Bob Dylan Center acquires newly discovered early recordings

Some new artifacts that the Bob Dylan Center aquired include 1960-61 tapes in a Madison, Wisconsin apartment and his first big concert in NYC in 1961.

Ahead of the Bob Dylan Center’s grand opening on May 10th, 2022, the center’s archivists have announced their discovery of many early recordings and other vintage Bob Dylan memorabilia. All of these recent findings will be displayed at the venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Madison Tapes reveal Bob Dylan performances on two open-reel tapes recorded at the apartment of folk and blues musician Danny Kalb around the winter of 1960-1961, while Dylan was journeying from Minnesota to Greenwich Village. This first tape is approximately 90 minutes in length and records Dylan performing over 20 songs, including tunes by Woody Guthrie, Jimmie Rogers, the Stanley Brothers, and more.

By Gloria Stavers from Bob Dylan Center — Gloria Stavers / Bob Dylan Center

The Bailey Tapes consist of previously unknown open-reel tapes recorded in New York City in 1961 and 1961, including a performance by Dylan in the autumn of 1962, where he sings the earliest known renditions of his songs ‘Oxford Town’ and ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’, as well as ‘Saturday of Folk Music’ which was performed at Harlem’s Riberside Church, where Dylan first met girlfriend Suze Rotolo who appears on the cover of the classic The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album.

The Bob Dylan Center is being designed by renowned architectural and exhibit design firm Olson Kundig. The BDC will feature cutting-edge technology aimed to immerse the audience in a multimedia environment that is aimed at being just as impressive to visitors unfamiliar with Bob Dylan’s work as well as the long time listeners of his work and aficionados.

The Bob Dylan Center has collected more than 100,000 articacts related to the music icon. The BDC is set to announce information on public admission first to its members, then to the public in early 2022.