Paul McCartney Picks His All-Time Favorite Bob Dylan Song

David Crosby, Richard Thompson, The Doors’ Robby Krieger, Sheryl Crow, and Paul McCartney all picked their most favored Bob Dylan songs.

By Hugh McIntyre

Jun 19, 2024 08:00 AM

Apart from being among the best and most popular musicians ever, Paul McCartney is also an avid music lover. He is not unwilling to give praise to the other artists, and especially musicians, because he knows how difficult it is to create a song that people will be singing along to.

Magazine Music Mojo invited a plethora of rock stars to pay tribute to Bob Dylan, who is widely regarded for being one of the greatest songwriters of all time. The group of them all chose their favorite songs from his catalog and shared their opinions on why the song they picked is meaningful to them.

The list of musicians who participated in the contest includes names such as David Crosby, Richard Thompson, The Doors’ Robby Krieger, Sheryl Crow, and even rapper Nas. McCartney is part of the compilation and his endorsement could be the most well-known of all.

getty Images

The former Beatle has opted for Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man,”” and, yes, there are some who might find it not the most cool choice…but He doesn’t appear to be bothered by. In typical McCartney manner, he tells an ode and is a bit self-deprecating in his post in the beginning of his remarks by saying, “I know it’s corny.”

McCartney continues to discuss the reasons “Mr. Tambourine Man” ranks at No. No. 1 in his own personal listing. “I heard him do it at the Albert Hall,” and Mojo mentions that the performance was held on May 9 in 1965. The rocker goes on to say, “I was aching for him to do it, but having known Dylan I was thinking it was unlikely that he would be able to do it. It’s just to be awkward, and to look absurd.”

The chart-topper went on say that the event that he attended is regarded by Dylan fans, as well as rock historians, as one in which many people became angry with the folk singer. The first half of the show was performing songs that were typical to the music and style of the time, but later the band plugged in and began his journey into electric rock that was met with lots of criticism.

McCartney isn’t one of Dylan’s critics of his choice. “It was the infamous show where all the folkies thought he’d sold out,” the musician said and added “How do you explain that? It was amazing.” Rewinding it to “Mr. Tambourine Man,”” McCartney digressed by saying, “He did it there for the first time that I’d ever seen it live. It’s a great song, that was very much from the time. The year was absolutely perfect. I was fortunate that I was there.”

“Mr. Tambourine Man” is one of Dylan’s most well-known songs. It was never released as a single however, the band that was emerging The Byrds covered it and made their own version of the song in the exact year Dylan wrote the song. The song went to the No. one on the Hot 100, and it was instrumental in bringing about an age of folk-inspired rock connecting the genres.