Five fantastic 1970s songs with fascinating backstories

Bob Dylan - “Hurricane”

Bob Dylan has always been a great songwriter. He mixed storytelling with protests and added his unique voice and great music to create many terrific songs. Released in 1976 “Hurricane” is an amazing example of that, but in a slightly different style. 

Dylan worked with playwright and lyricist Jacques Levy on this classic song. It's an eight-minute blast telling the tale of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter who was imprisoned for murdering three people in 1966. Right from the opening lines, Dylan’s tension-filled voice sets the scene dramatically. The words below fit with the cinematic style Dylan sought and the influence of Levy. 

“Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
Cries out, ‘My God, they killed them all!’"

Dylan had been taken enough by the Carter story to visit him in prison ahead of his second trial. That led to the creation of the song with Dylan seeking out Levy’s help. Dylan went on to raise over $100k for Carter’s defense from a Madison Square Garden concert in December 1975. The second trial found Carter guilty again, but he did have his convictions overturned eventually in 1988 when a court declared he had been unfairly tried.

Despite this being a great song, Dylan has created more mystery by suddenly stopping playing it live. He hasn’t done so since a May 1976 concert in Texas. The reasons aren’t clear and perhaps only Dylan knows why. Perhaps it just doesn't work well when played live. Or maybe Dylan just feels its time has passed. Some other possibilities get ruled out by the song being included in later compilation albums, like the Essential Bob Dylan album released in 2000.

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