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Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?
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Wikipedia article
"'Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?'" is a folk rock song written by American musician Bob Dylan. In 1965, Columbia Records released it as a single, which reached number 58 on the US 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart, and number 17 on the UK chart in January 1966. While Dylan never featured the song on any of his studio albums, it was featured on compilations such as 'Biograph' and 'Side Tracks'.
Recording
Numerous takes of the song were recorded on July 30, 1965, during the sessions for the album 'Highway 61 Revisited' with a band including Mike Bloomfield on guitar, Harvey Brooks on bass, Bobby Gregg on drums, Paul Griffin on piano, and Al Kooper playing a bell-like celesta; one was mistakenly issued on a false pressing of the single "Positively 4th Street" that autumn.
The official single version, with the Hawks, is generally considered to have been recorded on November 30, 1965, although at least one Dylan scholar contends that the recording date was October 5.Heylin, Clinton, 'Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1957-1973.' Chicago; Chicago Review Press, 2009, pp. 252, 254 Dylan is accompanied on the song by the musical group then known as the Hawks, who would back the singer on his 1966 world tour and subsequently go on to fame in their own right as the Band: guitarist Robbie Robertson, bassist Rick Danko, drummer Levon Helm, pianist Richard Manuel, and organist Garth Hudson.
The entire July 1965 and October/November 1965 recording sessions were released on the 18-disc Collector's Edition of 'The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 19651966' in 2015, while highlights from the outtakes appeared on the 2-disc and 6-disc versions of that album.
Releases and reception
The earliest release of the song was in October 1965 by Long Island group the Vacels, on the Kama Sutra label.
Dylan's version was released on December 21, 1965 and was originally available as a single only, with it eventually being included (in its original mono form) on Dylan's compilations 'Masterpieces' (1978) and 'Biograph' (1985), and on the Band's box set 'A Musical History' (2005). An extended stereo mix of the original single version appeared on the limited Collector's Edition of 'The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 19651966' (2015).
'Billboard' described the song as "more strong folk-rock Dylan material which will have no trouble finding its way up the singles chart" and also praised the "strong material and performance." 'Cash Box' described it as a "medium-paced funky, blues-drenched folk-rocker which effectively builds to an exciting pulsating crescendo." 'Cash Box' described the version by the Vacels as a "hard-driving, bluesy message-song which utilizes some vastly different but interesting melodic constructions."
Dylan played the song to Phil Ochs as the two were riding in a limousine. When Ochs expressed a lukewarm feeling about the piece, Dylan ejected him from his limousine, yelling "You're not a folk singer. You're a journalist."Schumacher, Michael, 'There But for Fortune: The Life of Phil Ochs.' New York; Hyperion, 1996, p. 106
Jimi Hendrix covered the song numerous times live, and it was featured on his album 'BBC Sessions'.
Charts
Notes
References
*Hornby, Nick (2002) Songbook, McSweeney's Books,
Category:1965 songs
Category:1965 singles
Category:Songs written by Bob Dylan
Category:Bob Dylan songs
Category:Columbia Records singles
Category:Kama Sutra Records singles
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