"Together" With Bob Dylan: His Greatest Collaborations

"Brownsville Girl" (with Sam Shepard)
On Knocked Out Loaded Dylan's sole credits came on two of eight songs — the others were either covers or co-written with Tom Petty, Carole Bayer Sager or great American playwright Sam Shepard. The 11-minute "Brownsville Girl" is, however, Dylan at his absolute finest. Co-written with Shepard, the song is a hysterical stream of conscience epic that repeatedly refers to standing in line to see the 1950 Gregory Peck picture The Gunfighter. "Doesn't matter who came up with such lines as 'She said even the swap meets around here are getting corrupt' and 'I didn't know whether to duck or run, so I ran,' " wrote rock critic Robert Christgau. "They're classic Dylan."

"Jammin' Me" (with Tom Petty)
You'll be hard pressed to find another Dylan penned tune that namechecks Joe Piscopo, Vanessa Redgrave and Eddie Murphy. Dylan wrote the tune with Tom Petty and Mike Campbell during the 1987 True Confessions co-headlining tour with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. "I wrote the lyrics with Bob Dylan at the Sunset Marquis," Petty said. "Bob and I poured over a newspaper, appropriating the lyrics. Then I took the lyrics I'd written with Bob and put them to a track Mike had put together."

"Steel Bars" (with Michael Bolton)
Many were shocked when they saw the liner notes to Michael Bolton's 1991 hit album Time, Love and Tenderness and saw that the final track was co-written with Bob Dylan. "Someone who works with Dylan called me up and said, 'Bob Dylan would like to write with you,' " Bolton said. "I was awed. I told him, 'I don't even know how I could write a lyric when working with you ... I'm too intimidated.' But then we started messing around with some chords and wrote 'Steel Bars,' a song about obsession. It took us two sessions to write, and when I left, I was told, 'Bob likes you and he wants you to come back.' "

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More Bob Dylan:

• Bob Dylan Interviews, Reviews and More
• Bob Dylan's Rolling Stone Covers
• Bob Dylan's Artwork: Gallery