It’s been a few weeks now since Google debuted their Street Maps feature. Here at Rock Daily, the novelty of panoramic street-level shots hasn’t worn off, especially since we’ve put the tool to good use — namely, checking out the current state of some key rock and roll landmarks. We showed you sites ranging from the Fillmore West to the Chelsea Hotel in our first and second Sixty-Second Tours. Below, check out four more landmarks in their present form — all of them instrumental in the life of Bob Dylan.
• Café Wha is most commonly known as Dylan’s first stop when he arrived in New York on January 21, 1961. Owner Fred Neil (who scored a hit in 1969 with “Everybody’s Talkin’”) let him onstage to accompany him on harmonica. Six years later, Chas Chandler of The Animals discovered Jimi Hendrix here and later got him signed to a record deal. Located on MacDougal between Bleecker and west Third Street, Wha was one of the original facilitators of the artistic explosion that took place in New York during the late Fifties, Sixties and Seventies. It’s also the longest running folk club in the city.
• Jones Street between Bleecker and West Fourth will forever be famous for the Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album cover. Shot by photographer Don Hunstein in December of 1962, the cover showed Dylan and then-girlfriend Suze Rotolo arm in arm. Rotolo inspired songs like “Don’t Think Twice Its Alright” and “Boots of Spanish Leather.” Although the street has been developed and there are no VW wagons lingering in the background, the spirit of Dylan’s folk rock masterpiece remains.
The Gaslight Cafe was a key club in the early 1960s folk revival. Most famously, it was also Dylan’s primary performance venue. Musicians playing here were paid by means of a wooden basket, passed around through the audience. It was also home to performances from beat poets Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso. Dylan spent many legendary nights at the Gaslight, and the earliest live recordings of “Don’t Think Twice its Alright” and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” were made here. Last year, Starbucks released Live At The Gaslight.
• The White Horse tavern – whose structure dates back to 1652 - famously served Dylan Thomas the eighteen whiskies that killed him. In the early Sixties, it was also a common hang out for Bob Dylan, where he often went to drink and watch the Irish folk singing group The Clancy Brothers. Liam Clancy was interviewed here for the Dylan documentary “No Direction Home.”
• The Delmonico It was in this luxury hotel that Dylan introduced The Beatles to marijuana during their 1964 tour. Prior to this the Beatles had only tried speed, which amazed Dylan who misheard the lyrics to “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” as “I get high” as opposed to “I can’t hide.” Paul later said this experience caused him to “think for the first time.”
Photos: Google