Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde, released in 1966, was the first double album in rock and roll history and one of the most complex and celebrated records in American popular music. Old Crow Medicine Show released 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde on May 25, 2018, through Columbia Records, recording the entire album in their signature string-band Americana style in honor of the double album's half-century anniversary.
The project was audacious in its scope and commitment. Covering a single Bob Dylan song in a roots-Americana arrangement was the kind of thing string bands had been doing for decades; covering the full album, including its most abstract and difficult material, was a different category of artistic ambition.
What Made the Project Work
The project worked for several interconnected reasons. Old Crow Medicine Show had been performing "Wagon Wheel," a song built on a Bob Dylan fragment that founder Ketch Secor had developed into a complete song, since the band's earliest days. Their relationship with Dylan's musical and lyrical vocabulary was genuine and long-standing rather than opportunistic.
The band's string-band arrangement approach, drawing on old-time music, bluegrass, and country folk traditions, found natural points of alignment with Dylan's own folk and country roots. Blonde on Blonde itself was made at Columbia's Nashville studios with session players from Music Row, which meant its production had always contained Southern American music elements that Old Crow's arrangements could honor rather than translate.
The treatment of more abstract Dylan material, the surrealist imagery and complex melodic patterns of songs like "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" and "Visions of Johanna," required Old Crow to find the musical architecture beneath the complexity and build their arrangements from that foundation rather than trying to replicate Dylan's specific production choices.
Columbia Records and the Tribute Release
Columbia Records, which had released Dylan's original Blonde on Blonde, was the natural home for a tribute record with a legitimate anniversary rationale. The label's institutional connection to the source material gave the project credibility and ensured that the appropriate licensing and permissions were in place for a full-album cover release.
The full-album cover release is a specific commercial category with distinct licensing requirements. Rather than individual song mechanical licenses for a compilation release, the project required permission from the copyright holders for each composition, which for a Bob Dylan catalog was primarily handled through Sony Music Publishing.
The Streaming-Era Cover Album
The cover album occupied an interesting position in the streaming era's commercial landscape. Streaming platform algorithms surfaced cover recordings in searches and playlists alongside original recordings, which meant that a well-produced cover of a famous song or album could reach listeners who were searching specifically for the original and might not otherwise have encountered the covering artist.
For Old Crow Medicine Show, the Blonde on Blonde release reached listeners who arrived through Bob Dylan searches and discovered the band's larger catalog through that initial exposure. That discovery pathway was more direct than any conventional press or radio campaign could have provided for a roots-Americana act.
The Live Performance Dimension
The tribute album project also served a live performance function. Old Crow Medicine Show performed the full Blonde on Blonde album in concert settings following the recording's release, which represented an unusual touring format: a complete album performance that was both a tribute event and a showcase of the band's musical capabilities across a demanding and varied setlist.
That live-album format, performing a complete album from start to finish, had developed through the decade as a festival and theater concert model, with acts including Pink Floyd tribute bands and Elvis Costello performing complete albums in anniversary contexts. Old Crow's version brought the format into the string-band Americana world in a way that served both their audience's interests and their own artistic development.
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FAQ
What is 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde? It is Old Crow Medicine Show's 2018 album, released through Columbia Records, in which the band recorded the complete Bob Dylan Blonde on Blonde album in their string-band Americana style on the fiftieth anniversary of the original.
Who are Old Crow Medicine Show? Old Crow Medicine Show is a Nashville-based string band known for blending old-time music, bluegrass, country, and rock. They are best known for "Wagon Wheel," a song developed from a Bob Dylan fragment, which became one of the most performed country songs of its era.
Why was Old Crow Medicine Show's relationship to Bob Dylan's material authentic? The band had been performing material derived from Dylan since their formation, and their string-band musical vocabulary found natural alignment with the Southern American musical roots in Dylan's Blonde on Blonde production.
How does the streaming era affect cover album commercial strategy? Streaming algorithms surface cover recordings in searches alongside original recordings, creating a discovery pathway for covering artists among listeners specifically searching for the source material.
What licensing is required for a full-album cover release? A full-album cover requires mechanical licenses for each composition from the copyright holders, in addition to the synchronization agreements that a streaming release platform requires for physical and digital distribution.
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