Key developments
Literary Hub revisits Dylan and Beatles ties
Jim Windolf’s Literary Hub essay, published April 20, revisits the Bob Dylan and Beatles relationship as a decades-long exchange of admiration, rivalry, and collaboration. It cites the Beatles’ repeated listening to Dylan in Paris in early 1964, their Delmonico Hotel meeting later that summer, and later touchpoints including the Get Back sessions, Dylan’s 1990 Edmonton take on "Nowhere Man," and his 2022 praise of "Eleanor Rigby," "Paperback Writer," and Ringo Starr.
Why it matters
It packages a canonical rock-history relationship into a current, source-rich feature that can renew attention to the Dylan-Beatles crossover.
Sources & driving stories
LITERARY HUB · Jim Windolf
Literary Hub coverageRolling Thunder night two trims repertoire
Ray Padgett’s April 20 Flagging Down the Double E's post says Rolling Thunder Revue night two shifted toward a narrower set centered on reprises from the 1975 run. Dylan kept "Mr. Tambourine Man" as the solo opener and added "It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)," while the post also points to "Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You," "Just Like a Woman," and "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" and suggests timing issues may reflect recording-speed fluctuations.
Why it matters
It adds granular performance-history detail that helps document how the 1976 Rolling Thunder run evolved from night one.
Sources & driving stories
FLAGGING DOWN THE DOUBLE E'S · Ray Padgett
Flagging Down the Double E's coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
Blonde on Blonde turns sixty
Sam Liddicott’s April 19 review revisits the album’s stature and sound, making it useful context even though it is retrospective rather than a new development.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Are more primary Dylan-Beatles accounts forthcoming?
The Literary Hub essay leans heavily on retrospective recollections, so additional first-hand documentation could sharpen the chronology and influence claims.
OPEN QUESTION
Were Rolling Thunder timing issues technical?
Padgett suggests recording-speed fluctuations may explain the instability, but that remains unresolved and affects how the performances are interpreted.