Even Bob Dylan Gets Nervous
Lessons from "The Greatest Night in Pop"
On a Friday afternoon in the spring of 1985 our teacher wheeled a TV to the front of the classroom.
It was the second half of our sixth grade year and the mood was festive. We all had little bowls of popcorn on our desks and as our teacher passed out blank pieces of paper she told us she had a surprise for us.
“We’re going to watch the ‘We Are the World’ video,” she said, pausing for shouts of excitement.
“And you’re going to number your paper from one to 46 and see how many of the artists you can name.”
This charity single that featured some of the greatest living pop musicians was such a massive deal they released a videocassette version of the video. The teacher had the excellent idea to make the game of it—to see who could name each of the 46 artists on the song.
(I don’t remember how I did, but I guarantee I didn’t get Al Jarreau or Lindsey Buckingham.)
That moment—and the excitement I felt when I saw the 19-inch television make an appearance in the classroom—came back when I watched “The Greatest Night in Pop,” a documentary about the making of “We are the World.”
I know every word of the song, but I never knew the story of how it got made. How Lionel Richie had to go directly from hosting the American Music Awards (which he also performed at and won) to the all-night recording. How Quincy Jones had to keep this unwieldy collaboration moving forward while Al Jarreau got drunk and Waylon Jennings walked out. It’s a great documentary, I highly recommend it.
However, the moment that sticks with me, a few weeks after watching it, involves Bob Dylan. According to the documentary, they started the night recording the chorus, with all the musicians singing together. While everyone sang along enthusiastically, Dylan stood in the middle, nervously shifting his eyes from side to side, barely mouthing the words.
Then, later in the night they finally started working on the solos. One by one, the most important musicians in the world sang their lines: Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Tina Turner, and Diana Ross, among others.
With a roomful of legends watching, and as the night stretched into early morning, Dylan approached the mike.
Instead of giving it the full Dylan — in all his mournful, nasal glory — he sings his part so softly, so hesitantly it’s difficult to make out the words. He looks embarrassed, aware he’s not only performing terribly but he’s wasting everyone’s time. And the people’s time he’s wasting are legends. They are professionals and superstars. He tries again, and again can’t sing louder than a whisper.
Realizing Dylan is feeling overwhelmed and nervous, Quincy Jones orders most of the people out of the studio. Dylan heads to the piano where Stevie Wonder is sitting. In a moment of genius, Stevie sings the part in a perfectly accurate Bob Dylan impression, mimicking his voice and showing him the way. Instead of being offended, Dylan smiles and visibly relaxes.
Then, with Stevie Wonder by his side, Bob Dylan sings his part in his full voice.
He’d completed his task, they could move on.
Apparently no amount of fame or critical acclaim can inoculate you against feeling nervous and intimidated. It’s interesting to me that someone had to hold a mirror up to Dylan to remind him who he was.
“This is who you are,” Stevie Wonder was telling Bob Dylan through song, “this is what you can do.”
Bob Dyan’s nervousness is very inspiring to me. It tells me we’re all fighting the same insecurities and moments of doubt. While none of us have Stevie Wonder to save us, we probably do have people in our lives who can come to our sides and say, “This is who you are. This is what you can do.”
That’s all I’ve got this week! Finally got my first journalism assignment of 2024, and I signed one new marketing client so far this year, so things are slowly picking up.
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes, which Tony Hale (the character actor from Arrested Development and Veep) said on the podcast “Dead Eyes”:
“If you’re not practicing contentment where you are, you’re not going to be content when you get what you want.”