There’s not much point in introducing Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.”
You already know it.
It’s the song that Rolling Stone ranked as the single greatest song of all time. (And if you think the magazine is just biased because of its name, suffice it to say that pretty much everyone has it at or near the top of their lists.)
It’s also the track that cemented Dylan’s transformation into a bona fide rock star, so it was only a matter of time before the “new Dylan” covered the original Dylan’s signature song.
As it turned out, though, it took a lot of time. Bruce came close in January 1988, when he joined Dylan and an all-star jam band at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. In the clip below, you can clearly see Bruce on guitar, but he stays mostly on the periphery, just taking in the scene (although he does step up to the mic for a few turns of “How does it feel?”)
But other than a guest appearance with John Mellencamp a few months later (of which no recording exists), it would take another two decades for Bruce to give “Like a Rolling Stone” a proper cover treatment.
That moment finally came when the Working on a Dream Tour came to Pittsburgh. Early in the show, Bruce noticed a fan’s sign for the Dylan classic, and he decided to give it a go. (He’d actually soundchecked it a week earlier–perhaps the same fan had requested it earlier, or perhaps it’s just a coincidence.)
Take a listen to the one and only E Street Band performance of Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.”
Like a Rolling Stone
First performed: January 20, 1988 (New York City, NY)
Last performed: May 19, 2009 (Pittsburgh, PA)
