BILLBOARD TOP 40 HITS 1971: #155: ‘THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN’- JOAN BAEZ

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The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - Joan Baez.jpeg

Billboard Top 40 Hits 1971: #155: ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’- Joan Baez. August 14, 1971.

  • Single: ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down- Joan Baez
  • Record Company-Vanguard
  • Genre: Folk
  • Written by Robbie Robertson
  • Time: 3:26
  • B-side: ‘When Time Is Stolen’
  • Album-Blessed Are..
  • Grade: C
  • Peaked at #3

First the positive- The Band had a handful of hits but they were an album band not a single band. They never had a huge hit- so it was good to see one of their songs riding near the top of the charts-I am sure the exposure turned some people on to the band- whose original if far superior to this cover. Now the negative- Joan Baez changes some of the lyrics-and makes Robert E. Lee- a boat. In the original it was ‘Virgil quick come see here comes Robert E. Lee’- in Baez’s cover it’s ‘ Here comes THE Robert E. Lee.’ Second- not a fan of Miss Baez in the first place.

3 responses to “BILLBOARD TOP 40 HITS 1971: #155: ‘THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN’- JOAN BAEZ”

  2. The Bands version is far and away the best. When Bob split the folk scene and latched onto a Strat and plugged into a Dual Reverb, Joani had a breakdown. Even at Woodstock she was ten years behind the music curve. Can’t imagine why she changed the lyrics to a good song. Today, a band would get canceled if they played that song live. Good pick.

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