Bob Dylan at 20 on Freak Shows | Blank on Blank @BlankonblankOrg

Uploaded June 2016 | Updated September 2026, 20 minutes ago

“I‘m never going to become rich and famous” - Bob Dylan in 1962.

Dylan was just 20 years old when he appeared on the Folksingers Choice radio program on WBAI FM in New York City. He'd arrived in Manhattan just a few years earlier and was playing in the coffee houses of Greenwich Village, at one in particular he was paid "a dollar plus a cheeseburger."

During this hour-long interview with Cynthia Gooding, Dylan played some of his own songs ("The Death of Emmett Till", "Standing on the Highway") and covers of classics by Howlin' Wolf, Hank Williams, and Woody Guthrie. We scored this Blank on Blank with Dylan tuning up his guitar and playing his harmonica.

It's a wonderful snapshot in time, with a young Dylan before he was famous and before he even released his debut album. He's nervous and funny. He's just a guy with a guitar with a little mischief underneath.

Listen to the full interview and hear some rarely heard songs on our website: blankonblank.org/bob-dylan

This interview comes from pacificaradioarchives.org

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Credits

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
David Gerlach

ANIMATOR
Patrick Smith

PRODUCER
Amy Drozdowska

COLORIST
Jennifer Yoo

SOUND DESIGN
Mixology Post / Doug Moss

PHOTOS
New York Public Library
National Archives
Unsplash
Bigstock
Wikimedia Commons

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