1969 · a landmark

Nashville Skyline

Basement and Country · 1967–1970

Listen to the album

Why it matters

Recorded in Nashville and released in 1969, it showed Dylan singing in a smooth croon few listeners recognized. Its brief country love songs, a duet with Johnny Cash and the hit Lay Lady Lay helped bring rock and country audiences together.

Dylan returned to Nashville in early 1969 with Bob Johnston and many of the same session players, and the record was finished quickly. It is short, under half an hour, and it opens with a duet with Johnny Cash on a song from his second album, the result of sessions the two men shared during the visit. Most striking was his voice: smooth, warm and low, so unlike his earlier rasp that some listeners hardly knew it was him. The songs are simple, sunny country tunes about love and longing, with pedal steel and an easygoing pace, plus a bouncy instrumental. "Lay Lady Lay" became a hit single, and Dylan appeared on Cash's new television show that year. Some critics found the album slight, but it gave country music a new credibility among rock fans, and it helped open the road toward the country rock of the years that followed.

Track list · 10 songs

Where its songs lead

Girl From the North Country · A new recording ofGirl from the North Country1963Six years later he sang it again as a duet with Johnny Cash, opening Nashville Skyline.Lay Lady Lay · Covered byLay Lady LayThe Isley Brothers · 1971The Isley Brothers recorded an extended soul version on their 1971 covers album.Lay Lady Lay · Same theme asI’ll Be Your Baby Tonight1967The country closer of John Wesley Harding pointed toward the sound of Nashville Skyline.

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