Any book that features Bob Dylan sharing a greasy hamburger
backstage with Tiny Tim is going to get your attention — especially
when the story is told by the ordinarily reclusive Dylan
himself.
Dylan's much anticipated autobiography, ‘‘Chronicles Volume
One,'' is chockfull of such entertaining anecdotes. There was the
time he saw the ghost of John Wilkes Booth in a basement barroom
mirror in lower Manhattan. And the days he spent playing Woody
Guthrie songs in a hospital room with Woody Guthrie.
And there's the first person to recognize young Dylan's musical
acumen: professional wrestler Gorgeous George.
‘‘He winked and seemed to mouth the phrase, ‘You're making it
come alive,''' Dylan writes. ‘‘I never forgot it. It was all the
recognition and encouragement I would need for years.''
The book begins with Dylan's early days in New York City,
signing his recording contract with music impresario John Hammond.
The transplanted Minnesota boy recounts his early days in Greenwich
Village, hanging out with Tiny Tim and meeting heroes like Dave Van
Ronk.
Later, Dylan recounts a dinner with U2 singer Bono, who arrived
for the meal toting a case of Guinness. ‘‘He's like that guy in the
old movie, the one who beats up a rat with his bare hands and
wrings a confession out of him'' Dylan writes. ‘‘If Bono had come
to America in the early part of the century he would have been a
cop.''
They finished most of the Guinness, too.
The writing is brisk and entertaining, offering some insights
into a performer who remains a cipher to many. There's no real
format; Dylan jumps from providing a laundry list of his reading
material to a description of performing at the Gaslight to tips on
playing poker (Dylan, FYI, was quick to fold and not much of a
bluffer).
But there's no attempt to tell his story chronologically or in
any linear form.
Wonder how Bobby Zimmerman became Bob Dylan? He briefly
considered taking the stage name ‘‘Bob Allyn,'' but rejected it as
a name more fit for ‘‘a used-car salesman.''
There are other interesting tales and stories throughout the
book, including Dylan's trip to the Coney Island home of
Guthrie.
