Dylan Covers: Mama, You Been On My Mind

The Beatles: Mama, You Been On My Mind (h/t BWF)

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It's been a great week at Star Maker Machine because Bob Dylan's music crosses all boundaries - as he once said, he's never understood any kind of border patrol when it came to music. It's brought a special synergy, giving the bloggers here a chance to expose Bob's tunes as they've been performed in the different genres we specialize in.

The sign of a strong song is when it can be interpreted in many differing forms - as we've heard this week, Dylan's been covered across the board by musicians of every stripe and style. I feel it's especially interesting how many mega-superstars covered Bob's music, most of them with strong interpretations of their own.

A fun aspect of being a Dylan fan is all the great mythology that surrounds him - a bit of it true, a whole lot of it exaggerated. But it all fits the man who's loomed larger than life in pop culture for the last half-century. On that note, one of my favorite stories is from 1964, how Bob introduced The Beatles to marijuana for the first time - for better or worse, think of how big a part that played in the band's future songwriting process. I also wonder if they had the munchies - did John order some Sicilian pizza pies to be delivered to the Hotel Delmonico? Anywhos, it was the beginning of a long, fruitful association with the Liverpoolians. At one point, George Harrison started recording an album of Dylan covers that he never finished.

Here's George in the studio during the Let It Be sessions covering Mama, You Been On My Mind. Get a little taste of what could have been.