| “Gotta Serve Somebody” | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Song by Bob Dylan | ||
| Album | Slow Train Coming | |
| Released | August 20, 1979 | |
| Recorded | May 1979 Muscle Shoals Sound Studios |
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| Genre | Gospel rock | |
| Length | 5:25 | |
| Label | Columbia Records | |
| Writer | Bob Dylan | |
| Producer | Jerry Wexler Barry Beckett |
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Released in 1979 on Bob Dylan's 19th studio album Slow Train Coming, "Gotta Serve Somebody" became his first hit in three years. It won Dylan the Grammy for the best rock vocal performance by a male in 1980. The album peaked at #2 on the charts in the UK and went platinum in the US, where it reached #3. The song was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It stands as Dylan's last hit single, peaking at #24 on the Billboard Magazine Hot 100 singles chart.
This song was featured in HBO's The Sopranos.
New wave band Devo covered this song in some concerts as their Christian rock alter-egos DOVE - The Band of Love. This cover was sung by Mark Mothersbaugh's alter-ego Booji Boy. The song was also performed by Mavis Staples for the 1996 Dylan blues-covers album Tangled Up In Blues. The song was also covered by Candyrat recording artist Nicholas Barron on his 2007 album As I Am. In 1999, Natalie Cole recorded a cover of the song for her Snowfall On The Sahara album, featuring a new verse Dylan had written especially for her.
In response to "Gotta Serve Somebody", John Lennon wrote and recorded the song "Serve Yourself".[1]
References
- ^ Turner, Steve. The Gospel According to the Beatles, Westminster John Knox Press (August 1, 2006), ISBN 978-0664229832
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