Bob Dylan, Muhammad Ali and Me!

In September 1978, I walked up the steps onto Bob Dylan’s private jet (which I affectionately called ‘Bob Force One’); I thought, how did I get here? I was a 20-year-old Londoner and now Bob Dylan’s official photographer. 1978 was quite a year for me; it was the first time I had visited the USA. So, we left Los Angeles and flew across the US to the East Coast, to Augusta in Maine. It was an eventful flight, and I will write about that on another occasion. After all, this was the first time I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Bob. Once we arrived in Augusta, we had one day of rehearsals, and then the next day, it was our first gig on the tour.

Before my tour with Bob Dylan, I had been jogging in Santa Monica, California. I say jogging, I was actually speed-walking to the nearest Deli for brunch. As I turned the corner on Lincoln Boulevard and walked down Ocean Boulevard, I glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone was behind me.  I saw a large athletic figure with a hoodie approaching me quickly. Then, as he got closer, I saw his face. I thought, oh wow, that’s Muhammad Ali. As he got alongside me, I started running with him. In truth, it was only for about 10 seconds, as I am not much of a runner. I asked him how he was and what he was up to. He said he was in training for a fight and always training. We bumped fists as he sped off, and I thought, wow, I just met Muhammad Ali ! Now, that was a moment for me! I continued to think about that chance meeting over lunch.  

Here I was, now in Maine with Bob Dylan and his band and his US tour was kicking off. The first gig at The Augusta Civic Centre night was fabulous. It was all sold out and quite a show. I did get some great shots. Paul Wasserman was Bob’s PR man on tour with us. He had instructed me to get my films processed after the shows if we were not leaving town that night. Once the transparencies and contact sheets were ready, I would meet with him and Bob in the morning to choose which photos to send out in advance to newspapers in any given city so they could write about Bob coming to that particular city.

On this first night, we went backstage at the end of the show. Bob and the band all changed into more comfortable clothes, and then I realised that we were all gathering around a TV and video recorder. This was new technology then. I hadn’t seen many video recorders yet. So, as we all stood around, ‘Road Manager’ Mike Crowley said here we go, and switched on the video. I didn’t dare ask what we were about to watch. I went with the flow and waited to see what they were watching. So, as I stood there and the video started, I could see that we were watching the start of a big boxing match. Howard Cosell, the famous commentator, was speaking and said here we are at the New Orleans Astrodome for this historical fight between Leon Spinks and Muhammad Ali. This fight had occurred at the same time Bob and the band were on stage, hence the need for a video recorder. So, I stood next to Bob and watched this along with Bob’s band and personal manager, Dick Curtis. Muhammed Ali was shown coming out of his dressing room, being let by his trainer Angelo Dundee, and the 63000 people in the crowd were going crazy. Flashes from cameras, screaming, and, on top of that, the commentators saying this is being beamed around the globe via satellite to two billion people. If Ali won this fight, he would be the world champion again for the third time. This was a big arena, and it took a while for Ali to get from his dressing room to the ring. Then, the TV station played music over the visual of him walking through the crowd. As this happened, I noticed many of the band nudging Bob, whispering in his ear, and saying things about the fight and, weirdly, the song on the TV. At this point, this 20-year-old clueless photographer (me), standing next to the living legend, Bob Dylan, quietly says to Bob, “What’s the big deal about that song, Bob?”. He looked at me with a little smile and said, “I wrote that song, Danny”. I felt rather stupid, to say the least, and my face turned red.  I just thought, why did you say that, you blithering idiot?  I lifted my Nikon F2As camera to hide my embarrassment and red face and took a few shots of Bob.

(This is the shot I took of Bob after asking him about the song, whilst I was hiding behind my camera)

These are now among my favourites of him. Saying that every time I look at them, I cringe slightly. By the way, the song in question was Forever Young. I believe he wrote for one of his children when they were young. Muhammed Ali was 36, and that’s quite old for a boxer. So, this song and lyrics were quite appropriate. That night, I also found out that Bob and Muhammed Ali were friends. Bob has a studio in Santa Monica, and Ali had a Gym there, too.

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

Oh, and below is Bob singing that song. This was before my time with Bob. However, its rather fabulous.