Bob Dylan Center - Bringing It All Back Home with Steven Jenkins

Bob Dylan is the focus in this episode where I interviewed Steven Jenkins, Director of the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, OK.

Bob Dylan has donated voluminous archives from his career as a singer-songwriter from the early 1960s to the present (he is currently on his acclaimed Rough and Rowdy Ways tour at the time of writing).

The Bob Dylan Center has a number of longstanding exhibitions which dive deep into Dylan’s greatest songs such as Like A Rolling Stone, Tangled Up In Blue, Jokerman, and Not Dark Yet.

On the walls surrounding these are posters, interactive displays and audio recordings in chronological order over seven decades of creativity.

There are also changing exhibitions and the one I saw was the excellent How Many Roads looking at Dylan’s involvement with the Civil Rights Movement from 1961-64.

With its extensive archives section, the Bob Dylan Center also serves Dylanologists and other music scholars looking to analyse documents, recordings and even hand-written song lyrics in depth.

There is considerable appeal however for even casual visitors with excellent immersive video content of Dylan songs, interviews and documentary material as well as high quality audio resources using headsets. There is also a fantastic collection of memorabilia such as jackets Dylan wore, typewriters, guitars, even letters from other great singer-songwriters such as George Harrison and Johnny Cash.

You get to play producer in a simulated recording studio for mixes of songs like I Want You, Like A Rolling Stone and Knocking On Heaven's Door.

Nearby is a jukebox donated by acclaimed singer-songwriter Elvis Costello loaded with Original Dylan songs and covers.

And one of the real highlights is an immersive video room charting his whole career and featuring documentary footage, interview, lyric sheets and live performances.

Steven Jenkins was asked in the interview why we need the Bob Dylan Center and put forward a strong argument that Dylan is just as relevant today as in the 1960s when he rose to fame with albums like The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin, Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde.

Indeed, one of the highlights of this episode is the lyric notebooks Dylan kept while writing songs for the 1975 album Blood On The Tracks and the fascinating ways each song evolves. We find out about the song-writing process Dylan uses and how it has changed across the decades.

Bob Dylan as a singer is also discussed given the criticism he often receives for his nasal-sounding vocals. By contrast, his unique ability to convey emotion and phrase words in such a way to get his message across is highlighted.

We are also treated to Steven's choice of favourite Dylan songs through the decades which I have to say align closely to mine. I first discovered Dylan when Paul Gambaccini played Precious Angel on Radio 1 way back in 1979 so that and the Slow Train Coming Album will always be a favourite of mine.

Even as a long-time Dylan fan I learned loads from the Bob Dylan Center. As Steven says in the interview it's not just a collection of memorabilia but a careful and considered display, diving deep into one of the greatest content creators in modern times, putting his work into context with the social, cultural and political forces operating during changing times.

If you are a die-hard Dylan fan don't be surprised if you feel a little overwhelmed and emotional in a good way after visiting and allow plenty of time to take it all in.

If that wasn't enough, you have another extraordinary museum waiting for you next door. The Woody Guthrie Center. The reason Dylan wanted the Bob Dylan Center to be in Tulsa was because Woody Guthrie his first idol, was from Oklahoma.

I want to convey my deepest thanks to Steven Jenkins and both sets of staff at the Centers for being so incredibly kind, attentive and welcoming throughout my week in Tulsa. Steven has provided an incredible interview here and I hope my production has done it full justice.

Dave Bird of Small Biz Digital Media asked the questions and produced this show.