THE BILLY JAMES INTERVIEW

AUTUMN 1961

Dylan: Yeah, well I was in the carnival when I was about thirteen -- all kinds of shows. James: Where'd you go? Dylan: All around the mid-west, uh, Gallup, New Mexico, Aptos, Texas, and then ... lived in, Gallup, New Mexico and ... James: How old were you? Dylan: Uh, about seven, eight, something like that. <--- break ---> Dylan: If I'm on stage, my idol -- even my biggest idol when I'm on stage -- the one that's running through my head all the time, is Charlie Chaplin. And, uh, it, well it takes awhile to explain it, but I'd say he's one of *the* men. James: When did you first see Chaplin? Dylan: Ah, I seen some of his films -- I just sort of knew who he was and that kind of stuff. Vaudeville, that kind of thing. Will Rogers. And I never really met anything -- I never really came across anything until I lived in New York. I don't think it's got the best of me. At least I know it hasn't got the better part of me. James: Touched you? Dylan: It might have touched me a little bit. In fact it *has* touched me a little bit, but I never lived in a city that was more than 15,000 people. And there's an awful lot of difficulty here. <--- break ---> Dylan: And I was very stupid at the time, and I was with a friend of mine, and I played. And they booed, and I figured ... James: Where? Dylan: Cafe Wha? And I didn't know anything, and they never paid me, and that kind of stuff. And I didn't even want money to play. And he looked at me and he said, "I'll give you a dollar". So he gave me a dollar and said, "Play it cool, man". And it came to a dollar-fifty and I played there and they flipped. They really did. And I figured if they liked me so much, they'd give me a place to stay that night - a better place. So I asked from the stage, and about four hands went up. So my buddy and I, we sort of went and checked 'em all. It was with a girl. And my buddy says to me, "You don't look so hot" and I ... he says "You look pretty gay". [ James laughs ]. And I said - I didn't really know anything, you know. Anyway ... he was with a girl. And the girl got off at 34th Street and we got off at 42nd Street. [ Dylan laughs ]. Well, we went in a bar first before we went to find a place to stay. And we met his friend Dora. Dora was his friend who stayed with him. And we all went to a party. And that was my first night in New York. <--- break ---> Dylan: I sense they're liking me - maybe not the music so much, but maybe - I feel if they saw me on the street, or playing someplace, I feel like they wouldn't be so friendly. <--- break ---> Dylan: I like the land, the people that are strange in the west. I like some of the people, don't like some of the people. Hard, hard people. And down south it's worth than that. I can't say much for the south. I hate - I can't stand - anywhere they're thinking ... <--- break ---> Dylan: I'm not a folk-singer. I just sing a certain place that's all. And ... James: Was Woody a folk-singer? Dylan: Woody was a folk-singer, Woody was a folk-singer. James: Why do you say you're not?