Mr. Dylan credited Mr. Langhorne with inspiring “Mr. Tambourine Man,” recalling in 1985 that the song came to him after seeing Mr. Langhorne arrive for a 1964 recording session with an oversize Turkish drum arrayed with bells. (“In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you,” Mr. Dylan sang.)
It's probably not "cool" to admit this, but I always liked the Byrds' version of this song better. (It's credited with being the first "folk rock" hit.) And I even had the privilege of hearing it live when I was a freshman in college.
A couple of guys in my dorm were going to see McGuinn and Clark. "Who?" I asked.
"Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark -- two of the original members of the Byrds. Wanna go?"
"Sure; I love the Byrds!" And thus followed my first-ever concert.
I'm sure they played "Mr. Tambourine Man," as well as "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "Eight Miles High" (about air travel; what did you think it was about?). I saw them in 1977, just a year before the video above (although I don't remember Chris Hillman playing with them) so they probably sounded a lot like that. It was a small venue, we were "baked," as the kids say nowadays, and it was a great concert.
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