Wigwam (Bob Dylan song)

"Wigwam"

Single by Bob Dylan

from the album Self Portrait

B-side

"Copper Kettle"

Released

1970

Format

7" single

Recorded

March 1970

Genre

Country rock

Length

3:06 (album version)
3:28 (single version)

Bob Dylan singles chronology

Audio sample
"Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You" (1969)	"Wigwam" (1970)	"If Not for You" (1970)
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"Wigwam" is a song by Bob Dylan that was released on his 1970 album Self Portrait. It was a hit single that reached the Top 10 in several countries worldwide. The song's basic track, including "la-la" vocals, was recorded in early March 1970 in New York City. Later that month, producer Bob Johnston had brass instrument overdubs added to the track; these were recorded in Nashville, Tennessee at a session without Dylan present.

Critical appraisal of "Wigwam" has been mostly positive, and reviewers have called it a highlight of Self Portrait. Several artists have covered the composition, including Drafi Deutscher, whose version of it was a Top 20 hit in Germany.

"Wigwam" was recorded during the sessions for Dylan's Self Portrait album, and produced by Bob Johnston. The basic track was put on tape on March 4, 1970, at Columbia Studio A in New York City, and was labelled "New Song 1" on the recording sheet. The musicians on the basic track were Dylan, vocals and guitar; David Bromberg, guitar; Al Kooper, piano. On April 20, 2013, this early version of "Wigwam" was released as a single for Record Store Day, and on August 27 of the same year, it appeared on The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 – Another Self Portrait (1969–1971).

On March 17, 1970, at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, instrumental overdubs were recorded for "Wigwam" and several other songs. Dylan was not present for the overdubs, and they were overseen by Johnston.

In the song, Dylan sings "la-la" vocals, accompanied by horns, in an arrangement that has been called "mariachi-like", and "Tex-Mex". The feeling of the song has also been described as "campfire music" and as having a "hazy glow".

"Wigwam" was released on Self Portrait on June 8, 1970, and as a single in June or July. The single's B-side is "Copper Kettle". The single was a Top 10 hit in Belgium, Denmark (in 1972), France, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Switzerland, and was a Top 40 hit in Canada and Germany. In the US, the song reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 13 on the Billboard Top 40 Easy Listening chart.

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Wikipedia