Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

1976 song by Bob Dylan

"Hurricane"

Single by Bob Dylan
from the album  Desire
B-side| "Hurricane (Part II)"
Released| November 1975
Recorded| July 1975 and October 24, 1975
Studio| Columbia Studios, New York City
Genre|

* Folk rock
* protest song

Length| 3:45 (Part I)
4:57 (Part II)
8:33 (Album version)
Label| Columbia
Songwriter(s)|

* Bob Dylan
* Jacques Levy

Producer(s)| Don DeVito
Bob Dylan singles chronology
| "Tangled Up in Blue"
(1975)  | "Hurricane"
(1975)  | "Mozambique"
(1976)

|
|

Desire track listing

9 tracks

Side one

1. "Hurricane"
2. "Isis"
3. "Mozambique"
4. "One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)"
5. "Oh, Sister"

Side two

1.   2. "Joey"
3. "Romance in Durango"
4. "Black Diamond Bay"
5. "Sara"

Official audio
"Hurricane" on YouTube

"Hurricane" is a protest song by Bob Dylan co-written with Jacques Levy and released as a single in November 1975. It was also included on Dylan's 1976 album Desire as its opening track. The song is about the imprisonment of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (1937–2014). It compiles acts of racism and profiling against Carter,[1] which Dylan describes as leading to a false trial and conviction.

## Background

[edit]

Carter and a man named John Artis had been charged with a triple murder at the Lafayette Grill in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1966. The following year Carter and Artis were found guilty of the murders, which were widely reported as racially motivated. In the years that followed, a substantial amount of controversy emerged over the case, ranging from allegations of faulty evidence and questionable eyewitness testimony to an unfair trial.

In his autobiography, Carter maintained his innocence, and after reading it, Dylan visited him in Rahway State Prison in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey.[2]

Of writing the song, author Clinton Heylin wrote that "Dylan had written topical ballads such as 'The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll' and Bob wasn't sure that he could write a song [about Carter]... He was just filled with all these feelings about Hurricane. He couldn't make the first step. I think the first step was putting the song in a total storytelling mode. I don't remember whose idea it was to do that. But really, the beginning of the song is like stage directions, like what you would read in a script: 'Pistol shots ring out in a barroom night.... Here comes the story of the Hurricane.' Boom! Titles. You know, Bob loves movies, and he can write these movies that take place in eight to ten minutes, yet seem as full or fuller than regular movies".[3]

After meeting with Carter in prison and later with a group of his supporters, Dylan began to write "Hurricane". The song was one of his few "protest songs" during the 1970s and proved to be his fourth most successful single of the decade, reaching No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] Billboard declared that it was "probably the most powerful song Dylan has recorded in a decade, combining the 'sensible hate' he showed in 'Masters of War' with a perfect expression of the kind of injustice heard in 'The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll.'"[5] Record World said that "The story is true and the names haven't been changed to protect the innocent."[6]

## Controversy and re-recording

[edit]

Dylan first recorded the song in late July 1975; it featured Scarlet Rivera on violin and Vinnie Bell on Danelectro Bellzouki 12-string guitar. Dylan was forced to re-record the song, with altered lyrics, in October 1975 after concerns were raised by Columbia's lawyers that references to Alfred Bello and Arthur Dexter Bradley (the two star witnesses of the case) as having "robbed the bodies" could result in a lawsuit. Bello and Bradley had never been accused of such acts. Because there was too much leakage on the multitracks to make a vocal "punch in", Dylan decided to re-record the entire song. At this time, he was already rehearsing for his upcoming tour, and the musicians from the Rolling Thunder Revue were still at his disposal. Dylan took violinist Rivera, guitarist Steven Soles, bassist Rob Rothstein, drummer Howie Wyeth, and percussionist Luther Rix back into the studio, and a new, faster version of "Hurricane" was recorded with Don DeVito again producing, and Ronee Blakley providing a harmony vocal. (There is a noticeable mistake in the 8-minute recording at 4:02 where the backing singer (Blakley) gets her line wrong. She sings: "Remember you saw (said) you saw the getaway car.") The final version of the song, which runs over eight minutes, was spliced together from two separate takes completed on October 24, 1975.[7]

Even though some offending lyrics were removed, the song still drew legal action from eyewitness Patricia Graham (Patty) Valentine, who believed that it portrayed her as part of a conspiracy to frame Carter. However, her lawsuit was dismissed by a federal district court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal.[8][9] Dylan biographer Howard Sounes praised the song but noted "there was no reference to [Carter's] antagonistic rhetoric, criminal history, or violent temper".[10]

## Benefit concert and new trial

[edit]

The song was released on the album Desire in January 1976, making the Carter case known to a broader public. "Hurricane" is credited with harnessing popular support to Carter's defense.

During the fall tour preceding Desire's release, Dylan and the Rolling Thunder Revue played a benefit concert for Carter in New York City's Madison Square Garden, raising $100,000. The following year, they played another benefit at the Houston Astrodome.[2] Dylan met with managers Richard Flanzer and Roy Silver, who provided Stevie Wonder, Ringo Starr and Dr. John for the concert. After expenses were paid, however, the Houston event failed to raise any money.[citation needed]

Despite winning the right to a new trial, Carter and Artis were once again found guilty when the prosecution argued that the defendants committed a triple murder at the Lafayette Grill in revenge for the killing of an African-American tavern owner earlier during the same night. In 1976, Carter was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Dylan, and the other high-profile supporters, did not attend the trial. Artis was paroled five years later.

In 1985 Federal Judge H. Lee Sarokin of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, who declined to hear the song when it was offered to him by his family, ruled that Carter had not received a fair trial and overturned the conviction, resulting in Carter's release and the granting of a writ of habeas corpus to Carter, commenting that the prosecution had been "based on racism rather than reason and concealment rather than disclosure". In 1988, after the prosecution said they would not seek a third trial and filed a motion to dismiss, following their failed appeal to the Supreme Court which declined to hear the case and upheld Sarokin's ruling, a Superior Court judge dropped all the charges against Carter and Artis.[1][2]

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Australia (ARIA)[11] | Gold  | 35,000^
Italy (FIMI)[12] | Gold  | 15,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[13] | Gold  | 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] | Silver  | 200,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

## Cover versions

[edit]

The song has been covered by Ani DiFranco, Furthur, Middle Class Rut, the Milltown Brothers and Iain Lee when he sang it on his Late Night Alternative phone in show on Talkradio in January 2018.

In the season three premiere of the Showtime TV series Our Cartoon President, the song was parodied as a proclamation of Donald Trump's innocence during the 2020 impeachment trial of Donald Trump. The parody was performed by cartoon versions of Fox & Friends hosts Steve Doocy (on harmonica and acoustic guitar, a reference to Dylan's most commonly played instruments), Ainsley Earhardt (on cello), and Brian Kilmeade (on violin).[citation needed]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Judge Drops Murder Charges In the Hurricane Carter Case". The New York Times. February 27, 1988. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
2. ^ a b c Boehlert, Eric (2000-01-21). "Dylan's "Hurricane": A Look Back". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2013-02-02. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
3. ^ Heylin, Clinton (2003). Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited. It Books. p. 398\. ISBN 978-0-06-052569-9.
4. ^ "Dylan on U.S. Charts". Expectingrain.com. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
5. ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. November 15, 1975. p. 72. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
6. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. November 15, 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
7. ^ Heylin, Clinton (2010). Still on the road : the songs of Bob Dylan, 1974-2006 (1st ed.). Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-55652-844-6.
8. ^ Blackman, Guy (2007-05-06). "Freedom of expression comes out the winner when rock's in the dock". The Age. Melbourne.
9. ^ Valentine v. C.B.S., Inc., 698 F.2d 430 (1983) Archived 2008-10-24 at the Wayback Machine
10. ^ Sounes, Howard (2002). Down the highway : the life of Bob Dylan (2. ed.). New York: Black Swan. p. 337\. ISBN 0-552-99929-6.
11. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
12. ^ "Italian single certifications – Bob Dylan – Hurricane" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
13. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Bob Dylan – Hurricane". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
14. ^ "British single certifications – Bob Dylan – Hurricane". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 14, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Lyrics at from Bob Dylan's official site

* v
* t
* e

Bob Dylan

* Discography
* Awards
* Bibliography
* Songs written by Dylan
* Bob Dylan songs based on earlier tunes
* Bob Dylan cover songs
* 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature

Studio albums|

* Bob Dylan
* The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
* The Times They Are a-Changin'
* Another Side of Bob Dylan
* Bringing It All Back Home
* Highway 61 Revisited
* Blonde on Blonde
* John Wesley Harding
* Nashville Skyline
* Self Portrait
* New Morning
* Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
* Dylan
* Planet Waves
* Blood on the Tracks
* The Basement Tapes
* Desire
* Street-Legal
* Slow Train Coming
* Saved
* Shot of Love
* Infidels
* Empire Burlesque
* Knocked Out Loaded
* Down in the Groove
* Oh Mercy
* Under the Red Sky
* Good as I Been to You
* World Gone Wrong
* Time Out of Mind
* "Love and Theft"
* Modern Times
* Together Through Life
* Christmas in the Heart
* Tempest
* Shadows in the Night
* Fallen Angels
* Triplicate
* Rough and Rowdy Ways
* Shadow Kingdom

Live albums|

| Contemporary|

* Before the Flood
* Hard Rain
* Bob Dylan at Budokan
* Real Live
* Dylan & the Dead
* The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration
* MTV Unplugged

|

Archival|

* Live 1961–2000: Thirty-Nine Years of Great Concert Performances
* Live at The Gaslight 1962
* Live at Carnegie Hall 1963
* In Concert – Brandeis University 1963
* The 1966 Live Recordings
* Bob Dylan – The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings
* The Complete Budokan 1978

Compilations|

| Hits|

* Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits
* Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II
* Masterpieces
* Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3
* The Best of Bob Dylan (1997)
* The Best of Bob Dylan, Vol. 2
* The Essential Bob Dylan
* The Best of Bob Dylan (2005)
* Dylan

|

Themed|

* Dylan
* The Basement Tapes
* Blues

Box sets|

* Biograph
* Bob Dylan: The Collection
* The Original Mono Recordings
* The 50th Anniversary Collection
* Bob Dylan: The Complete Album Collection Vol. One
* The 50th Anniversary Collection 1963
* The 50th Anniversary Collection 1964
* 1970

The Bootleg Series|

* Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991
* Vol. 4: The Royal Albert Hall Concert
* Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue
* Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall
* Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack
* Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989–2006
* Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964
* Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971)
* Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete
* Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966
* Vol. 13: Trouble No More 1979–1981
* Vol. 14: More Blood, More Tracks
* Vol. 15: Travelin' Thru, 1967–1969
* Vol. 16: Springtime in New York 1980–1985
* Vol. 17: Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996–1997)

Bootlegs|

* From Newport to the Ancient Empty Street in L.A.
* Great White Wonder
* List of Basement Tapes songs
* 1967
* 1975

Concert tours|

* England Tour (1965)
* World Tour (1966)
* Isle of Wight Festival (1969)
* Tour with the Band (1974)
* Rolling Thunder Revue (1975–1976)
* World Tour (1978)
* Gospel Tour (1979–80)
* European Tour (1984)
* True Confessions Tour (1986)
* Tour with the Grateful Dead (1987)
* Temples in Flames Tour (1987)
* Never Ending Tour
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour (2021–2024)

Films|

* Dont Look Back
* Eat the Document
* Renaldo and Clara
* Hard to Handle
* The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration
* MTV Unplugged
* Masked and Anonymous
* No Direction Home
* I'm Not There
* Soundtrack
* 65 Revisited
* The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963–1965
* Trouble No More – A Musical Film
* Rolling Thunder Revue
* Shadow Kingdom
* A Complete Unknown (soundtrack)

Writings|

* Tarantula
* Writings and Drawings
* Chronicles: Volume One
* The Philosophy of Modern Song

Books about Dylan|

* The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia
* Bob Dylan, Performing Artist
* Invisible Republic
* Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan
* The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan
* Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine

Family|

* Sara Dylan (first wife)
* Carolyn Dennis (second wife)
* Jesse Dylan (son)
* Jakob Dylan (son)

Related|

* Recording Sessions
* The Band
* Traveling Wilburys
* Electric Dylan controversy
* Artists who have covered Dylan songs
* Joan Baez
* Suze Rotolo
* Helena Springs
* The Telegraph magazine
* Festival
* The Concert for Bangladesh
* Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
* Hearts of Fire
* Highway 61 Interactive
* Theme Time Radio Hour
* Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan
* Chimes of Freedom (album)
* The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams
* Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes
* Bob Dylan Center

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Bob Dylan singles discography

| 1962|

* "Mixed-Up Confusion" / "Corrina, Corrina"

|

1963|

* "Blowin' in the Wind" / "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"

1965|

* "The Times They Are a-Changin'" / "Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance"
* "Maggie's Farm" / "On the Road Again"
* "Subterranean Homesick Blues" / "She Belongs to Me"
* "Like a Rolling Stone" / "Gates of Eden
* "Positively 4th Street" / "From a Buick 6"
* "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" / "Highway 61 Revisited"

1966|

* "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)" / "Queen Jane Approximately"
* "Rainy Day Women ♯12 & 35" / "Pledging My Time"
* "I Want You" / "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" (live with The Hawks)
* "Just Like a Woman" / "Obviously 5 Believers"

1967|

* "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" / "Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine"
* "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" / "To Ramona" (only in Europe)

1968|

* "Drifter's Escape" / "John Wesley Harding"
* "All Along the Watchtower" / "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"

1969|

* "I Threw It All Away" / "Drifter's Escape"
* "Lay Lady Lay" / "Peggy Day"
* "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You" / "Country Pie"

| 1970|

* "Wigwam" / "Copper Kettle"

|

1971|

* "If Not for You" / "New Morning"
* "Watching the River Flow" / "Spanish is the Loving Tongue"
* "George Jackson" (band version) / "George Jackson" (acoustic version)

1973|

* "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" / "Turkey Chase" (instrumental from Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid)
* "A Fool Such as I" / "Lily of the West"

1974|

* "On a Night Like This" / "You Angel You"
* "Something There Is About You" / "Tough Mama"
* "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)" (live with The Band)
* "All Along the Watchtower" / "It Ain't Me Babe"

1975|

* "Tangled Up in Blue" / "If You See Her, Say Hello"
* "Million Dollar Bash" / "Tears of Rage"
* "Hurricane" (Part 1) / "Hurricane" (Part 2)

1976|

* "Mozambique" / "Oh Sister"
* "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" (live) / "Rita May"

1978|

* "Baby, Stop Crying" / "We Better Talk This Over"
* "Changing of the Guards" / "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)"
* "Is Your Love In Vain?" / "We Better Talk This Over"

1979|

* "Maggie's Farm (live) / "All Along the Watchtower"
* "Forever Young" (live) / "All Along the Watchtower" / "I Want You"
* "Man Gave Names to All the Animals" / "When You Gonna Wake Up?"
* "Gotta Serve Somebody" / "Trouble in Mind"
* "Precious Angel" / "Trouble in Mind"

| 1980|

* "Slow Train" / "Do Right to Me Baby"
* "Solid Rock" / "Covenant Woman"
* "Saved" / "Are You Ready?"

|

1981|

* "Heart of Mine" / "Let It Be Me"
* "Dead Man, Dead Man" / "Lenny Bruce"

1983|

* "Union Sundown" / "Angel Flying too Close to the Ground"
* "I and I" / "Angel Flying too Close to the Ground"
* "Sweetheart Like You" / "Union Sundown"

1984|

* "Jokerman" / "Isis"

1985|

* "Tight Connection to My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love)" / "We Better Talk this Over"
* "When the Night Comes Falling from the Sky" / "Emotionally Yours"

1986|

* "Band of the Hand" / "Joe's Death" (Michael Rubini)
* "Got My Mind Made Up" / "The Usual"

1988|

* "Silvio" / "Driftin' too Far from the Shore"

1989|

* "Everything Is Broken" / "Death is Not the End"
* "Slow Train" (live with The Grateful Dead)

| 1990|

* "Political World" / "Ring Them Bells" (only in the UK and Australia)
* "Most of the Time" / "Most of the Time (edit piece)
* "Unbelievable" / "10,000 Men"

|

1991|

* "Series of Dreams" / "Seven Curses"
* "Blind Willie McTell" / "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" (from The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3)
* "Step it Up and Go" — (no b-side)

1993|

* "My Back Pages" (with Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, George Harrison) — (no b-side)

1995|

* "Dignity" (live on MTV Unplugged) / "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" (live version)
* "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" / "John Brown" (both live on MTV Unplugged)

1998|

* "Not Dark Yet" / "Tombstone Blues" (live) / "Ballad of a Thin Man" (live) / "Boots of Spanish Leather" (live)
* "Love Sick" / "Tombstone Blues" (live)

| 2000|

* "Things Have Changed" / "Make You Feel My Love" (live) / "Hurricane" / "Song to Woody" (live)

|

2006|

* "Someday Baby" / "Someday Baby" (edit piece)
* "Rollin' and Tumblin'" / "Not Dark Yet" / "High Water (for Charley Patton)"

2007|

* "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)" (Mark Ronson remix version) / "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)" (album version)

2008|

* "Dreamin' of You" (edit piece) / "Dreamin' of You" (album version)

2009|

* "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" / "Down Along the Cove" (live)
* "I Feel a Change Comin' On" / "I Feel a Change Comin' On" (edit piece)
* "Must Be Santa" / "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"

| 2010|

* "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (demo version) / "Like a Rolling Stone"

|

2012|

* "Duquesne Whistle"

2013|

* "Wigwam" (demo version) / "Thirsty Boots"

| 2020|

* "Murder Most Foul"
* "I Contain Multitudes"
* "False Prophet"

|

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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