ON FRANK SINATRA

Dylan’s past two records were packed with covers of standards Frank Sinatra made popular, to the point that many considered them tributes to Ol’ Blue Eyes. Sinatra, of course, wasn’t around to hear them. Dylan did share a relationship with the crooner, though. Another slice of rock ’n’ roll legend has it that Bruce Springsteen and Dylan were invited to Sinatra’s house.

As it turns out, Sinatra was a quiet fan. “I think he knew The Times They Are a-Changin’ and Blowin’ In the Wind. I know he liked Forever Young, he told me that. He was funny, we were standing out on his patio at night and he said to me, ‘You and me, pal, we got blue eyes, we’re from up there,’ and he pointed to the stars. ‘These other bums are from down here.’ I remember thinking that he might be right.”

Dylan was a performer on a televised tribute to Sinatra. All the other artists sang Sinatra songs. Not Dylan, who played his own song, Restless Farewell. “Frank himself requested that I do it,” Dylan said. “One of the producers had played it for him and showed him the lyrics.”