Themes from Bob Dylan’s Philosophy of Modern Song

Part 2 — On the Road Again with a Natural-Born Eastman

August 1947. New York. Milt Gabler’s Commodore Record Shop on 42nd Street. photo: William Gottlieb. Colorized 2019 by Marie-Lou Chantel.

Above, the back cover of Bob Dylan’s “The Philosophy of Modern Song,” back in the day when men were men, record stores were record stores, and the smell of vinyl and cardboard permeated the New York City air.

The man reaching for a record is Jack Crystal, father of Billy Crystal, manager of the Commodore Record Shop, a mecca for jazz enthusiasts, musicians, and record collectors. The photo was taken in 1947 during Crystal’s 15-year tenure as manager.

“The Philosophy of Modern Song” is slated for release in November 2022, but its Table of Contents was leaked by photo in August. Here’s the second in my series on songs found in that Table of Contents, this one about the Memphis Jug Band’s “On the Road Again, with a brief detour to Stephen Foster’s “Nelly was a Lady.”

On the Road Again (1928) Memphis Jug Band

“The Memphis Jug Band’s “Peaches in the Springtime” is a sweet and juicy record, recorded back in the…