Last month, Bob Dylan made headlines for making a surprise appearance on a tour of John Lennon’s home. While we couldn’t help but laugh about at the time, it turns out that this visit may have inspired by the legendary singer/songwriter. Or at least we’d like to think so.
Several weeks after his tour, Dylan revealed to Rolling Stone that he’d love to collaborate with Lennon’s former bandmate, Paul McCartney. “That’d be exciting,” he said, “to do something with Paul! But, ya know, your paths have to cross for something like that to make sense.”
Well, if you believe the rumors now floating in the U.K. tabloids, those paths will indeed cross, and fairly soon. According to the Daily Express, Dylan and McCartney will team up in California this summer, “where the are expected to work on new songs as a duo.” “Paul has a home in California not too far from Bob’s so the idea is for the two to meet when Paul is in California over the summer,” says the Express’ “well-placed mole.”
Now, obviously, these plans may never come to fruition, and based on experience, it isn’t all that wise to take much stock in what the U.K. papers report – must we remind you of the Led Zeppelin at Bonnaroo debacle? Still, at the same time, there are a few things that do give the story some credence.
For one, the Daily Express is sticking to its gun. Just today, the paper updated its story by noting that Ringo Starr, yes the other living Beatle, will also partake in the collaboration. “Ringo is mainly based in Los Angeles, close to where both Paul and Bob also have homes,” the paper reports. “The word is Ringo is likely to play drums on a couple of tracks once Paul and Bob have put some songs together.”
Then, there’s the comments made by a McCartney spokesmen that did nothing to downplay Macca’s interest in working with Dylan: “We heard this offer this morning and we’re trying to let Paul know about it. I should think he would be very interested in hearing about it. As you can imagine, it would be a pretty major thing if it went ahead.”
And finally, McCartney is rumored to be traveling to the U.S. this summer for other activities, the biggest of which will be a series of concerts at the newly opened Citi Field in New York. According to Ticketnews.com, McCartney is currently scheduled for July 17-18 at the new stadium. “An official announcement is probably two weeks down the line, and there may be a third date added on July 21,” reports the website.
Remind me again how long the plane trip from New York to L.A. is?
While we wait for more news on this potentially mind-blowing collaboration, let’s reminisce as to why any of this is important by reliving the past…virtually! Yes, kids, the trailer for the forthcoming The Beatles: Rock Band is here!