THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SONG "LIKE A ROLLING STONE" BY BOB DYLAN 

DYLAN MIGHT BE TELLING YOU THE TRUTH WHEN HE SAYS "I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?'"

MUSIC FACT
At an auction in 2014, Dylan's handwritten lyrics to the song fetched $2 million, a world record for a popular music manuscript.

In the November 2004 issue, Rolling Stone Magazine named this #1 on their list of the greatest songs of all time. 

"Like a Rolling Stone" reached number two in the US Billboard charts, number one in Cashbox and became a worldwide hit.
Like A Rolling Stone Bob Dylan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syNLBJ_Lq9E

FROM WIKIPEDIA, THE FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA
"Like a Rolling Stone" is a 1965 song by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Its confrontational lyrics originated in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a grueling tour of England. Dylan distilled this draft into four verses and a chorus. "Like a Rolling Stone" was recorded a few weeks later as part of the sessions for the forthcoming album Highway 61 Revisited.

During a difficult two-day pre-production, Dylan struggled to find the essence of the song, which was demoed without success in 3/4 time. A breakthrough was made when it was tried in a rock music format, and rookie session musician Al Kooper improvised the organ riff for which the track is known. However, Columbia Records was unhappy with both the song's length at over six minutes and its heavy electric sound, and was hesitant to release it. It was only when a month later a copy was leaked to a new popular music club and heard by influential DJ's that the song was put out as a single. Although radio stations were reluctant to play such a long track.

Critics have described the track as revolutionary in its combination of different musical elements, the youthful, cynical sound of Dylan's voice, and the directness of the question "How does it feel?" "Like a Rolling Stone" transformed Dylan's image from folk singer to rock star, and is considered one of the most influential compositions in postwar popular music. The song has been covered by numerous artists, from The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Rolling Stones to The Wailers and Green Day.

EXCERPT: BOB DYLAN INTERVIEW
The title is not a reference to The Rolling Stones. It is taken from the phrase "A rolling stone gathers no moss." Dylan got the idea from the Hank Williams song "Lost Highway," which contains the line, "I'm a rolling stone, I'm alone and lost."

60 MINUTES BOB DYLAN INTERVIEW - ED BRADLEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKkZcgrec8A

DYLAN BASED THE LYRICS ON A SHORT STORY HE HAD WRITTEN ABOUT A DEBUTANTE WHO BECOMES A LONER WHEN SHE FALLS OUT OF HIGH SOCIETY. THE LYRICS THAT MADE IT INTO THE SONG ARE ONLY A SMALL PART OF WHAT WAS IN THE STORY.


BIG BREAKTHROUGH ON RADIO

Like a Rolling Stone runs 6:13. It was a big breakthrough when this got radio play and became a hit, since many stations refused to play songs much longer than 3 minutes. It was also rare for a song with so many lyrics to do well commercially.

POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL 
It is rumored that this was written about one-time debutante Edie Sedgwick, who was part of artist Andy Warhol's crowd. She was the subject of an emotional tug-of-war between the Dylan camp and the Warhol camp.

According to this theory, the song includes some fanged, accusatory lines about Warhol and the way he mistreated the girl:

"Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal".

"Poor Little Rich Girl" Sedgwick is viewed by many as the tragic victim of a long succession of abusive figures. After escaping home and heading to New York, she ran into Warhol, who soon began to use her as his starlet. When her 15 minutes had come to an end, Warhol moved on.

Sedgwick and Dylan had a brief affair shortly before the musician married Sarah Lownds, and many say that this Dylan song was written about her. It should be noted that there is absolutely nothing beyond circumstantial evidence to support this idea, but the myth is so widely known that it's taken on a life of its own and is therefore recognizable on its own terms.

However, Dylan might be telling you the truth when he says "I don't know what it means, what does it mean to you?'"

The Rolling Stones - Like A Rolling Stone - 
OFFICIAL PROMO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRYokc3VBC4

THE ROLLING STONES
The Rolling Stones recorded this for their 1995 album Stripped. Stones guitarist Keith Richards explained: "We got over the built-in reticence. If he [Bob Dylan] had written 'Like a Beatles,' we probably would have done it straight away. 

We've been playing that song ever since Bob brought it out; it was like a dressing room favorite, a tuning room favorite. We know it really well. It was just a matter of screwing up the courage, really, to get over the feeling like we were riding on its back. We also realized that, hey, we took our name from a Muddy Waters album, a Muddy Waters song. Suddenly it didn't feel awkward to play it."


JIMI HENDRIX - LIKE A ROLLING STONE
 (Live At Monterey)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpjaISwrZUg

JIMI HENDRIX

Jimi Hendrix's performance of this song at Monterey is a classic. Hendrix had made a name for himself in Europe, but didn't manage to make a dent in the US market until the fabled Summer of Love. It happened at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967. All of a sudden, an artist who had struggled unsuccessfully for recognition in his own country became one of its future music legends.