George Harrison is a close friend and bandmate of Bob Dylan, so he can provide insight into the relatively secretive singer. Although Dylan is dedicated to his work as a songwriter and performer—his many albums and Nobel Prizes are proof of that—he is also bored with life on the road. Harrison explained that Dylan often tried to think of a different career path to get him off touring.
The ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ singer started his music career in the early 1960s
Dylan has been working as a musician since 1961, meaning that his career has spanned more than 60 years. After moving to New York City and performing at the Greenwich Village club, Dylan released his first album in 1962. He did not find great success until the release of his second album, Bob Dylan Freewheelinin 1963. With its release, he established himself as a leading singer-songwriter.
Since then, Dylan has amassed many works that include not only songs. He has published books, sold paintings, and appeared in films.
George Harrison says Bob Dylan is looking for a way out of touring
Working as a musician for 60 years is impressive, but it also seems exhausting. Dylan tries to find other ways to fill his time. Carrie Fisher explained that she once contacted him with a project.
“He called because this cologne company had contacted him to see if he would endorse a cologne called Just Like a Woman,” she wrote in her book. drink of hope. “Now Bob doesn’t like the name, but he likes the idea of supporting cologne. And he wants to know if I have a good cologne name.”
Surprisingly, he did think of some cologne names. He later brought up Dylan’s request in a conversation with Harrison.
“Anyway, a few weeks later, I saw George Harrison at this dinner party, just like someone does, so I told him Bob called and he said, ‘Don’t worry, ’cause you know whenever Bob is on the road for a long time, he started thinking about finding a permanent job. You know, a job that would take him out of the way.’”
Dylan had contacted Harrison with a different business idea just before his call with Fisher.
“It turns out that Bob had called George the week before to ask if he wanted to open The Traveling Wilburys Hotel.”
Although he is still a musician, Dylan has been in a number of different projects, including owning a whiskey distillery and a boxing gym.
George Harrison and Bob Dylan are close friends
It made sense that Dylan would reach out to Harrison with a business idea, since the two men were close friends.
“George quotes Bob the way people quote the Bible,” Tom Petty told Rolling Stone in 2002, per The Petty Archives. “Bob also really admires George. George used to hang out on the balcony filming Bob while Bob didn’t notice. Bob would sit at the piano playing, and George would record it and listen to it all night long.”
Harrison’s wife even said that the two men were like soulmates. Luckily, they were able to work together on two albums at The Traveling Wilburys.
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