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Freewheelin' Bob. Springsteen, the Stones and U2 "tend to tour every two or three years as part of a grandly themed marketing package," but the legendary Bob Dylan has played 1,700 shows since 1988, and marketing seems to have little to do with it, suggests Bill Wyman in The New York Times (6/12/05). Like other living legends, Dylan does play the big venues in the major cities. But more often he plays an odd collection of "state fairs, corporate events, urban street fairs and casinos ... He's now in the middle of his second summer barnstorming tour of minor-league baseball stadiums ... with Willie Nelson in tow."
While other major acts "will charge hundreds of dollars for a tightly scripted performance, with one or two opportunities for spontaneity," Dylan tickets usually run about $40, and even his band has little idea what their boss might decide to play next. He'll "do anything from old folk songs, Civil War-era songs, up to standards," says G.E. Smith, a former guitarist in Dylan's combo. "I remember once, we were playing in Hollywood, and he played 'Moon River.'" The challenge to his audience is just as great: "He plays some of his best-known songs, but often in contrarian, almost unrecognizable versions, as if to dampen their anthemic qualities."
He rarely says anything onstage, and if he does, it can be little strange (e.g., "I had a big brass bed, but I sold it!"). So what's it all about? By some calculations, all those shows probably add up to about $5 million a year for the restless Mr. Dylan. He may well need the dough, but it's more likely Dylan simply enjoys working onstage and offering a counterpoint to his "casually decadent rock star peers, who happily cater to their fans' demands. Unlike them, Dylan offers the audience only what he thinks they should want: an opportunity to see an artist work." Whatever drives Bob Dylan, bobdylan.com, this much is clear -- he's "developed an unparalleled commitment to sharing his art, but only on his own very specific terms."
Working-Class Faith. Faith Hill may be raking in the Benjamins with the No. 9 hit on Billboard this week, but it's with a song calculated to remind her fans they she's just like they are, reports Henry Fountain in The New York Times (6/12/05). The song is called Mississipi Girl and it goes like this: "A Mississippi Girl don't change her ways, just 'cause everybody knows her name/Ain't big-headed from a little bit of fame." So, what's up with that? Well, it seems Faith Hill, "whose two previous albums were huge crossover successes, now sees her standing in Nashville challenged by newer stars, like Gretchen (Redneck Woman) Wilson, gretchenwilson.com, with more working-class appeal.
"There's sort of a cat fight as to who's the most down home," observes Barbara Ching, "an assistant professor at the University of Memphis and author of a cultural study of country music, 'Wrong's What I Do Best'." Faith Hill, says Barbara Ching, like other country artists, "wants to have it both ways." Unlike earlier country stars, who "generally came from working-class backgrounds," today's artists don't celebrate fame and fortune by building a guitar-shaped swimming pool, like the one Webb Pierce had. No, they've got "multiple megamansions, private islands and Learjets.
"So just as generations of rock stars have posed as rebels, and rappers try to 'keep it real' while flaunting their wealth, country stars try to defend or reconcile their success with their roots." Some, like Toby Keith, parodies himself. His video for the song 'Who's Your Daddy?" shows the singer, "who cultivates a blue-collar image, welcoming a young woman into his gated mansion." Says Ed Benson of the Country Music Association: "I think the fans see that that's not Toby." Their Toby shows up at events like the CMA Music Festival, which "allows fans -- more than 100,000 of them -- to hear, see and often get an autograph from their favorites." Not to be confused with the Toby who makes "tens of millions a year in this business."
Tim Manners, editor
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