Mckenzie Tapes

Shortly after Bob Dylan arrived in New York in January 1961, he met Eve and Mac McKenzie at Gerdes Folk City, introduced to him by Woody Guthrie's wife, Marjorie. Folk enthusiasts, the McKenzie's had an apartment north of the Village where some of the young would-be folk musicians often met up. Dylan became a regular visitor and soon a houseguest too, sleeping on the couch in the family's living room. The middle-aged couple; generous down-to-earth folks, were among the first to adopt Dylan. Mac was a hard working, hard-drinking longshoreman, Eve, an ex-Martha Graham dancer, described Dylan as looking like "a character out of Dickens, with long coat and cap". The original tape was most likely recorded over three sessions. The first was on November 23, 1961 after a Thanksgiving Day meal with the McKenzie's. The second was made about ten days later on or around December 4, 1961. Although other session may have been taped in the interim, the next known recording is believed to be from September 1962.