Meet Mitch Blank, Dylanologist

Decades before the Bob Dylan Archive® came into existence, it was passionate fans who first began collecting, recording and tracing the history and evolution of Dylan's work. They exchanged mimeographed fanzines, recordings and other artifacts and ephemera. Mitch Blank, a renowned figure of New York's Greenwich Village, was among one of the first to keep a record. We caught up recently with Mitch, Associate Archivist for the Bob Dylan Center®, at his West Village apartment. A virtual museum of Americana and the history of the folk movement in New York, Mitch has been fastidiously cataloging his own personal archive which will be making its way to Tulsa, Oklahoma. A serious and dedicated collector, Mitch's archive is an unrivaled collection of papers, ephemera and artifacts that, over many years, he's generously offered to scholars, researchers and fans worldwide. A true original. Meet Mitch Blank.
Interviewer: Michael Chaiken
Camera and editing: Jarred Alterman
jarredalterman...
www.bobdylancenter.com
© 2018

[@brittbeck9158]

Hello Mitch, it's an impressive collection you've got. Bob Dylan is the Greatest artist, musician, writer, velder, performer, influencer, and so much more. His charisma is not of this world. Like a magnet ppl are drawn to this , remarkable man. I'm just one of his worldwide admires. 💙🌺💙

[@skateklister]

Hey Mitch, So cool to have this documented.

[@sadeyedlady]

Incredible collection! Thank you for sharing!

[@edgrazda576]

mitch is one reason why New York City is great....

[@iansing5278]

Thanks Mitch, I admire your passion...

[@majones7004]

Thanks.

[@majones7004]

ps : will you adopt me? I'm house-broken...

[@gru8th84]

2:07 WHAT AN AMAZING PHOTOOOOOOOO

[@tatumpiano8569]

Hi Mitch, I was so happy to finally see what you talk about! Amazing! (I'm the one who organizes the bluegrass reunion). Thanks so much for this terrific video!

[@woolhall]

Thank you for sharing .

[@finch45lear]

Wonderful environment.

[@Padybu]

Whew, amazing stuff. I wonder how many copies of Blonde on Blonde this man has lol

[@danfate6862]

Fantastic...Hello from Brescia-Italy

[@JustMakinDoFarms]

Great info video, thanks for sharing.

[@nyccheckin]

Mitch maybe the coolest guy in the West Village.

[@patmdean]

Loved it Mitchie, but was looking for the little raindeer!

[@lyndonjohnson1867]

Jarred Alterman's camera work in this piece is truly revelatory...LJJ64

[@VNRose3]

Great treasures Mitch. Wonderful archive. Surprised Tuli signed a baseball because he was anti-sports. He thought it was a form of war or competition.

[@mario7frankielee]

maybe he just couldn’t say no🍀

[@johnniejukebox]

Fantastic!..Greetings from Ireland.

[@ruthlinden1087]

Hey Mitch Great to see you!

[@cascarole]

Great work Mitch! xoxo

[@kanjiwooowooo3202]

This is crazy!

[@JeffWells-cw2sw]

I presume you also have the "Great White Wonder" bootleg, an LP in an all-white sleeve with my favorite 30-second ditty called "Jet Pilot" on it, with lyrics that go approximately: She's got jet pilot eyes from her hips on down All the bombardiers are trying to force her out of town She's five foot five and she carries a monkey wrench She weighs more by the foot than she does by the inch She's got all the downtown boys at her command But you got to watch her closely 'cause She ain't no woman, she's a man! I think I laughed for nearly half an hour the first time I played this!

[@bencafe3808]

Is Mitch still around these days?

[@suzannelawson9215]

Ok Mitch, Here is a question for you. Dylan knew actress/singer Bonnie Beecher who was in an episode of the Twilight Zone called, "Come Wander With Me." Bonnie played the guitar in this episode and sang the haunting ballad with the same name as the episode title. Released air date, May 22, 1964. She lived in Minn. in those days and apparently recorded Dylan in her apt. I think she was his girlfriend for awhile. What I would be interested to know, since she was an actress and had a nice folk singing voice, if there are recordings (bootleg if there is), of her and Dylan singing in her apt? Since she was apparently recording Dylan, perhaps she might have sang with him on some songs with him but not intended for release. Do you have any information about that? From Lin

[@boxieracorn8445]

Songs for Bonnie bootleg. It’s a Dylan but they’re recorded in his apartment. If you don’t know how to get a hold of the whole bootleg, Dink’s Song, Baby Please Don’t Go and I was young when I left home from the no direction home official bootleg are all from that.

[@shiitakestick]

MINNEAPOLIS PARTY ( w Bonnie Beecher) Tape, or CD

[@suzannelawson9215]

@@boxieracorn8445 Is Bonnie Beecher singing on these tracks as a duet with Dylan?

[@boxieracorn8445]

Suzanne Lawson unfortunately not. I don’t believe such recordings exist

[@suzannelawson9215]

To BoxierAcorn844 Thank you for letting me know.

[@ThomasDeLello]

You... and A.J...

[@fabbrunette]

Dave Peller sent me here

[@gru8th84]

1:46 random Croatian book on Bob Dylan ahahahahahahsh tko je taj čovjek??