Rare Bob Dylan Tape Heads to Auction Block!

1959 Recording of Musical Legend is Earliest Known to Exist

DALLAS, TEXAS: Think you've heard every Bob Dylan song ever recorded? Think again. If you're a true Dylan devotee, you probably heard bits of "I Got Trouble," and "I Got A New Girl" on the recent Martin Scorsese-directed documentary, No Direction Home, but have you ever heard "The Frog Song?" We didn't think so.

Robert Zimmerman (who would make musical history later in life as Bob Dylan) met Richard Kangas in 1958, while both were in high school. One of the common interests that bound the two together was music, and they would often hang out and play guitar. One day in May 1959, the boys hooked up a Shure microphone to a reel-to-reel tape recorder and captured their songs for posterity. This tape, along with a rich collection of Dylan memorabilia, will soon be offered at auction, to be sold to some fortunate collector with a taste for musical history.

"This tape, which has been held by Ric Kangas all these years, is about as rough as they come," said Doug Norwine, Director of Music and Entertainment Auctions for Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, "but it's a wonderful window into the early efforts of a musical legend. This is Dylan stretching his musical chops, experimenting with what he could do, and we can see, with perfect hindsight, how the seeds of what would become a brilliant musical career are being planted right here."

"The tape includes four songs," Norwine said. "'I Got Trouble,' and 'I Got a New Girl,' along with 'I Wish I Knew,' in which Dylan can be heard backing up Kangas. 'Trouble' and 'New Girl' were featured in No Direction Home, but the fourth track, 'The Frog Song,' in which Dylan first experiments with singing in a different voice - a low, guttural tone, like one of his heroes, Clarence 'Frogman' Henry - has never been released in any medium, and has never heard before. Again, this is Dylan trying to find his unique voice, an experiment that would bear fruit years later."

"Bob Dylan transformed the face of American popular music in the 1960s," said Norwine, "with his effortless blending of politics, social commentary, philosophy, folk music, blues, and more. He became a champion of the counterculture/anti-war/civil rights movements with such classic, convention-defying songs as Blowin' in the Wind and The Times They Are a-Changin', songs that transcended mere music to become anthems of their times. Few artists would have the lasting impact of Bob Dylan, in both a musical and a social sense."

"Dylan is as potent a musical force today as he ever was," Norwine said, "as his recent release of the album Modern Times, which hit #1 on the charts, so ably demonstrates. At the age of 65, he's currently the oldest living chart topper in history, and a shining presence in the modern music scene. This tape, this unique, one-of-a-kind artifact, represents the beginning, the genesis, of this influential and unique musical voice, a voice that continues to entertain and inspire all that hear it."

Heritage Auction Galleries will offer the Bob Dylan Early Reel to Reel Tape in their upcoming Signature Auction, to be held on October 6 & 7, 2006, at their headquarters in Dallas, TX.

Bob Dylan - Early Reel to Reel Tape with Original Songs and Other Memorabilia (1957-59):
ESTIMATE: $25,000& up

For more information about Heritage's auctions, and a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HA.com.

Prospective consignors and sellers of Entertainment, Celebrity or Hollywood memorabilia are invited to www.HA.com/Entertainment and click on the "Sell Now" tab. Or simply email Doug Norwine at DougN@HA.com.

To reserve your copy of any Heritage auction catalog, please contact Nicole Jewell at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272, or visit www.HeritageAuctions.com to order by email.