$402. That number has been included for decades in the saga of Bob Dylan, which officially began 62 years ago today when Columbia Records released his debut album Bob Dylan. Its thirteen tracks had been recorded over two days just before Thanksgiving ’61, produced by the legendary John Hammond. Hammond signed Dylan after producing folk singer Carolyn Hester’s self-titled album, her first for Columbia. Bob played harmonica on her version of “I’ll Fly Away,” and Hammond became fascinated by Dylan. He asked Bob to audition for Columbia Records, offering Dylan a standard five year recording contract at the end of the session. Dylan signed on the spot. The sessions for the album ran for a few hours over two days. Six of the tracks are first takes, while one of the two originals, “Song to Woody,” was a complete take following a quickly botched first attempt. The sessions ran so quickly that Hammond later joked in an interview that the album cost Columbia “about $402.” He also said:

“Bobby popped every p, hissed every s, and habitually wandered off mic. Even more frustrating, he refused to learn from his mistakes. It occurred to me at the time that I’d never worked with anyone so undisciplined before. When I first met Bobby, he wasn’t a terribly good guitar player. He wasn’t much of a singer. And he sure as hell was a lousy harmonica player. But he was a genius.”

It’s an album I return to often. He’s 20, trying to sound 80, running through eleven folk and blues standards with a couple of originals included: “Song to Woody,” for his idol Woody Guthrie, and “Talkin’ New York,” about his initial days on the club circuit in Greenwich Village. He played some slide on “In My Time of Dyin’” using his girlfriend Suze Rotolo’s lipstick holder. “Pretty Peggy-O” would make sporadic appearances in Bob’s setlists for years to come, including a personal Top-10 show I saw at SUNY Albany on April 18, 1997:

One particular song from the album holds a special place for me. I was in attendance at Madison Square Garden on July 17, 1986 for Dylan’s first NYC performance of the song since 1963. It was the last performance of the night. He has only performed it four times since, the last coming in 2007 in Newcastle, England, in tribute to The Animals. But that night in 1986, backed by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers w/Ronnie Wood, “House of the Rising Sun” went like this:

Another debut album I return to periodically was released almost 25 years later to the day, on March 3, 1987. It was credited to the band World Party, though it was mainly one guy, just like Bob on his debut. He was a guy who wore his Dylan (and Stones) proudly on his sleeve, the great Karl Wallinger. I was genuinely sorry to hear of Karl’s passing last week, though it has been years since I actively listened to him. For a while there though, those first two World Party albums, Private Revolution and Goodbye Jumbo, were in heavy rotation on my turntable.

Private Revolution was Wallinger’s first project after departing the great band The Waterboys following their album Fisherman’s Blues. Steve Wickham and Anthony Thistlethwaite, two of his former bandmates, appear on two tracks. Waterboys leader Mike Scott may also appear under the psuedonym Delahaye, which can be found on the credits of several Waterboys albums. Sinead O’Connor appears on the title track as well as Karl’s Beggars Banquet homage “Hawaiian Island World.” For good measure, Wallinger included a cover of Dylan’s “All I Really Want To Do.” Arguably the album’s best-known song is the great “Ship Of Fools,” performed here on the British music television show Old Grey Whistle Test:

I saw World Party at Symphony Space on the Upper West Side of Manhattan just after Goodbye Jumbo was released. The album includes the sublime “And I Fell Back Alone,” as well as a song about Bob Dylan, “God On My Side.” I don’t remember too many details of the concert, though Karl clearly noticed the audience wasn’t exactly on their feet dancing. He said something along the lines of “I hope the super glue wears off your seats!” I’m glad I can say I saw him live. I wish I’d kept up better with his work as the years progressed. I have some catching up to do.

This reminds me of something else. At one point I was in an all-acoustic group named Off The Wagon. We covered “Ship Of Fools” one night. One person after another mentioned that was the best song of the night. I mean, everyone named it. Later on it occurred to me that it was the only song of the night I didn’t play guitar on. Hmmm.

Today’s Playlist is a SomethingIsHappening compendium in tribute to the life of Karl Wallinger, with a few of his Waterboys appearances included:

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