What Bob Dylan Wanted at Twenty-three

“It’s Only Make Believe”, and his gasping, end-of-the-world vocal seemed to bring an end to the era of innocence that had opened with “Young Love”. Now the message was, we can’t dupe them any more: People see us everywhere They think that you really care But myself I can’t deceive I know it’s only make believe

I remember once, when I was a kid, hearing Johnny Winter singing “Tired of Tryin’ ” with Muddy Waters on guitar, on the Nothin’ but the Blues album, and hearing him sing and liking what I heard and then looking at a picture of him on the album and double-taking, maybe triple-taking, and then wondering what it meant to be black (or white, or albino)

Arthur Alexander and Hendrix. In case anyone is interested, Arthur Alexander is a hero of mine. Check out his high-hat sound on his song “Anna,” long before the Beatles came along.

The sound suggested a young white man celebrating freedom, ready to do anything, go anywhere, pausing long enough for apologies and even regrets and recriminations, but then hustling on towards the new.