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Author Barney Hoskyns On Bob Dylan And 'Small Town Talk'

Bob Dylan as seen on the cover of Barney Hoskyns' <em>Small Town Talk</em>.
Courtesy of the author
Bob Dylan as seen on the cover of Barney Hoskyns' Small Town Talk.

The mountain hamlet of Woodstock in upstate New York was well known as an artists' colony even before the mid-'60s influx of musicians. In fact, it was known well enough among the musicians who lived there, particularly Bob Dylan, that it lent its name to the famous festival that actually took place many miles away.

Journalist Barney Hoskyns, a one-time Woodstock resident, has written a book about the town called Small Town Talk. Hoskyns says that Dylan's longtime manager Albert Grossman was the catalyst for bringing so many musicians to Woodstock. Dylan himself fell in love with the area while staying at Grossman's estate and quickly found his own niche; his desk and typewriter in the white room above Cafe Espresso saw the birth of many classics.

On Dylan's 75th birthday, hear Hoskyns discuss the special relationship Dylan and his band had with Woodstock.

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