All Along the Watchtower
Recorded in Nashville on 6 November 1967, and made over by Jimi Hendrix a year later.
Bob Dylan, from John Wesley Harding (1967)
- Written by
- Bob Dylan
- Released
- 1967
- Length
- 2:31
- Album
- John Wesley Harding
Dylan recorded it on 6 November 1967 at Columbia Studio A in Nashville, with Bob Johnston producing, Charlie McCoy on bass and Kenneth Buttrey on drums. It appeared on John Wesley Harding on 27 December 1967.
Jimi Hendrix began recording his version on 21 January 1968 at Olympic Studios in London, with overdubs from June to August at the Record Plant in New York. It came out as a single in the US on 2 September 1968 and reached 20 on the Hot 100, then in the UK on 18 October, where it reached five. It is on Electric Ladyland. In 1995 Dylan said he took license with the song from Hendrix's version and has continued to do so.
Live
Dylan first played it live on 3 January 1974 in Chicago. It is his most-played song, logged about 2,300 times in concert. Bobby Womack covered it in 1973, XTC in 1978 and U2 in 1988.
On stage
- 1974-01-03, Chicago First live performance.
Covers and versions
- Jimi Hendrix (1968) On Electric Ladyland. A top five single in the UK.
- Bobby Womack (1973)
- XTC (1978)
- U2 (1988)
More songs by Bob Dylan
Like a Rolling Stone, Blowin' in the Wind, Mr. Tambourine Man, A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall, Tangled Up in Blue
Sources
- All Along the Watchtower, Wikipedia
- Bob Dylan statistics, setlist.fm
- All Along the Watchtower, SecondHandSongs