Bob Dylan & Bennington College

This is an odd little piece of Vermont's musical history that my friend at Bennington College told me about over dinner before the Jens Lekman show.

Bob Dylan twice played Bennington College in the early 60's before becoming the musical monolith he has become. His first performance there was in 1961 when he opened for Rev. Gary Davis. The story goes that when Dylan heard that Davis was only getting paid $75 for the show, he told the promoter to give Davis half of his own $50 performance fee. Dylan said Davis should never play for less than $100. If you are unfamiliar with Davis, he was an old bluesman who did a killer version of "If I Had My Way" which The Grateful Dead renamed "Sampson and Delilah" and had a minor hit.

Dylan returned to Bennington College in 1963 shortly after The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan had been released. While on campus, Dylan shared the lyrics for the yet-to-be-released "The Times They Are A-Changin'" with the school's literary journal, Silo. Silo then printed the lyrics which became the first known published appearance of the song. That issue of Silo is now obviously a collector's item and goes for about $45.

There is something ironic about "The Times They Are A-Changin'" being first seen in the most anachronistic state in the country.