical significance of this album is that it has been recognised as the FIRST album released that is totally devoted to Dylan cover songs. Linda covers 12 songs ~ 5 from 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'; 4 from 'The Times They Are A-Changin''; and interestingly, 3 songs that were not officially released at the time of the albums' release. One of those unreleased songs is 'Farewell', which is included at side 1, track 6. The few comments available on Linda's album/cover songs are less than generous - and rightfully so. This album was also the only album Linda released, and her part in the Dylan story begins & ends there.
Dylan recorded "Farewell" in early 1963 as a Witmark & Sons demo and live recordings from the same period have been in circulation on various unofficial recordings (eg A Rare Batch Of Little White Wonder). The song was officially released almost 50 years later on Dylan's 2010 Bootleg Series Vol. 9 - The Witmark Demos 1962-1964.
Dylan performed 'Farewell' in concert on three occasions ~ for the first time at The Basement of Gerde's Folk City, NY on 8 February 1963; and for the final time Forest Hill Tennis Stadium, Queens, NY on 17 August 1963.
Despite the lyrical sentiment, I don't think a 21 year old Dylan would have ever imagined how far from reality his journey would contradict this line: "With my hands in my pockets and my coat collar high, I will travel unnoticed and unknown". [First added to this chart: 06/05/2022]

Year of Release:

1964

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

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2. (=)

Anniversary Special Volume One

The Earl Scruggs Revue

Song To Woody: At side 2, track 2 on this 10 track album of songs written by a variety of contemporaneous songwriters (eg Cash, Nix, Messina), Earl does a fine rendition of one of Dylan's earliest compositions, 'Song To Woody'. On this track, Johnny Cash plays acoustic guitar & Ramblin' Jack Elliott does additional vocals .
Dylan recorded "Song To Woody" on 20 November 1961 and it was released (side 2, track 5) on his debut March 1962 'Bob Dylan' album. Of the 13 songs on the album, only 2 were original songs - the other original song being "Talking New York".
Dylan has performed 'Song For Woody' on over 50 occasions ~ the first, at the Gaslight Cafe, NY on 6 September 1961; and the last time at Telewest Arena, Newcastle, England on 8 May 2002.
Despite its early genesis, the 20 year old Dylan's genius pokes up its head with a line reflecting on the state of the world (that is perhaps more true now than it was 60 years ago): "It looks like it's a-dyin' an' it's hardly been born". [First added to this chart: 05/23/2022]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

2 charts

Rank in 1975:

None

Rank in 1970s:

None

Average Rating:

72 (1 vote)

Comments:

3. (=)

Odetta Sings Dylan

Odetta

Baby I'm In The Mood: By the late 1950's, Odetta was a major voice in the civil rights movement and had a significance influence on the teenage Bob Dylan, who later reflected that "The first thing that turned me onto folk singing was Odetta". In 1965, Odetta released her 13th studio album - a 12 track album of Dylan songs, opening the album with a classy version of "Baby I'm In The Mood For You" - which remains one of Dylan's more obscure songs.
Dylan recorded "Baby I'm In The Mood For You" at Columbia Studios on 9 July 1962 and the song appeared on unofficial recordings such as 'Talking Bear Mountain'. The song was officially released on the 1985 'Biograph' box set - which originally consisted of 5 LPs, with "Baby I'm In The Mood For You" landing at track 1 of side 2 on the 4th LP in the set.
Dylan has never performed this song in concert.
Lyrically, the song is a ramble of images where the rhyming scheme seems to dictate where the next line leads ~ however, it is interesting to note that the third line of verse 4 contains: "Sometimes I'm in the mood, I wanna fly like a cannonball". Very shortly after, Bob revisited the 'cannonball' image when in line 5 of verse 1 of 'Blowin' In The Wind' he wrote: "Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannonballs fly...". I'm guessing these are the only two instances where Dylan penned 'cannonball' in his songs. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2022]

Year of Release:

1965

Appears in:

8 charts

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4. (=)

Waves (Great American Song Series Vol. 2)

Eric Andersen

John Brown: Eric is a contemporary of Dylan's, having worked various Greenwich Village venues in the mid 60's; and in a career spanning 55 years, Eric has over 30 albums to his credit. At track 6 of his 13 track 'Waves' album, Eric does a terrific cover of Dylan's 1962 anti-war song "John Brown".
Dylan recorded 'John Brown' in February 1963 for Broadside Ballads Vol 1 (an album showcasing the songs of NY based folk singers of the time - eg Seeger, La Farge, Turner, Traum, Spoelstra) - although the song is ascribed to Blind Boy Grunt (aka Bob Dylan attempting to avoid contractual issues with Columbia Records).
The song would not surface, officially, until a Witmark & Sons demo recorded in August 1963, that was eventually released (CD2, song 13) on the 2010 Bootleg Series Vol 9 - The Witmark Demos 1962-1964.
Dylan has performed "John Brown" close to 160 times in concert ~ for the first time at the Gaslight Cafe, NY on 15 October 1962. The importance of 'John Brown' to Dylan's early repertoire is the inclusion of the song in his first major concert - Town Hall, NY on 12 April 1963. The last performance of the song is from 1st Bank Center, Broomfield, CO on 30 October 2012.
Dylan's reflections on war can be viewed through these lines: "And I couldn't help to think, through the thunder rolling and stink, that I was just a puppet in a play"; "But the thing that scared me most was when my enemy came close, and I saw that his face looked just like mine". [First added to this chart: 05/22/2022]

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

3 charts

Rank Score:

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6. (=)

In The Wind

Peter, Paul And Mary

Blowin' In The Wind: The Peter, Paul & Mary cover showed the universal appeal of Dylan's songwriting. The PP&M single was released in June 1963 and reached #2 in the US Billboard charts, as well as receiving a Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording. On the 'In The Wind' album, the song brings the album to a close at side 2, track 6.
It has been estimated that 'Blowin' In The Wind' has been covered by over 375 artists.
Dylan wrote 'Blowin' In The Wind' in early 1962 and it was recorded on 9 July 1962 and released as the opening track on his May 1963 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan' album ~ his 2nd studio album.
The first live recording of 'Blowin' In The Wind' dates from May 1962 (WBAI-FM Radio; Gerde's Folk City). The song has been performed over 1570 times in concert, including the 1 August 1971 'Concert For Bangla Desh' ~ making it the 5th most played Dylan song in concert. The last performance of the song was on 14 July 2019 at Nowlan Park, KIlkenny, Ireland.
'How many sees must a white dove sail' ~ a line from the song and also the title of the album listed at #1 on this chart. [First added to this chart: 05/23/2022]

Year of Release:

1963

Appears in:

40 charts

Rank Score:

128

Rank in 1963:

Rank in 1960s:

681

Overall Rank:

9,300

Average Rating:

71 (34 votes)

Comments:

10. (=)

Friends Of Mine

Ramblin' Jack Elliott

Walls Of Red Wing: Ramblin' Jack is an important member of the traditional American folk lineage that connects Woody Guthrie & Bob Dylan. Accordingly, I felt it important to include a Ramblin' Jack "Dylan" cover in this chart - although I was surprised to find only a handful of Dylan covers scattered in Ramblin' Jack's 20 album/50 year recording anthology. At track 6 of this 13 track album, Ramblin' Jack (accompanied by John Prine on vocals & guitar) does a delicate cover of 'Walls Of Red Wing' - a somewhat obscure Dylan song.
'Walls Of Red Wing' was first performed live by Dylan at his first Town Hall, NY concert on 12 April 1963, with a studio recording talking place 12 days later (24 April 1963) as part of 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan' sessions, although the recording was not included on final studio album. The studio recording was finally released on the 1991 'Bootleg Series Vol 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased)' 3 CD boxset, on CD1, track 14.
Dylan has performed 'Walls Of Red Wing' on 7 occasions; the first time at his Town Hall, NY concert on 12 April 1963; at a handful of concerts between October 1963 - May 1964; and finally at Municipal Auditorium, Austin, TX on 12 May 1976.
"The night aimed shadows through the crossbar windows" [First added to this chart: 06/05/2022]

Year of Release:

1998

Appears in:

2 charts

Rank in 1998:

None

Rank in 1990s:

None

Average Rating:

72 (1 vote)

Comments:

12. (=)

Yellow Moon

The Neville Brothers

With God On Our Side: The Neville Brothers have released 9 studio albums over a career that spanned 1978 - 2004. At track 6 of their 4th studio album, Yellow Moon, Aaron Neville's voice & Daniel Lanois' production give this version of Dylan's 'With God On Our Side' a mesmerising atmospheric quality. The lyrics reflect the changes Dylan made to the original version in the mid-80s for his live performances (omitting verses 5 - WWII/the holocaust & 7 - nuclear weapons; but including a new verse 5 - Vietnam War). The album also includes a cover of Dylan's 'The Ballad Of Hollis Brown'.
As a side note, Daniel Lanois also produced Dylan's 1989 'Oh Mercy' album, with a similar touch of mesmerising atmospherics.
Dylan recorded 'With God On Our Side' in August 1963 and it was released (side 1, track 3) on his January 1964 "The Times They Are A-Changin'" album.
Dylan first performed 'With God On Our Side' at his first major concert - Town Hall, NY on 12 April 1963, some 4 months before the studio recording. Dylan has subsequently performed the song a further 47 times ~ although 36 of those were between 1963-65. The final performance was at The Edge, Fort Lauderdale, FL on 23 September 1995.
"For you don't count the dead/When God's on your side" [First added to this chart: 05/23/2022]

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

59 charts

Rank Score:

197

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

957

Overall Rank:

6,547

Average Rating:

75 (52 votes)

Comments:

15. (=)

Washington County

Arlo Guthrie

Percy's Song: Arlo Guthrie, son of legendary Woody Guthrie, has released almost 20 studio albums over a career spanning 1967 - 2009. On his 3rd studio album, 'Washington County' (which peaked at #33 in the US & #28 in Australia), Arlo performs 10 songs, mostly original, (although the album is best remembered for his commercially successful remake of the southern gospel 'Down to the Valley to Pray'), and at side 1, track 4, Arlo does a sensitive cover of Dylan's largely unknown 'Percy's Song'.
Dylan recorded 'Percy's Song' on 23 October 1963 as part of "The Times They Are A-Changin'" sessions but it was not included in the official release of the album. It was not until 22 years later on the November 1985 "Biograph" 5 album boxset that the song was officially released (refer album 1, side 2, track 5).
Dylan took a liking to 'Percy's Song', for a very brief moment, when he included it in his live performance concert at Carnegie Hall (3 days after the studio recording) on 26 October 1963). This live version was subsequently included in an unreleased 9 track "Bob Dylan In Concert" album, which later circulated as an unauthorised bootleg with the title "Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been". The only other known Dylan performance of 'Percy's Song' is at the Lisner Auditorium, Washington, DC on 14 December 1963.
"And the only tune my guitar could play was, 'Oh the Cruel Rain and the Wind'". [First added to this chart: 05/22/2022]

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

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16. (=)

Dylan's Gospel

The Brothers & Sisters Of Los Angeles

The Chimes of Freedom: This is the one & only studio album by The Brothers & Sisters of LA (a group of vocalists working as session musicians in Los Angeles in the late 60's). The album comprises 10 Dylan cover songs (all from his 1960's albums) done in gospel style - with track 7 being a majestic version of "Chimes Of Freedom".
As a side note, one of the session singers was Clydie King, who later provided backing vocals on Dylan's 1980's 'Saved', 'Shot Of Love' & 'Infidels' albums. It was also strongly rumoured that, around 1988, Dylan & King had married ~ although this has been equally strongly refuted.
Dylan recorded "Chimes of Freedom" on 9 June 1964 and it was released (side 1, track 4) on his 4th studio album ~ the August 1964 'Another Side of Bob Dylan' ~ an album that charted at #43 in the US and #8 in the UK.
Dylan has performed 'Chimes Of Freedom' less than 50 times in concert ~ firstly at Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA on 22 February 1964 and for the final time at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY on 21 November 2012. Dylan also performed the song at the Lincoln Memorial for the Inauguration of Bill Clinton as US President on 17 January 1993.
"For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an' worse/An' for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe/An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing" [First added to this chart: 05/26/2022]

Year of Release:

1969

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank in 1969:

None

Rank in 1960s:

None

Average Rating:

73 (1 vote)

Comments:

20. (=)

Any Day Now

Joan Baez

Love Is Just A Four Letter Word: Given the professional & personal relationship between Dylan & Baez in the early to mid 60's, any Dylan covers chart would be remiss without a Baez cover.
In September 1968, Baez recorded this 16 track, double album of exclusively Dylan songs (including six songs that, at the time, had not been officially released on any Dylan album). 'Love Is Just A Four Letter Word' appears on side 3, track 1.
Dylan most likely wrote this song around April 1965 since a video of Baez singing a fragment of the song appears in the 'Don't Look Back' movie and this can be accurately placed/dated to De Montford Hall, Leicester, England on 2 May 1965. The song was still apparently unfinished at the time, as Baez later tells Dylan, "If you finish it I'll sing it on a record" ~ and so history records that Dylan finished the song, handed it to Baez & she recorded it some three years later.
Baez also released 'Love Is Just A Four Letter Word' as a single and it reached #86 on the US Billboard chart.
For the record ~ Dylan has never recorded nor performed his own version of the song.
'I said goodbye unnoticed ~ drifting in and out of lifetimes' [First added to this chart: 05/25/2022]

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

28 charts

Rank Score:

110

Rank in 1968:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

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Dylan covers 1: top 100 Dylan cover songs composition

Decade	Albums	%

1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	0	0%
1960s	15	15%
1970s	14	14%
1980s	4	4%
1990s	14	14%
2000s	28	28%
2010s	14	14%
2020s	11	11%

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	9	9%
The Sports	1	1%
Eric Clapton	1	1%
Wanda Jackson	1	1%
The Peter Malick Group Featuring Norah Jones	1	1%
Eric Andersen	1	1%
Robert Palmer	1	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	50	50%
	24	24%
	10	10%
	7	7%
	3	3%
	2	2%
	1	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	90	90%
Yes	10	10%

Live?	Albums	%
No	88	88%
Yes	12	12%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	98	98%
Yes	2	2%

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89/100 (from 3 votes)

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100/100	08/14/2022 01:46	sssvnnn	2,821	83/100
95/100	05/31/2022 22:13	arnellarsen	23	92/100
100/100	05/24/2022 10:30	mikepen	48	93/100

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From mikepen 05/24/2022 10:31

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