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Goodbye Jimmy Reed

From 2020's Rough and Rowdy Ways, Dylan pays direct homage to the Vee-Jay Records legend. The blues connection isn't just lyrical; the entire track is a musical tribute to Jimmy Reed's signature style. Dylan's band lays...

ArtistBob Dylan
RecordedEarly 2020, Sound City Studios, Los Angeles, California
LabelColumbia
Show PlacementShow 7 (track order 32)

From 2020's Rough and Rowdy Ways, Dylan pays direct homage to the Vee-Jay Records legend. The blues connection isn't just lyrical; the entire track is a musical tribute to Jimmy Reed's signature style. Dylan's band lays down a relentless, walking bassline and a lazy, hypnotic shuffle beat: the exact groove Reed used to cross over to white pop audiences in the 1950s. Dylan leans into his microphone with a jagged, rhythmic vocal delivery, mimicking Reed's famously relaxed, drawling cadence.