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Obviously 5 Believers
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Wikipedia article
"'Obviously 5 Believers'" (also listed as "'Obviously Five Believers'") is a 12-bar R&B song by Bob Dylan. It was recorded at Columbia Music Row Studios, Nashville on 10 March 1966, and released as the last track of side three of his double album 'Blonde on Blonde' on 20 June 1966.
Background and recording
(pictured in 1971)
(pictured in 1990)
The song was recorded in the early morning hours of the 910 March 1966 Nashville session under the working title "Black Dog Blues." Sean Wilentz feels that the song is driven by Robbie Robertson's guitar, Charlie McCoy's harmonica and Ken Buttrey's drumming. After an initial breakdown, Dylan complained to the band that the song was "very easy, man" and that he didn't want to spend much time on it. Within four takes, the recording was done. Take 4 was used on 'Blonde on Blonde', and as the B-side to the single release of "Just Like a Woman" in certain countries. In 2010 it was included on 'The Original Mono Recordings'. The other three takes were released in 2015 on the Collector's Edition of 'The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 19651966'.
Composition and lyrical interpretation
The song is similar in melody and structure to Memphis Minnie's "Chauffeur Blues", which was also an inspiration for '"Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat".Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guedson describe "Obviously 5 Believers" as "a bluesy love song about loneliness". Clinton Heylin believes that every song Dylan recorded in Nashville for 'Blonde on Blonde' relied on the skill of the backing musicians, but this song was "entirely 'dependent' on them."
Thomas Reed used the song lyric "fifteen jugglers, five believers" in the title of his book 'Fifteen Jugglers, Five Believers: Literary Politics and the Poetics of American Social Movements'.
Critical reception
'Cash Box' said that "Obviously 5 Believers" is "a blues-soaked, rhythmic romancer." It was described by Robert Shelton as "the best R&B song on the album", whereas Michael Gary dismissed it as "a filler track ... with a repetitive and undistinguished lyric" that was more like a song from 'Highway 61 Revisited' than from 'Blonde on Blonde'. 'Crawdaddy's assessment was that "the vocal here is truly the entire message and on this cut we are listening to a genuine blues artist."
Live performances
Dylan did not play the song live until 1995, when he debuted it at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, California on 15 May. He played it live a further 39 times before retiring it after a performance at the Charles A. Dana Center, Waltham, Massachusetts on 12 April 1997.Personnel
The details of the personnel involved in making 'Blonde on Blonde' are subject to some uncertainty. The credits below are adapted from the Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track book.
(pictured in 1971)
'Musicians'
*Bob Dylan vocals, guitar
*Charlie McCoy harmonica
*Robbie Robertson guitar
*Wayne Moss guitar
*Joe South guitar
*Al Kooper organ
*Hargus "Pig" Robbins piano
*Henry Strzelecki bass guitar
*Kenneth Buttrey drums
*Unknown maracas
'Technical'
*Bob Johnston production
References
'Books'
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'Citations'
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