Nashville Babylon: Saturday 24 May 2025
This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions.
Bob Dylan, 1963
Photo:
supplied
This week's Nashville Babylon celebrates Bob Dylan's 84th birthday with a selection of cover versions of his finest work from the likes of Mavis Staples, Solomon Burke, Esther Phillips, Bryan Ferry, RL Burnside and Willie Nelson.
Music played:
Artist: Mavis Staples & Levon Helm
Track: Gotta Serve Somebody
Composer: Bob Dylan
Album: Carry Me Home
Label: Anti
Artist: Bob Dylan
Track: Highway 61 Revisited
Composer: Bob Dylan
Album: Highway 61 Revisited
Label: Columbia
Artist: Bryan Ferry
Track: Simple Twist Of Fate
Composer: Bob Dylan
Album: Dylanesque
Label: Virgin
Artist: Esther Phillips
Track: Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
Composer: Bob Dylan
Album: The Roulette Sides
Label: Warner
Artist: RL Burnside
Track: Everything Is Broken
Composer: Bob Dylan
Album: Tangled Up In Blues
Label: House Of Blues
Artist: Solomon Burke
Track: The Mighty Quinn
Composer: Bob Dylan
Album: Proud Mary
Label: Sundazed
Artist: Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
Track: Don't Think Twice It's Alright
Composer: Bob Dylan
Album: Django and Jimmie
Label: Legacy
Artist: Them
Track:It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
Composer: Bob Dylan
Album: Them Again
Label: Decca
Artist: Emma Swift
Track: Queen Jane Approximately
Composer: Dylan
Artist: Blonde On The Tracks
Label: Tiny Ghost Records
Artist: The Brothers and Sisters
Track: All Along The Watchtower
Composer: Bob Dylan
Album: Dylan's Gospel
Label: Ode
Artist: Bob Dylan
Track: Like A Rolling Stone
Composer: Bob Dylan
Album: Highway 61 Revisited
Label: Columbia
Artist: The Noveltones
Track: Left Bank Two
Composer: Wayne Hill
Album: Left Bank Two
Label: De Wolfe Music
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Loretta Swit, 'Hot Lips' Houlihan on M*A*S*H, dies at 87
By Patricia Reaney , Reuters Loretta Swit in 2018. Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP Loretta Swit, the Emmy Award-winning actress who played no-nonsense US Army combat nurse Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the hit TV series M*A*S*H for more than a decade, died on Friday at the age of 87. Swit, a mainstay of one of the most successful and acclaimed series in US television history, died at her home in New York City from what was suspected to be natural causes, her publicist, Harlan Boll, said. Swit earned two best supporting actress Emmys and 10 nominations for her role as Hot Lips, the lusty, tough but vulnerable, patriotic Army career nurse in the series that ran from 1972-1983. As the only regular female character in the groundbreaking show set in the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War of the 1950s, Hot Lips endured the insults, pranks and practical jokes of the fun-loving male surgeons. The show's cast also included Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevenson, Larry Linville, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, Gary Burghoff, David Ogden Stiers and Jamie Farr. Swit defined her role by playing a strong, determined, independent woman, who had input into the development and storyline of her character, including her split from her married lover Major Frank Burns, hilariously played by Linville, and her own wedding and divorce. She appeared in nearly all of the more than 250 episodes and the series finale, which was the most watched episode of any TV series in history when the show ended in 1983. The TV series was based on the real-life experiences of an Army surgeon, who penned the 1968 book MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors , and on director Robert Altman's 1970 black comedy film of the same name. "While we were shooting, even from the very beginning, we were aware of how very special it was," Swit said about the series in a 2017 interview with Fox News. "The symbiosis, the camaraderie, the love and respect we had for each other." Loretta Swit was born on 4 November, 1937, in Passaic, New Jersey. After finishing school, and against her strict parents' objections, she began training as an actress at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. She worked as a stenographer while auditioning for roles. "The first thought I ever had in my head was being an actress. I can't remember ever not wanting to perform," she told the Star magazine in a 2010 interview. The tall, blonde stage and TV star was a strict vegetarian and animal lover. She started her career in theater and appeared in guest roles in TV dramas such as Gunsmoke , Mannix , Bonanza and the original Hawaii Five-O , before landing her signature role. Swit also originated the character of Detective Christine Cagney in the pilot for Cagney & Lacey but could not take on the role in the TV series because of her contract with M*A*S*H . The actress made her Broadway debut in Same Time , Next Year in 1975. She performed in the musical Mame on tour and starred in the one-woman play Shirley Valentine more than 1000 times over three decades. "Acting is not hiding to me, it's revealing. We give you license to feel," she said in an interview with the Star magazine in 2010. "That's the most important thing in the world, because when you stop feeling, that's when you're dead." After M*A*S*H Swit appeared in TV movies, on game shows and on the stage and in films but she never found the same level of fame. She also devoted herself to animal rights and was a former spokesperson for the Humane Society of the United States. She married actor Dennis Holahan, who played a Swedish diplomat in an episode of M*A*S*H , in 1983. The couple divorced in 1995 and had no children. Although M*A*S*H ended decades ago, Swit found new generations of fans through syndication of the series. "The show has never been off the air! A lot of people don't realise that," Swit told the Huffington Post in 2018. "I've seen it in Thailand, in Egypt ... It's a phenomenon." - Reuters

RNZ News
15 hours ago
- RNZ News
Taylor Swift gains control of her music catalogue
By Lisa Richwine, Reuters Taylor Swift during a concert in Amsterdam. Photo: Robin Van Lonkhuijsen / ANP MAG / ANP via AFP Pop superstar Taylor Swift has purchased the master recordings of her first six albums, giving her control of all of her music after a dispute with her former record label. Swift's masters had been sold in 2019 and the singer said she was not given the opportunity to buy them at the time. She re-recorded four of the albums with the subtitle 'Taylor's Version'. Swift purchased the original recordings from current owner Shamrock Capital in what she called her "greatest dream come true". No financial terms were disclosed. "I've been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out this is really happening," she said in a statement on her website. "I really get to say these words: All of the music I've ever made ... now belongs ... to me." The Fortnight singer also said she had re-recorded her 2006 self-titled debut album and parts of 2017 release Reputation . She said she would release them "when the time is right, if that would be something you guys would be excited about". Swift has won 14 Grammys, including an unprecedented four trophies for album of the year, and recently completed the highest-grossing concert tour of all time. The 35-year-old singer recorded her first six albums, which included hits such as 'Shake It Off' and 'You Belong With Me', with Big Machine Label Group before leaving in 2018 for Universal Music Group. Music executive Scooter Braun bought Big Machine in 2019 and Swift publicly accused him of bullying her and refusing to give her a chance to purchase her original recordings. Swift said in 2020 that BMG had sold her music to Shamrock. Media reports at the time said the deal was worth more than US$300 million. Representatives for Braun did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Swift praised executives at Shamrock, founded by Walt Disney's nephew Roy E Disney, as being "honest, fair and respectful". "My first tattoo might just be a huge shamrock in the middle of my forehead," she joked.

RNZ News
16 hours ago
- RNZ News
The Detail: How New Zealand is falling in love with country music
Tami Neilson has been recording with country icon Willie Nelson. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Once considered niche, and tucked away in dusty record stores or rural community halls, country music in New Zealand is enjoying something of a golden moment. From chart-topping Kiwi artists to two dedicated radio stations in the past 18 months, the genre is striking a heartfelt chord with more people than ever before. RNZ Nashville Babylon host Mark Rogers grew up listening to country music, from Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash to Marty Robbins, and told The Detail that it's all about the storytelling. "As a kid, the songs and storytelling caught my imagination," he said. "The songs have no fat on them, they cut to the chase straight away, they are pretty simple. "There's nothing too complicated about them, you know exactly where you are and the classic country songs have something in them that will appeal to just about everyone. They hit home, they are easy to get and understand, people can identify with them. "It's rare that they are talking about big flash cars or billion-dollar jewellery. It's the workingman's music - that's been its appeal for many, many decades and that will continue to ring true." It seems Kiwis are falling more in love with the genre and over the last 18 months, this has prompted the launch of not one, but two dedicated country music radio stations in New Zealand. First, broadcaster Mike Puru started Southern Cross Country, found on digital platforms. Then this month, NZME launched iHeartCountry NZ, offered on the iHeartRadio app and selected FM frequencies around the country. There are no presenters, just pre-programmed country music. Both stations showcase global legends and local voices. Among those voices, one name stands out - Tami Neilson. The Canadian-born, NZ-based powerhouse has been a trailblazer for years and has just won the inaugural Country Music Honour for Contribution to Country Music in Aotearoa, recognising her outstanding impact and unwavering dedication to the scene. "What Tami is doing at the moment is astounding," Rogers said. "She has been teaming up with Willie Nelson over in the States, which is a dream come true for her. "It's incredible and I'm super proud of what she is achieving. I would like to think she will get on the [mainstream radio] playlists, because what she is doing is absolutely fantastic. "The songs are great and radio loves a good song, so there is no excuse not to play Tami." Neilson competes for airtime with unlikely country singers, including Beyonce and Post Malone, who have swapped pop and rap respectively for country beats. "This has just exploded and I think it's a good thing,'' Rogers says. "Admittedly, I'm not a massive fan of some of it, but I'm a big fan of others. "I don't think it's cheapened the genre at all - it's just music developing." Clearly, Kiwis want more of it, proving country music in New Zealand isn't just surviving - it is thriving. Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .