From a Buick 6
1965 single by Bob Dylan
| "From a Buick 6" | ||||
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 US single picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by Bob Dylan | ||||
| from the album Highway 61 Revisited | ||||
| A-side | "Positively 4th Street" | |||
| Released | September 7, 1965 (1965-09-07) | |||
| Recorded | July 30, 1965 | |||
| Studio | Columbia, New York City | |||
| Genre | Blues, garage rock[1] | |||
| Length | 3:19 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bob Dylan | |||
| Producer(s) | Bob Johnston | |||
| Bob Dylan singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
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"From a Buick 6" is a song by Bob Dylan from his album Highway 61 Revisited, which was also released as a single on the B-side of "Positively 4th Street". It was recorded on July 30, 1965.[2]
Musical style
The song is a raucous blues song played recklessly by a band that included Al Kooper on organ and Mike Bloomfield on guitar.[3] The guitar part is patterned after older blues riffs by Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton and Big Joe Williams.[4] It also features a backbeat from drummer Bobby Gregg, a bass line from Harvey Brooks, and a soaring harmonica break.[3][5] The song starts with a snare shot that is similar to the opening song of Highway 61 Revisited, "Like a Rolling Stone".[2][5] It is essentially a 12-bar blues pattern, played with power chords, and is notable for Brooks' almost indiscernible substitution of an F in the tenth bar of all but the first verses, while the guitar and organ play the G-chord.
The song is partially based on Sleepy John Estes' 1930 song "Milk Cow Blues", even taking a few lyrics from the older song, but its approach is more similar to The Kinks' version of a Kokomo Arnold song that was also called "Milk Cow Blues".[3]
Cash Box described it as a "rollicking, fast-moving blues-drenched folk rocker."[6]
Legacy
- "From a Buick 6" has been covered by musicians such as Gary U.S. Bonds, Mitch Ryder, Treat Her Right, Mike Wilhelm, Alex Taylor and Johnny Winter.[7]
- G. E. Smith performed "From a Buick 6" with Booker T. & The M.G.'s during the tribute concert for Dylan's 30th anniversary as a recording artist on October 16, 1992, at Madison Square Gardens in New York City.[8]
- The name of a 2002 novel by Stephen King, From a Buick 8 is adapted from the title of this song.
- The Billy Bragg song "From a Vauxhall Velox" on the 1984 album Brewing Up with Billy Bragg was written as a response to "From a Buick 6".[9]
References
- ^ "Highway 61 Revisited review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- ^ a b Polizzotti, M. (2006). Highway 61 Revisited. pp. 29, 90–95. ISBN 978-0-8264-1775-6.
- ^ a b c "From a Buick 6". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ Shelton, R. (1997). No Direction Home. p. 280. ISBN 0-306-80782-3.
- ^ a b Gill, A. (1998). Don't Think Twice It's Alright. p. 86. ISBN 1-56025-185-9.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. September 18, 1965. p. 16. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ "From a Buick 6 covers". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
- ^ This performance was not included in The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration double-album.
- ^ Sweeting, Adam (5 April 2001). "Driven to distraction". theguardian.com. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
External links
- Lyrics at Bob Dylan's official website
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