Bob Dylan & John Lennon, London Cab Ride To Make A Film, 1966: Bizarre Conversation

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Pt. 1. One of the most memorable scenes in D.A. Pennebaker's never-released film, 'Eat the Document' finds Bob Dylan sharing a taxi with John Lennon on May 27, 1966.…As they ride around London, Lennon appears to be trying his best to play along with the film's premise, while Dylan falls apart. “Do you suffer from sore eyes, groovy forehead, or curly hair? Take Zimdon!" Lennon mockingly says at one point. Later, he tries to encourage Dylan, saying "come, come, boy, it’s only a film. Pull yourself together.”

The two rock legends spend the bulk of their time together engaged in a rangy, free-form conversation that runs from the Mamas and Papas and Barry McGuire to music publishing and the idea that the Thames kept Hitler from invading England.

"They had a funny relationship to begin with," Pennebaker told Gadfly in 1999. "In this particular scene, it was as if they were trying to invent something for me that would be amusing in some way – but at the same time they were doing it for each other. It was not exactly a conversation, by any means. Dylan was so beside himself and in such a terrible state that, after a while, I don't think he knew what he was saying."

Dylan was in the midst of another game-changing year, highlighted by a controversial 1966 U.K. tour with members of the Band that was to be the focus of Pennebaker's project. The director had earlier explored Dylan's 1965 tour for the classic Don't Look Back, a film which deftly captured the sense of discovery around his controversial new path toward rock and roll. This second go-round, however, would be much different – for Dylan and his hand-chosen filmmaker.

The '66 concerts were rocked by protest, Dylan himself was admittedly battling a crippling addiction, and Eat the Document was eventually shelved as the singer-songwriter downshifted into his Woodstock phase.

Watch Bob Dylan's Scene With John Lennon...https://ultimateclassicrock.com/bob-dylan-john-lennon-eat-the-document/

Rolling Stone,
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/remembering-bob-dylan-and-john-lennons-drugged-out-limo-ride-155141/