Rock history: Bob Dylan, The Band’s Basement Tapes, and The Birth of Bootlegs

Written by Andy Hood

In 1966, Bob Dylan was at the top of the game. Having just released his epic 2-LP album Blonde on Blonde, along with a tour spanning the US and UK, it seemed as though he was in more demand than ever. He even got married! Things slowed down, however, when Bob suffered a motorcycle accident in late 66, which left him temporarily out of commission. Dylan was homebound to his residence in Woodstock, NY. It was then that he found new inspiration with his touring band, The Hawks—soon to be known as The Band. The Band had accompanied Dylan on his UK tour, and provided a big, aggressive sound emphasizing Dylan’s transition from folk star into rock and roll icon.

But now, they were all living in Woodstock, far away from all of the insanity of 1966. It was 67 now, and they all had some time to kill. The Band was living nearby in the house known as “Big Pink”, which would be immortalized by their first LP. Together, The Band and Dylan jammed out in the house’s basement, recording over 100 tracks in a single summer. To the detriment of fans everywhere, none of these songs were released. Some were used as demos for other artists to cover—such as Peter, Paul and Mary, but most never saw the light of day. The fans weren’t having it. They wanted to hear what was going on in that basement.

So the fans took action. Soon, an unauthorized release known as “Great White Wonder” hit record stores on the down-low. This minimally produced record was released in 1969, and collected 10 tracks from the basement tapes as well as many other rarities recorded throughout Dylan’s early career. These albums circulated among fans and are still traded to this day. “Great White Wonder” is widely regarded to be one of the very first bootleg albums.