Last Update: 04/05/2026 at 2:50 PM EST
Dylan Faces Weberman Obsession
Coverage from Far Out Magazine, Rolling Stone, and others
Articles
4
Latest Article
02/13
Active Days
19706
Executive Summary
Bob Dylan confronts A.J. Weberman, whose trash digging and taped calls exposed an intense, strange fan obsession.
- A.J. Weberman founded the Dylan Liberation Front in 1969 to push Dylan back to protest music
- Weberman called himself a garbologist and searched Dylan's trash for clues to his thinking
- Dylan met Weberman in New York City in 1970 after a protest outside his home
- Their recorded phone calls became known as The Weberman Tapes and captured arguments and candid talk
- The tapes offered a rare, intimate look at Dylan during the Self Portrait transition period
- Weberman later built a wider archive of Dylan-related books, flyers, bootlegs, and correspondence
- The collection includes the first vinyl press of the Weberman Tapes and first edition Tarantula bootlegs
Quick Facts
- What: A bizarre fan confrontation and recorded phone exchange
- Where: New York City, especially Macdougal Street
- Why: Weberman wanted Dylan back to political songwriting
- Who: Bob Dylan and A J Weberman
- When: Mainly 1970, with later related material
Coverage Timeline: 19706 Days
Featured Article
In 1970, Bob Dylan met AJ Weberman outside his New York City home, prompting recorded exchanges later released as The Weberman Tapes.
Additional Articles
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In mid-1960s New York, Alan Jules Weberman collects Bob Dylan's garbage from Macdougal Street and moves it to the Bowery.
AJ Weberman and Bob Dylan collection documented in Boo-Hooray's online archive detailing Tarantula bootlegs and Dylanology ephemera from the late 1960s through 2005.
Far Out Magazine reports in the 2020s on Tangled Up with Dylan: The Ballad of A.J. Weberman, a documentary about A.J. Weberman in New York.