Harold Lepidus virtual class: The Influence the Beatles & Bob Dylan Had On Each Other (Feb. 8, 2022)

January 24, 2022

On February 7, 1964, the Beatles landed at J.F.K. Airport in Queens, New York. On February 9, 1964, the Beatles made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was viewed by an estimated 73 million people. That same day, while sitting in the back seat of a car as he was being driven through Mississippi, Bob Dylan was working on his song, "Chimes of Freedom." To celebrate these anniversaries, I will be teaching a virtual class titled The Influence the Beatles & Bob Dylan Had On Each Other. It will take place on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. East Coast time.

It’s no secret that the Beatles and Bob Dylan were two of the biggest and most influential musical acts of the 1960s, and their popularity is still in evidence today. With Bob Dylan’s recent critically acclaimed Rough and Rowdy Ways album and tour, and Peter Jackson’s phenomenal The Beatles Get Back documentary, not to mention the band's new and archival group and solo releases, Dylan and the Beatles continue to capture the public’s imagination.

Audio: The Beatles playing Bob Dylan song fragments during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions

The Beatles and Bob Dylan each came from seemingly disparate backgrounds. The Beatles grew up in the post-war seaport city of Liverpool, England, and grew up even more in the dangerous reeperbahn district in Hamburg, Germany, while a young Bobby Zimmerman spent most of his youth in the iron ore country of Hibbing, Minnesota. What they shared was a passion for early rock and roll music, although their careers followed very different trajectories.

Bob Dylan and the Beatles discovered each other’s existence in January, 1964. The Beatles were performing in Paris, and became obsessed with Dylan's Freewheelin' album, while Dylan was on a road trip across the USA, blown away by the Beatles' hits he heard on the radio. Their paths crossed periodically throughout the decade, and they significantly influenced each other’s art. After the Beatles split up in 1970, Dylan and the individual members of the Beatles continued to interact and influence each other for many years. From Paul McCartney headlining Live-Aid in London while Dylan had the same honor in Philadelphia, from The Concert For Bangla Desh to the Traveling Wilburys, from inspiring each other to covering each other, including parodies, tributes, and numerous collaborations, the story of the Beatles and Bob Dylan remains intertwined.

All of this and more will be explained and explored in my class, The Influence the Beatles & Bob Dylan Had On Each Other. Hope to see you there!

Official class information and links to sign up below.

Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, George Harrison, and Pattie Boyd at Bob Dylan's August, 1969, concert at the Isle of Wight

The Influence the Beatles & Bob Dylan Had On Each Other

In many significant ways, the Beatles and Bob Dylan influenced an entire generation. But how did they influence each other? Some of their interactions in the mid-1960s were obvious examples, with Dylan’s lyrics inspiring the expanded lyrical content in the songwriting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and future fellow Wilbury George Harrison, and the Fabs' Mersey Beat was a catalyst in Dylan's decision to "Go Electric." Yet by the end of the decade, they had switched places, with the Beatles lyrics - psychedelic and otherwise - becoming increasingly poetic, while Dylan (temporarily) simplified his lyrics on albums like 1969’s Nashville Skyline. But their influences go back much further and deeper than that. Dylan originally wanted to be Little Richard, while all Liverpool bands began by playing “skiffle” music, influenced by Woody Guthrie acolyte Lonnie Donegan.

Using audio, literary, and video evidence, The Influence the Beatles & Bob Dylan Had On Each Other, will be a two-hour exploration of the two most influential musical entities of the 1960s, from their earliest influences to their many collaborations, compositions, quotes, and tributes by and about each other over the past 50+ years.

Harold Lepidus is the author of Friends and Other Strangers: Bob Dylan Examined (Oakmoor Publishing/Bennion Kearney), a collection of articles connecting Dylan with over 120 musicians, filmmakers, actors, artists, politicians, critics, and fans. In 2019, he spoke at The World of Bob Dylan Symposium in Tulsa, Oklahoma, home of the official Bob Dylan Archives. He wrote a music column for Blasting News and a blog for No Depression, and recently launched his own podcast, THE BOSTON HAROLD PODCAST. Lepidus has taught classes on Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and the Beatles as part of the Acton-Boxborough Community Education Program.