Not just Dylan. Martin Carthy is 85 this week
While its certainly appropriate to mark the 85th birthday of Bob Dylan it’s surprising that Martin Carthy’s 85th on 21st May has merited little mention. Although he did appear this year in the 21st May birthdays list of The Times.
When in London in late 1962 Dylan met Carthy who introduced him to the original British sources of some of the Appalachian music he was familiar with. Two of Dylan’s best known early songs, Girl From the North Country and Boots of Spanish Leather were reworked versions of Carthy’s arrangement of Scarborough Fair.
There is more detail in one of the best books on Dylan, the late Mike Marqusee’s Wicked Messenger
In a sometimes insular world the intertwining of musical influences is important to keep in mind
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