Suze Rotolo, an early girlfriend of Bob Dylan who strongly influenced the singer's early works, died on Friday 25th February 2011 in Manhattan aged 67, after a long battle with lung cancer, The legendary singer songwriter wrote about Suze in his 2004 memoir, saying, "Right from the start I couldn't take my eyes off her. She was the most erotic thing I'd ever seen. She was fair skinned and golden haired, full-blood Italian. The air was suddenly filled with banana leaves. We started talking and my head started to spin". The pair began dating each other and soon moved into an apartment in Greenwich Village. In the song 'Ballad in Plain D', Dylan blamed their eventual breakup on Suze's mother and sister who disapproved of him.
Suze is perhaps most famous for appearing on Dylan’s iconic 1963 breakthrough album The Freewheelin Bob Dylan.
Thanks to Sammie for passing on the news.
Courtesy of Sony, the Web Sherriff and a whole bunch of other mean individuals it’s almost impossible to blog a clip of Dylan from the era. Which really does run counter to the spirit of the times. This poor clip is one of the few available:
Mini Quiz.To provide some topical flavour, who is also on clip receiving a light in the first few seconds. What interest might I have in him?
6 comments:
Thank you for sharing this piece, Saffron. I did not know Suze Rotolo passed away, how sad. I enjoyed the pictures, video, and article. I can't figure out who the fellow is for the quiz but something about him seems very familiar as if I should be able to recognize who he is. Maybe it will come to me later, although someone else will probably have solved the mystery by then. LOL
Saffron, you have the knack, be it innate or not to make the people here feel special by always having an appropriate piece for a particular person at a particular time. Once again I feel that way. The passing of Suze Rotolo is not newsworthy of an international or national nature such as Libya, Tunisia or a dozen other countries. It certainly does not compare to whether there will be american football next year or whether someone named Rooney is really that good of a soccer player. However, it holds many memories and a feeling of nostalgia, for those in the 60s and 70s though you may never heard of her. She represented, along with Dylan a period of the calm before the storm when we passed from innocence to protestors, from secure within ourselves to questioning our elders, our patents, our elders, our teachers, our leaders, our peers. For you who have never read carefully Dylan's words, his comments and deeper meanings, you are missing something that has become prophetic even in 2011.
The album cover is truly much more than a young couple walking down a street. The VW Microbus waiting for its first revolutionary trip, the truck , ready to dispatch its first hard hats moral majority group in defense of Johnson and Nixon, the family sedan ready to return home to the suburbs without its youth inside, the quiet stillness of either Bleeker or Macdougal Street ready to be filled with the Civil Rights pioneers arriving up north, and the music, ready to penetrate all our senses. and make the neighbors in al the buildings open their windows and listen. Yes Suze and Bob represented much more than a young couple qwalking down a quiet street. It was a passing of the flag and a temprary resistance to jingoism that unfortunately, as we see today was all too temporary but to our parents and family and friends who lived through it, Thank you, and to you Saffron, thank you again.
As Camille said, I also have an idea who the person may be but really don't know. I was about to consult my Daniel Kramer photos who among other talents did the covers for " Bringing It All Back Home" and "Highway 61 Revisited" But that would be cheating so I'll wait for the answer also, and then say I was just going to say it was him......
Thanks for the great article Saffy.I must confess I had no Idea who Suze was, and not all that familiar with Bob Dylan either.
Thanks though for bringing an important piece of musical history to light.
Thank you for putting it so eloquently Sammie. Yes I think you have not only captured the magic of that album cover, but in my case have added a lot more - another dimension. I think it will be even more special for me from now on. Thank you. The solution to the quiz can be found by scrolling up.
that is why i love our blog!
i get to know new things ! thanks saffy and sammie ! hugs and kisses
and Dino you too !
OK I'm catching up now.
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