Bob Dylan Was Shunned By Both Paul McCartney And Mick Jagger
Glyn Johns is a name you might not have heard before if you’re not a rock history aficionado. However, his work history includes a list of icons that even if you’ve been living in an Amish colony for the last half century, you may have at least heard a snippet or two of.
Johns, like many of the key figures of this era, has recently released a tell-all autobiography that has some fascinating stories — one of which involves an anecdote involving Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and Mick Jagger that began when Glyn ran into the former in an airport, reported Rolling Stone.
“[Dylan] asked me about the Beatles album I had just finished and was very complimentary about my work with the Stones over the years. In turn, I babbled about how how much we had all been influenced by his work.”
But Johns’ reverent moment took a turn when Bob presented him with a crazy idea for a collaboration.
“He said he had this idea to make a record with the Beatles and the Stones. And he asked me if I would find out whether the others would be interested. I was completely bowled over. Can you imagine the three greatest influences on popular music in the previous decade making an album together?”
Glyn immediately began shopping the idea around to the band members, but he was surprised to find that while some of them were enthusiastic about it, two of the biggest figures of the bands were not on board at all.
“Keith and George thought it was fantastic. But they would since they were both huge Dylan fans. Ringo, Charlie and Bill were amicable to the idea as long as everyone else was interested. John didn’t say a flat no, but he wasn’t that interested. Paul and Mick both said absolutely not.”
Although Johns somewhat laments that the project never came to be, he also says he somewhat understands why Jagger and McCartney had cold feet.
“I had it all figured out. We would pool the best material from Mick and Keith, Paul and John, Bob and George, and then select the best rhythm section from the two bands to suit whichever songs we were cutting. Paul and Mick were probably, right, however I would have given anything to have given it a go.”
Glyn Johns’ book Sound Man comes out this Tuesday, featuring stories from some of his work with Mick Jagger and Paul Cartney. In addition, he was part of the force behind a long string of other classics: Rolling Stones (Beggars Banquet, Sticky Fingers, Let It Bleed), the Beatles (Let It Be, Abbey Road), the Who (Who’s Next, Quadrophenia, The Who By Numbers), the Band (Stage Fright), Neil Young (Harvest), Eagles (Desperado, On the Border), and the Clash (Combat Rock).
[Image via Flickr]
