Bob Dylan - Jokerman | Live on Letterman, 1984

Bob Dylan turning “Jokerman” into something raw, urgent and almost punk. On March 22, 1984, Dylan appeared on Late Night with David Letterman with a small band built around musicians from the Los Angeles punk scene: bassist Tony Marsico and drummer Charlie Quintana of The Plugz, together with guitarist J.J. Holiday. And Jokerman suddenly sounded completely different. The studio recording on Infidels moves on a spacious, reggae-inflected rhythm. Here, almost all of that polish disappears. The guitars bite, the rhythm section pushes relentlessly forward and Dylan sings as if he is trying the song on again and discovering something new inside it. In fact, this appears to have been the song’s first public live performance — more than two months before Dylan began performing it in concert on his 1984 European tour. And then there is the wonderfully chaotic ending: Dylan reaches for the harmonica, things don’t quite go according to plan, and the band simply keeps driving the song forward. Nothing is polished away. That may be exactly why this performance has become such a favourite among Dylan listeners. At the end, David Letterman is so delighted that he asks Dylan whether they could come back and do it every Thursday. Watching this, you understand why. Bob Dylan * Only Vocals Independent fan-curated channel celebrating Dylan’s voice, performances, rare moments and musical history. #BobDylan #Jokerman #DavidLetterman #BobDylan1984 #Infidels