AUDIO ESSAYS

Mike Bloomfield helped Bob Dylan launch the folk-rock era with an electric performance on July 25, 1965 at the Newport Folk Festival. Featured was Dylan's revolutionary new tune, "Like a Rolling Stone." David Gahr photoThe Making of "Like a Rolling Stone"

A radio broadcast by David Dann

ON MAY 25, 2012, WJFF 90.5 FM, an NPR and Pacifica member radio station in the Catskills of New York, held its annual Bob Dylan birthday festival. Called the "Million Dollar Bash," the annual celebration features twelve hours of continuous Dylan music, interviews, rare clips and live in-studio performances. This year I was asked to contribute to the broadcast and, being a Michael Bloomfield fan, I thought it only fitting that I focus on Dylan's connection to Michael. So I decided to do a show about the "Highway 61 Revisited" sessions, concentrating primarily on the genesis of "Like a Rolling Stone."

Here is my portion of that radio program for your listening pleasure, warts and all. It's offered here in celebration not only of Bloomfield and Dylan's collaboration, but also of Michael's 69th birthday anniversary (on July 28). "The Making of 'Like a Rolling Stone'" was part of a freewheeling evening of programming, with much activity going on in the studios and behind the scenes while it was being broadcast. The show was largely unscripted and was engineered on the fly by yours truly, so you may notice a few rough spots. My apologies for those in advance, but I hope you'll otherwise enjoy the production. Happy birthday, Michael!

Click the player below to hear "The Making of 'Like a Rolling Stone'", or download it. Download