“Hurricane” – Bob Dylan’s riveting tale of injustice.

Welcome back! For this week’s post, I have decided to take a close look at the story behind one of Bob Dylan’s most legendary, enduring works – Hurricane. Written in 1975, Dylan co – wrote the single with Jacques Levy after meeting the incarcerated boxer-turned-alleged killer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter.

The legendary singer-songwriter live in concert.

The story began when Rubin “Hurricane” Carter and friend John Artis were convicted in May of 1966 for  gunning down three white men at the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey (not too far from where I am from!). Artis and Carter were near the scene of the crime, and shortly after the shootings the two were stopped by police. The police brought the men to one of the dying victims at a nearby hospital to be potentially identified as the killers. The pair was not I.D.’d, and legal investigations lead to a decision to not indict the men. However, the two would still be convicted, due to an accusation by career criminal Alfred Bello. Bello had been near the Lafayette the night of the crime, and as a bid to acquire leniency from the police, claimed he could I.D. the two then on-the-loose killers. As a result, Carter and Artis were both charged with triple murder and sentenced to three life prison terms. 

By 1975, a copy of Carter’s autobiography newly written The 16th Round: From Number 1 Contender to Number 45472 made its way to Bob Dylan (amongst various other celebrities) as part of a start-up campaign for Carter’s release. The 1974 autobiography tells of how Carter’s running as the top contender for the world middleweight boxing champion title was stopped short by the controversial conviction. The autobiography additionally covers the topics of growing up black in in the United States, his personal experience growing up in and out of prison, and his intense fights as a boxer. Dylan, encapsulated by Carter’s story, met the man within thirty days of reading the book. The two men hit it off quickly, with Carter remarking that “We sat and talked for many hours, and I recognized the fact that here was a brother.” Dylan stated in a similar light, “I realized that the man’s philosophy and my philosophy were running down the same road, and you don’t meet too many people like that.” Following this meeting, Dylan quickly grew dead-set on writing a song.

A young Rubin “Hurricane” Carter during his prolific, promising boxing career.

Dylan was coming off of the heels of his comeback album Blood on the Tracks, and had moved to Greenwich Village, New York in search of creative inspiration. Dylan quickly found a chemistry with theatre legend and songwriter Jacques Levy, and the pair spent several a period of time co-writing songs. Eventually, Levy’s theatre-influenced visual writing style coupled with Dylan’s craftiness would give birth to the enduring “Hurricane.”

In its earliest form, Columbia Records asked that slight changes be made in the song to omit potentially libelous references. After recutting the song to meet the label’s requests, “Hurricane” would be re-recorded in October and released in November as a single. With a total runtime of 8:33, the track was not only a vivid, immersive recreation of the fateful night that landed Carter behind bars, but a passionate rally cry against the seemingly racist nature of the questionable conviction. Soon after completion of the studio recording in October, though, Dylan took to the road with his Rolling Thunder Revue, staring Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Allen Ginsburg, and Roberta Flacka. The group performed a number of successful shows with Dylan’s motive being to spread the free-Carter message behind his impassioned creation.

 

The 1975 vinyl featuring “Hurricane” -broken into two parts due to the song’s 8:33 runtime – as a single prior to its album release in January of 1976. 

Following the launch of the tour, the Hurricane story snowballs toward its climax. On December 7th, sometime into the touring, a notable show took place in which Dylan and his Revue played at Carter’s prison in New Jersey. The following night, Dylan’s show would garner over $100,000 for Carter’s legal fund from a sold out Madison Square Garden show. The following month on January 5th, 1976, Bob Dylan’s next album Desire released with “Hurricane” as the opening track. Weeks later would see the success of “Hurricane II,” another charity concert held for Carter at the Houstons’ Astrodome. Dylan’s act was joined by various venerable musicians including Steven Stills, Carlos Santana, and Stevie Wonder.

Joan Baez and Bob Dylan famously performing in an unusual white face during the Rolling Thunder Revue tour.

In spite of Dylan’s best efforts, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously, though temporarily, overturned the Lafayette convictions citing that the prosecution withheld evidence potentially favorable to the defense. Ultimately, the two men were yet again convicted and sentenced to life once more. It would not be until 1985 that the New Jersey Federal District Court would overturn the conviction, and in spite of some legal backlash, Carter was set free, with John Artis being freed later on due to legal complications not related to the Lafayette murders.

As for “Hurricane”, the song remains one of Bob Dylan’s most enduring hits and one of Rock’s most impactful protest songs. Through the touring of Dylan and his Rolling Thunder Revue, “Hurricane” helped propel Carter’s case to forefront of mainstream media. Such a feat goes to show more than simply the incredible cultural impact of Bob Dylan, but the raw power of music itself.

 

Although it blends fact with some fiction, this pseudo-documentary featuring real footage from the concert and an interview with Bob Dylan is an intriguing addendum to my overview of the Rolling Thunder Revue’s remarkable performances!