Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” was well on its way to becoming an anthem of the civil rights movement when Experience Music Project curator Jasen Emmons was born in 1963.
Today, Emmons has become a Dylan expert as the curator of “Bob Dylan’s American Journey, 1956-1966,” an exhibit of more than 150 artifacts.
“Dylan’s not a collector,” said Emmons, who had to track down artifacts around the country. “He doesn’t have a nostalgic bone in his body. He doesn’t look back.”
Although Dylan continues to write and perform, the exhibit focuses on the early years.
“I would argue that his first decade was his most creative period,” Emmons said. “If he never wrote another song after 1966, he’d still be one of our most influential artists.”
“American Journey” is an excellent complement to Dylan’s current best-selling book “Chronicles: Volume One.” Next summer Martin Scorsese will release a documentary on Dylan, who made an indelible mark as a folksinger.
From age 19 to 24, he released seven incredibly diverse albums that evolved through folk, blues, topical (Civil Rights, anti-war), introspective, and rock categories, all marked by a signature style.
The exhibit begins on a wall outside the entrance where Emmons has chosen about a dozen songs and lyrics to represent the decade, including “Subterranean Blues,” “Chimes of Freedom,” “Masters of War,” “Girl of the North Country,” “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”
Chronologically explore Dylan’s growth and the influences of people and places, starting in Hibbing, a small town in the Iron Range of Minnesota.
EMP had 1,500 pounds of iron ore shipped from the Iron Range for a backdrop to the first section. There’s a clock from his father’s furniture store and a 22-page essay written as a high-school junior on John Steinbeck and character (he got a B).
Dylan wanted to be rock star but discovered Woody Guthrie. On display are Dylan’s personal copy of Guthrie’s “Bound for Glory,” the “Woody Guthrie Songbook,” and the only known Guthrie guitar.
Like Guthrie, Dylan stood up for causes and drew some of his songs from the news.
“He sees himself as a link in the musical chain,” Emmons said.
But Dylan’s vision was larger. He helped launch the singer-songwriter model that undermined the Tin Pan Alley model of songwriters writing for vocalists.
Trace Dylan’s steps through posters and handbills as his world expands beyond Greenwich Village. Dylan and Joan Baez were dubbed the King and Queen of Folk at the Newport Folk Festival.
Folk meets politics in the next section as Dylan became a spokesman for a generation, a title he refused to accept.
Here’s a draft for “Blowin’ in the Wind,” a No. 1 hit for Peter, Paul &Mary in 1963; and the FBI files on folksinger Phil Ochs.
The guitar that Bruce Langhorne played on the first five Dylan albums is here, as is Langhorne’s tambourine that he played on “Mr. Tambourine Man.”
In 1964, with the Beatles’ music reminding him of his rock ‘n roll dreams, Dylan started to move away from folk and politics, breaking the heart of folkies.
In July 1965 he appeared on stage with an electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival and was booed by many fans who felt he had sold out. According to Emmons, Dylan said: “Eventually they’ll get it.”
Dylan’s 1966 motorcycle crash is the last big event of the exhibit. He retreated in silence, which only added to the mystique.
“He was tired of dealing with all the expectations. The accident was also an excuse to step away. He was a very different person afterwards,” Emmons said.
That will be a story for another exhibit.
Bob Dylan’s American Journey, 1956-1966
Where: Experience Music Project, Seattle Center
When: Through Sept. 5
Tickets: Various prices; 877-367-5483,
If you go: Audio tour is available. Seven listening stations offer music from seven albums. Exhibit includes four 10-minute videos.
Bob Dylan’s American Journey, 1956-1966
Where: Experience Music Project, Seattle Center
When: Through Sept. 5
Tickets: Various prices; 877-367-5483,
If you go: Audio tour is available. Seven listening stations offer music from seven albums. Exhibit includes four 10-minute videos.
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