60 years ago today, Columbia Records releases the 3rd album by Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin’. Though somewhat overlooked in his catalogue, some of his most important songs can be found here, from the title track, to the sublime “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” “Ballad of Hollis Brown,” “One Too Many Mornings,” “With God On Our Side,” and his reaction to the murder of Medgar Evers, “Only a Pawn in Their Game.” Here he is performing the song at the Newport Folk Festival July 26, 1963:

Bob would revive two other songs from the album for his Live Aid set; the staggering tale of poverty, “Ballad of Hollis Brown,” and his parable of overcoming the powers that be, “When the Ship Comes In.” But it is the closing song from the album, “Restless Farewell,” that is now associated with a great story involving Francis Albert Sinatra.

It’s 1995. Frank will be turning 80, a momentous event the Sinatra family wants to celebrate in a big public way. An ABC-TV special with old pals of Frank like Don Rickles, and modern artists performing some of his best known songs. It will be staged in Los Angeles, they can see it now: Frank will be there watching, then do a couple of songs on his own. It’s gonna be friggin’ great. There’s just one problem: Frank wants nothing to do with it. He won’t sign off on the event, won’t attend, and he sure as hell won’t perform. Months of preparations continue on the assumption that he’ll come around eventually. But he isn’t. As the show is getting closer, both Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen sign on in the same week. Frank’s daughter Tina can’t get through to her Dad. His wife Barbara doesn’t know what to do, but has an idea: she’ll invite Dylan and Bruce to the house for dinner. To play it safe and make Frank comfortable, she also invites Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. Dylan and Bruce arrive together, and Barbara is immediately edgy because Bob has a commemorative bottle of Jack Daniel’s as a gift. She doesn’t want Frank drinking. Good luck with that as he uncorks it right then and there. After a couple of rounds, Barbara is seething. Dylan heads to the piano, joined by Frank, Steve and Bruce, and the Jack. By the time dinner is over, Frank agrees to not only attend the event, but lead the full ensemble in “New York, New York” to close out the show. He also insists that Bob and Bruce come over for dinner every month.

Dylan had been working on a version of “That’s Life” until a request came in, from either Tina or Frank himself (I say it was Tina), that he please perform his own “Restless Farewell.” It would be the first time since 1964 that he’d do so. Dylan was 22 when he wrote it, and it perfectly sums up the life of Frank Sinatra. Here it is:

Around this time, Dylan and Don Was had the idea to record Frank signing Hank Williams songs. That would have been amazing, but the project never got off the ground. Frank Sinatra, Jr. claimed that Bob would call his Dad from time to time, to say hello or maybe ask for advice. Years later, Dylan would go on to do three beautifully recorded albums of standards associated with Sinatra, done live-in-studio with Al Schmitt at Capitol, in the same room Frank used extensively on his Capitol Records albums of the 50’s. It completely transformed Dylan’s singing, getting more out of his phrasing and his vocal tone than he had in years. Most fans were tired of the phase by the time of the 3rd album, Triplicate, but that phase paid huge dividends for his performances since.

One last picture from the Sinatra 80th celebration, this one at the post-show party at Frank’s home. Dylan meets Don Rickles, who says to him “Why don’t you open your mouth when you’re singing?!?”

Let’s close out with Frank himself, performing “One For My Baby” at the Royal Festival Hall, London, 1970…