Blowin' in the Wind
Written in 1962 and recorded in July of that year, then a hit for Peter, Paul and Mary.
Bob Dylan, from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)
- Written by
- Bob Dylan
- Released
- 1963
- Length
- 2:48
- Album
- The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Dylan first performed it, with two verses, at Gerde's Folk City on 16 April 1962. It was printed in Broadside that May and in Sing Out! in June, with a commentary from Dylan. He recorded it on 9 July 1962 at Columbia's studio in New York, with John H. Hammond producing.
Peter, Paul and Mary released it as a single in June 1963 on Warner Bros., produced by Albert Grossman. It reached number two on the Hot 100 and won two Grammys. Sam Cooke added the song to his repertoire, and it inspired his A Change Is Gonna Come. Bobby Darin recorded it in 1963, Marianne Faithfull in 1964, and Stevie Wonder in 1966, when it went top ten on the Hot 100 and number one on the R&B chart.
Live
Dylan played it on UK television in January 1963 and on US national television in March 1963. A version from the Gaslight Cafe in October 1962 appears on Bootleg Series Vols. 1-3. It has been logged about 1,570 times in concert.
Covers and versions
- Bobby Darin (1963)
- Marianne Faithfull (1964)
- Stevie Wonder (1966) A top ten pop hit and a number one on the R&B chart.
More songs by Bob Dylan
Like a Rolling Stone, Mr. Tambourine Man, A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall, Tangled Up in Blue, All Along the Watchtower
Sources
- Blowin' in the Wind, Wikipedia
- Bob Dylan statistics, setlist.fm