Flashes: The Truth About Bob Dylan
A group known as TACT (Truth About Civil Turmoil) has a new theory about the origin and prominence of Bob Dylan, according to an article in the Berkeley Barb. A filmstrip titled “The Hippies,” with taped sound accompaniment, was presented to members of TACT two weeks ago by Los Angeles advertising executive Ken Granger. Granger edited and wrote the script for the filmstrip which contains a segment on Bob Dylan.
“Bob Dylan, according to CBS Vice President Clyde Davis, is the leading cultural force among young people today. This is the same Bob Dylan whose recording ‘The Times Are Changin’ made questioning the American concept of standards the ‘in’ thing to do, and ‘Rainy Day Woman’ (which any junkie knows is a marijuana cigarette) are bestsellers with hundreds of thousands of young record buyers.
“Bob Dylan was an obscure songwriter,” Granger’s script continues “until he signed a contract at Columbia Records. The man responsible for Dylan’s contract at Columbia was John Hammond. It isn’t surprising that John Hammond would be interested in Dylan’s brand of culture for Mr. Hammond, according to official United States Government records, has made himself a party to at least seven Communist fronts.”
This is a story from the November 23, 1967 issue of Rolling Stone.