Rhino Factoids: “All Along the Watchtower”

47 years ago today, the man who began life as Robert Allen Zimmerman stepped into a studio in Nashville, Tennessee and laid down a track which would go on to be a signature hit…for someone else. It’s cool, though, because even Bob Dylan is big enough to admit that Jimi Hendrix’s version of “All Along the Watchtower” has become the definitive interpretation of the song.

No, seriously. In the booklet for his 1985 collection, Biograph, Dylan said, “I liked Jimi Hendrix’s record of this and ever since he died I’ve been doing it that way… Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it’s a tribute to him in some kind of way.” In a 1995 interview with the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, Dylan expanded on his comments somewhat, explaining that Hendrix’s version “overwhelmed me, really,” adding that the guitarist “found things that other people wouldn’t think of finding in there” and that “he probably improved upon it by the spaces he was using.”

Of course, Dylan and Hendrix are far from the only artists who’ve taken a shot at interpreting the song, which brings us to the playlist we’ve put together. Now, we’ll understand if your initial reaction to the idea of listening to 30 different versions of “All Along the Watchtower” can probably be summed up in one word – “overkill” – but if you’ve ever liked the song, then you might at least find it worth your while to take the playlist for a spin and see how artists ranging from the Grateful Dead, the Dream Syndicate, and T.S.O.L. to XTC, Neil Young, and the Turtle Island Quartet tackled the classic composition.

Stop telling yourself, “There must be some kind of way out of here.” Just give it a listen.