The Doors' Robby Krieger Discusses Bob Dylan's 'Bringing It All Back Home' — The Record That Changed My Life

Robby Krieger of the Doors chooses and discusses the record that changed his life.

Bob Dylan
Bringing It All Back Home (1965)

“This guy from Marblehead, Massachusetts, who I knew in school named Bill Phinity turned me onto Bob Dylan.

"We had a jug band called the Back Bay Chamberpot Terriers. This was the same time that Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Pigpen were playing in a jug band before they formed the Grateful Dead, but they were a lot better than us. Our only gig was for the Ladies Auxiliary. We played a bunch of Dave Van Ronk stuff.

“I was 19 and attending [The University of California] Santa Barbara when Bringing It All Back Home came out. I was taking a lot of acid in those days, and everything Dylan said just really connected with me. There are a lot of great songs on that album—‘Maggie’s Farm,’ ‘Mr. Tambourine Man,’ ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.’ ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ is one of my favorites. That was actually the first rap song as far as I’m concerned. Dylan used the words like notes. He didn’t really care what they said, just how they sounded.

“I always liked the way that Dylan played guitar, although I never tried to copy the way he played.

"I was always amazed by how he could play guitar and sing or play harmonica at the same time. But the spirit of Dylan’s music has always stayed with me through everything I’ve done with the Doors and the Robby Krieger Band.”