| Concert Tour Name: | Bob Dylan Gospel Tour |
| Artist: | Bob Dylan |
| Location: | North America |
| Number Of Legs: | 3 |
| Number Of Shows: | 79 |
| Last Tour: | World Tour (1978) |
| This Tour: | Gospel Tour (1979–80) |
| Next Tour: | A Musical Retrospective Tour (1980) |
The Bob Dylan Gospel Tour was a concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan that consisted of 79 concerts in North America in three legs, lasting from November 1, 1979 to May 21, 1980.[1]
In February 1978, Dylan initiated a ten-month World Tour that consisted of 114 concerts in ten countries. On June 15, Dylan released the album Street-Legal, which received poor reviews from most American critics. Performances on his world tour also received negative reviews. The physical demands of touring were also taking a toll on the artist.[2] During a concert on November 17 in San Diego, someone from the audience threw a small silver cross on stage.[2] Dylan later recalled in a 1979 interview:
Toward the end of his 1978 World Tour, Dylan began performing a new song during sound checks called "Slow Train"—a song with overtly Christian lyrics. During the final concert of the tour on December 16, 1978 in Hollywood, Florida, he performed another new song called "Do Right to Me Baby (Do Unto Others)", with lyrics centered around a Biblical passage from Matthew 7:12, "All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them; this, in fact, is what the Law and the Prophets mean."[3]
According to Dylan, a turning point came one night in late 1978 when he received a "vision and a feeling" that his born-again Christian girlfriend Mary Alice Artres believed was a "visit from Jesus himself". Dylan later said, "Jesus put his hand on me. It was a physical thing. I felt it. I felt it all over me. I felt my whole body tremble. The glory of the Lord knocked me down and picked me up."[4]
Artes was not the only born-again Christian in Dylan's touring band. Steven Soles and David Mansfield were already members of the Vineyard Fellowship, a Christian organization introduced to them by guitarist T-Bone Burnett. According to bassist Rob Stoner, it was Burnette who first began talking to Dylan about Jesus and the Fellowship.[5] Dylan also turned to Helena Springs with "questions that no one could possibly help with", and she encouraged him to pray. Dylan's girlfriend Artes was also a member of Vineyard Fellowship, and it was through her influence that Dylan eventually agreed to attend a three-month Bible study course with Ken Gulliksen.[6]
In the first months of 1979, Dylan was writing songs clearly influenced by his new-found Christian faith and Bible study. Dylan initially intended to produce the songs for singer Carolyn Dennis anonymously. "I wanted the songs out", Dylan later recalled, "but I didn't want to do it [myself], because I knew that it wouldn't be perceived in that way. It would just mean more pressure. I just did not want that at that time."[7] Eventually Dylan decided to record the songs himself, and assembled a strong group of musicians and production people, including Mark Knopfler and Muscle Shoals veterans Barry Beckett and Jerry Wexler, who would co-produce the album with Dylan. Between April 30 and May 11, 1979, Dylan recorded material for a new album at Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The new album of Christian songs called Slow Train Coming was released on August 20, 1979.
On October 18, 1979, Dylan and his new backing band appeared on the television show Saturday Night Live, performing three songs from the new album: "Gotta Serve Somebody", "I Believe in You", and "When You Gonna Wake Up".[8] Two weeks later, on November 1, 1979, Dylan and his new band initiated a new tour with a fourteen-concert engagement at the Fox Warfield Theatre in San Francisco.[8]
The Bob Dylan Gospel Tour was unique in two respects. While Dylan had always included religious themes and allusions in his songs, this tour marked the first time that he overtly embraced Christianity as a personal faith, and discussed that faith from the stage with his audience.[9] Also, Dylan restricted the concert setlists to include only his new Christian songs. None of his past material was included.[1] The tour was divided into three legs over a period of seven months. The first leg included 26 concerts from November 1 to December 9. The second leg included 22 concerts from January 13 to February 9. The third leg included 29 concerts from April 17 to May 21.[1]
The tour lineup for the first leg of the tour consisted of Bob Dylan (guitar, piano, harmonica, vocals), Spooner Oldham (keyboards, vocals), Terry Young (keyboards, vocals), Fred Tackett (guitar), Tim Drummond (bass), Jim Keltner (drums), Regina Havis (vocals), Helena Springs (vocals), and Mona Lisa Young (vocals).[10] [11] Typically, shows opened with vocalist Regina Havis stepping to the microphone and delivering a monologue on Christian faith. She was then joined on stage by vocalist Helena Springs, pianist Terry Young, and his wife Mona Lisa Young who performed a half dozen gospel songs, such as "If I Got My Ticket Lord", "It's Gonna Rain", "Do Lord, Remember Me", "Look Up And Live By Faith", and "Oh Freedom".[4]
After a brief interlude, Dylan and his backing band emerged and performed typically a 17-song set consisting of songs from the album Slow Train Coming and additional new Christian songs, most of which would end up on his follow-up album Saved. He opened most shows with "Gotta Serve Somebody", "I Believe in You", "When You Gonna Wake Up", "When He Returns", and "Man Gave Names to All the Animals", and the setlists did not vary significantly from night to night. Halfway through the set, following the song "Covenant Woman", one of his backing vocalists would take center stage and perform a gospel song while Dylan stood to the side and listened. These songs included "Put Your Hand in the Hand" (sung by Regina Havis), "What Are You Doing With Your Heart" (sung by Helena Springs), and "God Uses Ordinary People" (sung by Mona Lisa Young).[10] Most shows ended with "Solid Rock", "Saving Grace", "Saved", "What Can I Do for You?", "In the Garden", "Are You Ready", and "Pressing On".[1] Dylan performed most of the songs playing a black Fender Stratocaster guitar. He performed a few songs with just a microphone, and played piano on "When He Returns" and "Pressing On".[1] Dylan's one harmonica solo on "What Can I Do for You?" was one of the highlights of his shows. The first leg of the tour ended with a two-night engagement at the Music Hall in Tucson.[1]
After taking one month off for the Christmas holidays in Minnesota, Dylan resumed the tour on January 13, 1980 with a three-night engagement at Paramount Northwest Theatre in Seattle. For this second leg of the tour, Helena Springs was replaced by Carolyn Dennis (vocals) and Regina Peeples (vocals).[11] [12] The concerts were similar to those of the first leg, with similar setlists.[1] The second leg of the tour concluded with a two-night engagement at the Municipal Auditorium in Charleston, West Virginia on February 9.
Dylan and his touring band immediately traveled to Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama to record the new songs they had been performing for the album Saved. Recording sessions lasted just five days, February 11–15.[13] Producer Jerry Wexler later recalled, "The arrangements were built in, because the band had been playing the songs live. Most of the licks are their own licks, which they perfected on the road."[13]
After taking the month of March off, Dylan and his touring band resumed the tour on April 17 with a four-night engagement at Massey Hall in Toronto. For the third leg of the tour, Carolyn Dennis was replaced by Clydie King (vocals), Gwen Evans (vocals), and Mary Elizabeth Bridges (vocals).[14] [15] At the Toronto concerts, Dylan introduced three new Christian songs not included on Saved, "Ain't Gonna Go to Hell for Anybody", "Cover Down, Pray Through", and "I Will Love Him". The April 20 show at Massey Hall was filmed, but never officially released.[14] After a four-night engagement at Le Theatre Saint-Denis in Montreal, the tour headed back to the United States northeast, and concluded with four concerts in the Midwest. The final show was held at Memorial Hall in Dayton, Ohio on May 21.[1]
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Setlist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First leg | ||||
| November 1, 1979 | San Francisco | United States | Fox Warfield Theatre | 1 |
| November 2, 1979 | ||||
| November 3, 1979 | ||||
| November 4, 1979 | ||||
| November 6, 1979 | ||||
| November 7, 1979 | ||||
| November 8, 1979 | ||||
| November 9, 1979 | ||||
| November 10, 1979 | ||||
| November 11, 1979 | ||||
| November 13, 1979 | ||||
| November 14, 1979 | 2 | |||
| November 15, 1979 | 1 | |||
| November 16, 1979 | 3 | |||
| November 18, 1979 | Santa Monica | Santa Monica Civic Auditorium | 4 | |
| November 19, 1979 | ||||
| November 20, 1979 | ||||
| November 21, 1979 | ||||
| November 25, 1979 | Tempe | Gammage Center | 5 | |
| November 26, 1979 | 6 | |||
| November 27, 1979 | San Diego | Golden Hall | 4 | |
| November 28, 1979 | ||||
| December 4, 1979 | Albuquerque | Kiva Auditorium | ||
| December 5, 1979 | ||||
| December 8, 1979 | Tucson | Tucson Music Hall | ||
| December 9, 1979 | ||||
| Second leg | ||||
| January 11, 1980 | Portland | United States | Paramount Theatre | |
| January 12, 1980 | ||||
| January 13, 1980 | Seattle | Paramount Northwest Theatre | 4 | |
| January 14, 1980 | ||||
| January 15, 1980 | ||||
| January 16, 1980 | Portland | Paramount Theatre | ||
| January 17, 1980 | Spokane | Spokane Opera House | ||
| January 18, 1980 | ||||
| January 21, 1980 | Denver | Rainbow Music Hall | 7 | |
| January 22, 1980 | 4 | |||
| January 23, 1980 | ||||
| January 25, 1980 | Omaha | Orpheum Theater | ||
| January 26, 1980 | ||||
| January 27, 1980 | Kansas City | Uptown Theater | ||
| January 28, 1980 | ||||
| January 29, 1980 | ||||
| January 31, 1980 | Memphis | Orpheum Theater | ||
| February 1, 1980 | ||||
| February 2, 1980 | Birmingham | Jefferson Civic Center | 8 | |
| February 3, 1980 | ||||
| February 5, 1980 | Knoxville | Knoxville Civic Auditorium | 4 | |
| February 6, 1980 | ||||
| February 8, 1980 | Charleston | Charleston Municipal Auditorium | 9 | |
| February 9, 1980 | 10 | |||
| Third leg | ||||
| April 17, 1980 | Toronto | Canada | Massey Hall | 11 |
| April 18, 1980 | ||||
| April 19, 1980 | 12 | |||
| April 20, 1980 | 11 | |||
| April 22, 1980 | Montreal | Le Theatre Saint-Denis | ||
| April 23, 1980 | ||||
| April 24, 1980 | ||||
| April 25, 1980 | ||||
| April 27, 1980 | Albany | United States | Palace Theatre | |
| April 28, 1980 | ||||
| April 30, 1980 | Buffalo | Kleinhans Music Hall | ||
| May 1, 1980 | 13 | |||
| May 2, 1980 | Worcester | Memorial Theater | 11 | |
| May 3, 1980 | ||||
| May 4, 1980 | Syracuse | Landmark Theatre | ||
| May 5, 1980 | ||||
| May 7, 1980 | Hartford | Bushnell Memorial Hall | 14 | |
| May 8, 1980 | 11 | |||
| May 9, 1980 | Portland | Portland City Hall | ||
| May 10, 1980 | ||||
| May 11, 1980 | Providence | Ocean State Performing Arts Center | ||
| May 12, 1980 | ||||
| May 14, 1980 | Pittsburgh | Stanley Theatre | ||
| May 15, 1980 | ||||
| May 16, 1980 | 15 | |||
| May 17, 1980 | Akron | Akron Civic Theatre | 16 | |
| May 18, 1980 | 17 | |||
| May 20, 1980 | Columbus | Franklin County Veterans Memorial Auditorium | 11 | |
| May 21, 1980 | Dayton | Memorial Hall | 14 | |