THE UNIVERSE IN ONE SONG
How “Jokerman” became the most-explored Bob Dylan song of all
No one in music history has had more songs covered by other artists than Bob Dylan (with 326 songs; second highest is Elvis Presley with 286 songs, who wasn’t even a songwriter). Dylan’s pre-electric 1960s songs have been the most covered, with “Blowin’ in the Wind” at the very top, that he wrote at the age of 21.
But it is a song that Dylan wrote at the age of 42 that appears to have caught the imagination in a different way from all other songs in his career. “Jokerman” is not anywhere near his most-covered songs, in terms of pure numbers, not even close. But seems to be the song that has been taken to more places by artists from all over, musically. Dylan himself found multiple expressions of the song, some of which were important musical milestones in their own right.
In 1983, Bob Dylan was at a crossroads in his life. He was just coming out of his “Born-Again Christian” phase (that appears to have lasted musically from 1979 to 1981). His loss of faith was complemented by his seeking a way to be musically relevant during perhaps the most musically vital period of the last century (and perhaps ever) when new genres were manifesting at a scarcely believable pace.
Dylan wrote this song somewhere in the Caribbean islands, on his boat. As he said later (to Rolling Stone magazine) — “The shapes there, and shadows, seem to be so ancient. The song was sorta inspired by these spirits they call jumbis.” Each of those spirits or demons who supposedly exercise evil power over the Caribbean, he referred to as “Jokerman” — that seemed to be the idea in the lyrics. Further, the invoking of Biblical texts in the song suggested that he may have been referring also to the Antichrist.
This somewhat ominous theme was set to a strange celebratory vibe, an otherworldly mystical expression merged with an infectious bounce. A rock and roll hymn, but nothing like a hymn, as we know it. “Jokerman” seemed to open up a way forward for him musically at the time. Not only would it evolve into one of the greatest songs of his life, it would ultimately resonate in different ways in different corners of the world, decades later. Perhaps more than any other song in that superhuman catalogue.
This would be the opening track and the showcase song from the new album that he would record that same year — called Infidels. Dylan chose Mark Knopfler to produce this new album, perhaps hoping for the popular edge of Dire Straits to rub off on him with these new songs. Knopfler, in turn, got in Dire Straits keyboardist Alan Clark (who played organ on “Jokerman”). To that, on Dylan’s initiative, were added bassist Robbie Shakespeare and drummer Sly Dunbar for the rhythm section (who were famous in Jamaica as the reggae duo “Sly & Robbie”). Dylan also brought in guitarist Mick Taylor, who was notably a part of The Rolling Stones when the band created some of their greatest songs (between 1969 and 1974). The recording of Infidels took place in New York.
Dylan himself claimed in an interview that he wasn’t pleased with the lyrics of “Jokerman”, said he’d over-worked them, not abandoned them early enough. Perhaps this is a good song to demonstrate the role of lyrics in Dylan’s best work; transcending language via words themselves. “Jokerman” actually demonstrates where Dylan’s greatest genius lies - in the musical, rather than even the lyrical realm.
In one of the earliest takes, Mark Knopfler’s melodic influence can be heard vividly — that Dire Straits lilt (most emphatically present near the end of the track). Dylan’s vocal delivery interestingly appears to work around it.
This take manifested as a bootleg for a while before it finally was officially released in 2021 in the compilation Springtime in New York. Thus making it the earliest take of “Jokerman” in the public domain.
Sly Dunbar would tell Mojo magazine years later, “Bob Dylan always do songs in different keys, like, he’ll change three, four different keys in a song, and he will change the lyrics on the fly, so when we cut ‘Jokerman’ we recorded it and then we had a break overnight. Dylan came in the morning and said, ‘Oh, gentlemen, could you just run ‘Jokerman’ for me again?’ Nobody knew the tape was spinning; we were just running down the music and he said, ‘OK, that’s it’ — it was the take we didn’t know we were taking that he used.”
This version mentioned above was just the sixth take with the band, which became the final released version. It reduced the Knopfler lilt without diluting his presence and brought in more of Mick Taylor’s guitar, which starts asserting itself from 3–29. The sound of African drums and the reggae groove with its throbbing pulse, and Dylan producing one of his finest vocals — this was an instantly recognisable classic (even if not a catchy hit for the radio at the time). And the launch of a new musical phase for Dylan.
There was a music video to go with it too — made by legendary advertising art director and designer George Lois — also famous for his 92 Esquire covers between 1962 and 1972. The video won an MTV award.
But the legend of “Jokerman” had only just begun. Dylan would himself use it to reinvent himself more than once.
Just five months after the release of Infidels, Dylan was at the recording of David Letterman’s show in New York again. He was slated to perform live with a backing band he’d never played with publicly before this — an LA-based Latino punk band called The Plugz. Perhaps it was the drive to be relevant to the new generation or maybe it was just the desire to be cool in his young son’s eyes who was into Punk Rock. Or he himself was interested — as he’d been going for shows by local punk bands in LA (he had moved to Malibu by then). That night in New York, the searing performance Dylan produced is still ranked as one of the greatest rock performances in televised history to this date.
With these young accompanists, Dylan rehearsed and then played three songs live in the studio, the last of which was “Jokerman” (the entire set, with the 19 minutes of rehearsals first, is here.) The sharp, crisp and energetic band sound brought out a vitality in Dylan that manifested vividly in his delivery, complete with new age swagger. This performance, especially of “Jokerman”, is still placed with the finest in Dylan’s own career, effortlessly standing out in that decade, leading many till date to wonder why he didn’t do more work with this band (that would sadly disband at the end of that year — leaving this performance as their apogee).
Interestingly, there was a mishap on live television during “Jokerman”, as Dylan was handed a harmonica in the wrong key (at 3–20), which led to smart improvisation by the band till the situation was somewhat salvaged.
Years later, Henry Edwards or “Ed”, the guy with the backline duties, who ostensibly was the cause of the mishap (but actually helped salvage it) told this story — Bob was scheduled to perform two songs on the show that night. On the second song he told me to have a harmonica in a certain key sitting on his Marshall amplifier so he could pick it up and play it towards the end of the song. He used it and everything worked out perfectly. At that point I figured my job was pretty much over for the night, you know, wait for the show to finish pack up the gear and go home. Then, all of a sudden I was told ( by Bob’s son) that Letterman asked Bob to do a third song to close the show and I should have a harmonica ready again. He said it should be in the key of D ( if I remember correctly). Now, Bob’s son was still a teenager at this time and I was a little wary of the messenger so I took it upon myself to go backstage to the dressing room to ask Bob personally. When I got there he was really busy speaking with friends and industry types and I said something to the effect of “Hey Bob, your son said you need a harmonica in the key of D for the last song”. Bob turns to me and says, “Ah yea that’s right”. So I figure, great, end of story , but no, not end of story because Bob mistakenly (because he was busy with his guests) told me “Ah yea sure”. So I set up everything the way I was told and the third song started. Halfway through the song Bob takes off his guitar, hands it to me, picks up the harmonica and starts blowing immediately, stops, looks left to me and says “What the fuck, it’s the wrong key!” I say, “What key do you need?”. He says, “G”. I think to myself — oh shit that harmonica is on the other side of the drums, so I go running (on camera) behind the drummer to fetch the right one. It took about twenty seconds but seemed like a fucking lifetime! After the song was over, I turned to Bob and said “What happened, what happened?” He said, “I got mixed up”. All of a sudden, Bob’s manager Mick Brigdon was all over me saying, “ What the hell just happened?”. I said Bob asked for the wrong harp”. He said, “Don’t you move, wait right here!”. He came back two minutes later and said, “Never mind”. I started to pack up the gear thinking, shit these guys are never going hire me again! A month later I got a call asking me if I would go on the up coming European Tour as Dylan’s guitar tech.
The extent to how legendary that performance was can be gauged from a Canadian musician Daniel Romano, in 2020 (37 years later!), doing an entire album of songs with his band, the way they imagined Bob Dylan and the Plugz doing the entire Infidels album. This entire album is available through the player in the link below — with “Jokerman” as the first track — crystal clear recording of a very faithful rendition of that performance, right down to the harmonica mishap!
Just two months after the Letterman performance, Dylan was rehearsing “Jokerman” with a new band for his forthcoming European tour (the entire rehearsal soundtrack is here). He might have taken something from that performance with The Plugz as well. The only one from the original album line-up was Mick Taylor, and this time Taylor’s guitar dominated the song — that magnificent solo in the end so recognisably his.
The second half of the 1980s was a difficult time for Dylan, as his perceived relevance was under question, most notably in his own eyes. It led to him quite literally having a creative burnout, and consider retirement, despite collaborations with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Grateful Dead — both live tours, and George Harrison with three other luminaries in The Traveling Wilburys. The decade ended magnificently for him as he came out of his burnout for a while but the funk continued as the 1990s commenced.
To make matters worse, his vocals were getting weaker. To find his voice again, he went back to his roots, to Folk music (releasing two albums of American Folk standards in 1992 and 1993) returning to the space that made him a legend 30 years ago.
In 1994, he performed “Jokerman” within this Folk sensibility, with the lyrics upfront, but adjusting for the rock and roll accompaniment. In hindsight, his searching is discernible through this.
In 1998, the trajectory to where the song is destined to go is much more apparent. It has left the Folk space and entered the Rock space with the sort of conviction that had already produced his most celebrated later-day classic in Time Out of Mind the year before.
At the turn of the century, Dylan comprehensively found his new direction (that would last almost a decade-and-a-half). His voice was just the steering now, the words a navigation map. Borrowing its prime lilt from the song’s spirit, the band provided the real body, the main presence in his songs now.
The performance of “Jokerman” in 2003 was the climax of that journey with this song, with his new-found playfulness and vitality finding a sweet spot to savour. The heaviness of the guitar sound and its nod to the song’s original reggae origins add to the song’s existential vibe.
This was probably his best live performance of the song, which is perhaps why Dylan retired the song and has never performed it live after that. Maybe his seeking had fructified.
This is where the story of “Jokerman” gets really interesting. One would think, given its accent on lyrics, it wouldn’t really fit within the newer generations’ musical tastes. However, curiously, over time, this song has just grown in strength, in reputation. All kinds of artists have covered it (especially in this century), in different continents, within different idioms.
Many of these covers below of “Jokerman” do what the finest covers do — stamp their own individuality but also expand the song’s universe in varying degrees. Together, these versions expand the musical universe on the back of that one monster song.
Brazil, 1992:
In Latin America, Caetano Veloso is considered one of the great singer-songwriters of the 20th century. He did this version of “Jokerman”, drawing from his own traditions that once included Tropicalismo, which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s, at the beginning of the Brazilian military dictatorship.
Germany, 1995:
This groovy German rock version entitled “Dä Joker Danz” by Wolfgang Niedecken has its own place in the legacy of this song.
India, 2013:
Most unusually, there’s this — unique, in the annals of Dylan covers. From the tribute album From Another World — where there were Cuban, Romanian, Bengali, Iranian, Egyptian and Australian Aboriginal treatments of his songs. This was the Rajasthani folk treatment of “Jokerman” — arguably the best track on the album. “Jokerman naach raha/bulbul ki tareh/chidiya oonchi udd rahi/chandrama ki roshni mein/Jokerman”
In 2021, this live version was recorded.
Germany, 2017:
A one-man studio construction of the same song by singer-songwriter/musician Lukas Kowalski. An atmospheric marvel, masterfully done, elegantly European.
Hawaii, 2019:
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter John Cruz does a crackling one-man-and-a-guitar version of the song, that gradually catches fire, bringing out all its glories.
There is this (mostly) acoustic version by Folk musician Eliza Gilkyson in 2007. One of the very few female-led versions of this song, for some reason. (It’s such a pity Chrissie Hynde did not pick this song during her excellent lockdown project of Dylan covers in 2020/21.)
From 2008, there’s this upbeat version by Sarah Chesler — a Swedish/American rock singer with a jazz sensibility, from a Dylan tribute concert in Sweden, with the band providing a counterpoint hook to play off.
There were other explorations with “Jokerman” as well.
From 2009, there is this country-tinged version by Pat Guadagno & Tired Horses.
Even when someone performs the song without knowing what it is about, neutering its inherent edginess, it still stands up on its feet, like this from 2009 by German singer-songwriter Joseph Parsons.
There is a heavy alt-rock version by Built To Spill from 2014.
There is this rock version by a Bob Dylan tribute band from 2017, with the lead guitar resembling Mick Taylor’s work in this context.
The smartly-named Polish band dylan.pl, who keep Dylan songs alive in their language, came up with this version in 2017.
Most notably perhaps, popular rock band Vampire Weekend, playing mostly post-punk pop, adopted “Jokerman” for their live shows, where it very swiftly became a crowd favourite (most of whom did not know the song). This performance from 2019, with those electronica flourishes (from 4–51), denote how far this song has travelled while still staying surprisingly this gregarious, despite its age.
In 2021, American reggae producer Doctor Dread took the original tracks from the Infidel recording sessions in 1983, and perhaps took the song right back to its roots. A full circle of sorts.
The rate at which this song has gained popularity with new generations suggests its journey is far from over. “Jokerman” stands among Dylan’s greatest songs, and is perhaps joined by just five other tracks in the last 42 years (since 1980). These from 1981, 1983, 1997, 2001 and 2020.
So, clearly, 1983 was a particularly good year for Dylan. It was also the year that marked both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Not a bad accompaniment in history.
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