Bob Dylan Center Opened in Tulsa This Past Week for VIPs, and for the Public It's Tomorrow

Photos courtesy The Bob Dylan Center.
(All photos on this page: Getty Images)

On Thursday May 5, The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa opened its doors, celebrating with a VIP Grand Opening that drew luminaries and media from around the world. The 29,000-square-foor museum complex features more than 100,000 items created and/or collected by Bob Dylan throughout his life. 

Based on the smidgen we've already seen of the Bill Pagel archives, this is a pretty heady collection of artifacts on a much grander scale than seems possible. Handwritten lyric manuscripts, never before seen photos and film footage, unreleased recordings, art, fan letters and stories have been artfully displayed, making it a first class tribute to one of the most significant artists of the past 100 years.

Mavis Staples  

The Bob Dylan Center just happens to be located within walking distance of the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa's blossoming arts district. Both centers are managed under the auspices of the American Song Archives, a project of the George Kaiser Family Foundation, which acquired Dylan's archives in 2016 and Guthrie's in 2010. 

Mavis Staples took the stage for the opening night concert on Thursday, with Pattti Smith and Her Band entertaining Founding Members on Friday. Elvis Costello and the Imposters were the ticket for Saturday night at Cain's Ballroom. Each of these artists have noted the heavy influence Dylan had on their careers.

Bob Dylan Ctr director Steve Jenkins, with Patti Smith

Seeing this image reminded my of Warhol's bigger-than-life "Double Elvis"

Cards from well-wishers after his motorcycle accident in '66.

Tuesday May 10 the Bob Dylan Center will open its doors to the public. Congrats to everyone involved in making this a world-class point of interest for music fans of all stripes. Learn more here at The Bob Dylan Center website.

The video below is a fun re-make of one of the first, and most memorable, music videos in recorded history. 

ABOUT THE CENTER
The Bob Dylan Center® is committed to exploring the myriad forms of creativity that enrich the world around us. The center will serve to educate, motivate and inspire visitors to engage their own capacity as creators. Through exhibits, public programs, performances, lectures and publications, the Center aims to foster lively conversations about the role of creativity in our lives.

The Rolling Stones Logo: A Masterful Example of the Concept of Branding

I'm not sure precisely where the concept of branding originated, but I do know that all of us who grew up on TV Westerns or Hollywood's wild west films will remember at least more than one incident where brands played a role. Cattle were branded for identification purposes so they could graze freely out on the open range and still remain known as yours, or Smitty's or Boss Hargrove's. Cattle ranchers used a branding iron to place their distinctive marks on their cattle. The mark was a deterrent to prevent rustlers from stealing their property.

The earliest accounts of branding livestock go back as far as the Egyptians. During a Cairo excavation Professor Edmund Archer uncovered photos of branding taking place in front of a pyramid, 6,000 B.C. Didn't know that the Egyptians invented the camera? (Here's a more accurate history of branding from the National Cowboy Museum. And yes, it mentions Egyptians.)

Just as cattle ranchers used imaginative and distinctive symbols to make their marks unique, so today we see that companies use branding to differentiate themselves from other companies. The best brands use a "mark" that not only differentiates them, but also tells who they are. When you see the logo, you see the essence of the company.

Often, colors help reinforce the brand. Companies with a strong "made in the USA" pedigree frequently have red, white & blue logos.

Back cover of the album Sticky Fingers.

While in Vegas this past week for the SEMA Show (Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association) we had gone to dinner one evening to a casino on the Strip filled with the usual glitz and glam of that city where everything is spectacle. Out of the corner of my eye I caught that famous Rolling Stones logo, a lascivious badge from the era of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll.

During the evening I twice commented that Andy Warhol created that memorable image, and in both instances the person I said this to replied, "Oh, I didn't know that." Turns out that I was wrong. Andy Warhol designed the album cover for Sticky Fingers, the Stones' 11th album, and the first to feature this salacious in-your-face symbol. (Read the full story of that album cover design here.)

The creator of those famous lips was a Brit named Jon Pasche. Mick Jagger and company were seeking a new logo to replace the bland offerings of Decca Records. (No doubt the corporation had assembled a committee to come up with something for the Mickster, but as we know well, there are no statues in the park for great committees.) Jagger chose an alternate route to acquire something that would truly reflect the image of the Stones as a brand. Love it or hate it, it's memorable and a powerful example of strong brand recognition. (Here's another account of the story, with additional details.)

* * * *
There's a sense in which logos are the International language of our times. Effective logos communicate across language frontiers. They say something when our words are just gibberish.

For more on logos and branding, read this entertaining article about the backstory on twenty famous car logos. I'll bet you didn't know that the seven stars on the Subaru was based on the "seven sisters" of the Pleiades. (Warhol didn't do that one either.)

I've done a few logos myself over the course of my career. And I've had the privilege of working with a few great designers along the way. If you're a business in need of help with a strong logo design, I'd be happy to introduce you to a couple talented people who can satisfy your need, without excessive expense. Contact ennyman3 (at) gmail.com.

Dylan and Mavis Makin' Their Way Home. Tom Petty Tribute Is A Knockout.

Dylan and his band... Still Flyin'

The big buzz in Dylan circles here has been the return to Minnesota of the Never Ending Tour. If you're planning to go you've probably been dropping in on Boblinks.com to read concert reviews, check out setlists and get a sense of what kind of show to anticipate, for anticipation is at least one-third of the pleasure we get from any experience.

Dylan's 76 this year, so it's hard to imagine too many years left, though with Bob probably anything is possible. This round he's on the road with Mavis Staples, and the Tour has been getting a lot of raves from fans. When Bob is "on" there's nothing perfunctory. The band is as tight as ever, and you never know with each concert where the magic will happen.

He's over on the keyboards now, but it's all Bob.

It was 19 years ago Sunday that I caught my first Dylan concert, on the 22nd of October. When I wrote about it I described it as an early Christmas present. This past Saturday night I am certain there must have been some in the audience who had the same feelings when Mavis and Bob shook the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. Here's a review of that concert that was posted on Boblinks.

My girlfriend Mary Catherine and I went to see Mavis and Bob at the First Bank Center in Broomfield (Denver) without very high expectations. We'd seen them last year at Red Rocks, and they were good but not great. I've seen Dylan probably 50 times or so, and the last few years were pretty iffy. Also, the First Bank Center seats about 7500, and I didn't think they could possibly fill that...maybe 3-4000 at most. Well, so much for expectations. First of all, by the time Mavis took the stage the venue was close to full. Maybe that inspired her performance, but she was way into it last night. "I feel good tonight! We're gonna have some fun tonight!" And we did. When she left the stage to a rousing chorus of "I'll take you there" and a standing ovation, I wondered if Bob heard that crowd response and how his current performance could ever prompt that type of response. Two hours later I found out. No song by song from me...the set list was pretty static...but the classic Dylan songs, the Dylan originals, the "rockers" were unbelievable. His voice was strong and clear, the piano up in the mix, and the band perfect. The drums were featured more tonight than I've seen in the past. The "standards" were all short and well done and were more like interludes than energy drainers. They were great. It was performance art. As I remarked to Mary Catherine, it was more like a classical "concert", where you're not standing up and rocking all the time but enjoying the performance. After Ballad of a Thin Man I, in my all encompassing knowledge, turned to Mary Catherine and said, "let's go, that's it." But wait...they're not leaving! Then Bob and the band tore into Learning to Fly, and just killed it. The place went wild. Standing ovation, people in tears. Bob and the crew stood back in the rear or the stage and took it in. It was a classic. Ron

It doesn't take long for things to truly fly in cyberspace these days, social media being the hurricane wind that blows these thins into the stratosphere. This video has been watched 100,000 time in two days. 

A two-minute song with a hundred hours of memories attached to it. Dylan's world tour with Petty in the 1980's included a trip "Down Under" to Australia. At least one fan from Down Under will be making the trek Up North this week to see Dylan perform in his home state of Minnesota tomorrow night. The Internet and international travel have certainly changed the the way we see our world. There was a time several centuries back when the notion of heading to the other side of the world was often considered a one way trip, if you made it at all. You can watch a YouTube viddy of Dylan doing a media event in the studio of artist Brett Whitely during that tour with Petty and the Heartbreakers here. 

Wednesday night's show will take place in Minneapolis at the Excel Energy Center. If you're in from out of town try to make time for the six mile high mural on a building circa Hennepin and Sixth. It's my understanding that there will be a pre-show gathering of some of our Northland friends at the Pazzaluna/Venus Lounge, in the event you wish to really make a night of it. 

* * * *

Meantime, life goes on...  Oh, mercy.