{"id":906801,"date":"2026-05-18T11:21:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T16:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/18\/how-bob-dylan-and-the-beatles-pushed-each-other-to-evolve\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T11:21:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T16:21:20","slug":"how-bob-dylan-and-the-beatles-pushed-each-other-to-evolve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/18\/how-bob-dylan-and-the-beatles-pushed-each-other-to-evolve\/","title":{"rendered":"How Bob Dylan and The Beatles pushed each other to evolve"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Music <\/p>\n<article id=\"post-893451\" data-post-id=\"893451\">\n<section>\n<h2>Music &#8220;Where the Music Had to Go&#8221; tracks Dylan and The Beatles\u2019 creative clash<\/h2>\n<div>\n<p><h3>\n                    <span>Published<\/span><br \/>\n                    <time datetime=\"2026-04-17T15:10:38-04:00\"><br \/>\n                        April 17, 2026 3:10PM (EDT)                    <\/time><br \/>\n                <\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div>\n<p><img width=\"1692\" height=\"1142\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/04\/george-harrison-bob-dylan-74274887.jpg\" alt=\"music George Harrison and Bob Dylan, 1971 (Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images)\"  decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" >    <\/p>\n<p>\n            George Harrison and Bob Dylan, 1971 (Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images)        <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<section>\n<p>Today\u2019s musicians would do well by their careers in reading Jim Windolf\u2019s exquisite new book, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/where-the-music-had-to-go-how-bob-dylan-and-the-beatles-changed-each-other-and-the-world-jim-windolf\/0cd040955c422df8?ean=9781668075562&#038;next=t\">Where the Music Had to Go<\/a>: How <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/topic\/bob-dylan\">Bob Dylan<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/topic\/the-beatles\">the Beatles<\/a> Changed Each Other\u2014and the World.\u201d In the book\u2019s finest moments, Windolf reminds us what it means both to be an artist and to embrace change. In their day, Dylan and The Beatles challenged each other not only to eschew taking their own inherent greatness for granted, but to accept the risks that being a true artist demands. And that risk \u2014 more often than not \u2014 is embedded in change.<\/p>\n<p>Windolf\u2019s narration of Dylan and The Beatles\u2019 evolving relationship \u2014 an association that began even before they famously met in person in a New York City hotel room in August 1964 \u2014 is worth the price of admission in and of itself. By the time that they met in the Delmonico Hotel on that fateful evening, Dylan exerted a powerful influence upon The Beatles\u2019 songwriterly aesthetic. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/topic\/john-lennon\">John Lennon<\/a>, in particular, idolized Dylan, whose performance style resonates across such early Beatles tracks as \u201cI\u2019m a Loser\u201d and \u201cYou\u2019ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By 1965, the idol worship had grown tiresome for Dylan, who notoriously clapped back at The Beatles\u2019 \u201cNorwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)\u201d with \u201cBlonde on Blonde\u201d\u2019s \u201c4th Time Around.\u201d \u201cI never asked for your crutch,\u201d Dylan sings, \u201cNow don\u2019t ask for mine.\u201d But as Windolf makes abundantly clear, the Dylan-Beatles dichotomy may have begun with Dylan holding the upper hand, yet as the 1960s wore on, Dylan couldn\u2019t resist the ubiquitous charm and musicality of The Beatles\u2019 work. By the time that \u201cDylan goes electric\u201d at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival \u2014 it was a Fender Strat, for those keeping score at home \u2014 the folk musician not only recognized the necessity for change, but the need to embrace it as an express means for radicalizing his own art.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong><em><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Want more from culture than just the latest trend? The Swell highlights art made to last.<\/i><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/newsletter?utm_source=onsite&#038;utm_medium=organic&#038;utm_campaign=the-swell-edit-signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sign up here<\/a> <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>When it comes to Dylan and The Beatles\u2019 musical relationship, the results speak for themselves. In short order, Dylan would traverse wide-ranging musical vistas in such LPs as \u201cJohn Wesley Harding\u201d (1967), \u201cNashville Skyline\u201d (1969), and \u201cBlood on the Tracks\u201d (1973). Meanwhile, The Beatles would record one landmark LP after another in \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2022\/10\/26\/the-beatles-remixed-revolver-is-a-revelation-adding-even-more-rich-sonic-detail-for-the-ears\/\">Revolver<\/a>\u201d (1966), \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2017\/05\/13\/sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band-at-50\/\">Sgt. Pepper\u2019s Lonely Hearts Club Band<\/a>\u201d (1967), \u201cThe White Album\u201d (1968), and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2022\/10\/08\/take-a-deep-dive-into-abbey-roads-storied-legacy-as-the-worlds-most-famous-recording-studio\/\">Abbey Road<\/a>\u201d (1969).<\/p>\n<p>With \u201cWhere the Music Had to Go,\u201d Windolf carefully traces the contours of a revolution that transformed popular music into art. With nuance and eagle-eyed research, he affords readers an unprecedented look at the mechanics of a musical fusion that, in many ways, we\u2019re only just beginning to understand.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<\/section>\n<div data-writer-id=\"434726\">\n<p><h3>\n                            <span>By<\/span><br \/>\n                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/writer\/kenneth-womack\"><br \/>\n                                Kenneth Womack                            <\/a><br \/>\n                        <\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>                    <template><\/p>\n<h3>\n                            <span>By<\/span><br \/>\n                            <a href><br \/>\n                            <\/a><br \/>\n                        <\/h3>\n<p><span>MORE FROM<\/span><br \/>\n                            <a href><br \/>\n                            <\/a>\n                        <\/p>\n<p>                    <\/template>\n                            <\/div>\n<hr>\n<section>\n<h2>Music<br \/>\n            Related Topics            <span><br \/>\n                &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;            <\/span><br \/>\n        <\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<section data-post-id=\"893451\" data-terms=\"bob-dylan,books,music,music-books,the-beatles\">\n<h2>Music<br \/>\n        <span><br \/>\n            Related Articles        <\/span><br \/>\n    <\/h2>\n<div>\n        <template><br \/>\n            <a href><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/app\/themes\/salon\/assets\/img\/salon-placeholder.webp\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" alt=\"music Salon placeholder\">\n                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>                <span><\/span><br \/>\n            <\/a><br \/>\n        <\/template>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2026\/04\/17\/how-bob-dylan-and-the-beatles-pushed-each-other-to-evolve\/\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Music Music &#8220;Where the Music Had to Go&#8221; tracks Dylan and The Beatles\u2019 creative clash Published April 17, 2026 3:10PM (EDT) George Harrison and Bob Dylan, 1971 (Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images) Today\u2019s musicians would do well by their careers in reading Jim Windolf\u2019s exquisite new book, \u201cWhere the Music Had to Go: How Bob Dylan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":906802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[131522],"class_list":{"0":"post-906801","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business-news","8":"tag-podcast-music"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=906801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/906802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}