Bob Goldberg, who was with Bob Dylan when he went electric, dies aged 83

Recognized blues-rock musician Barry Goldbergwho was a part of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band when it accompanied Bob Dylan on his legendary electric performance on the otherwise acoustic Newport Folk Festival in 1965, died on January twenty second.

He was 83.

Goldberg, who also performed/recorded with Steve Miller, Muddy Waters, Leonard Cohen and Stephen Stills and lots of other famous musicians “died in hospice care after a decade-long battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma,” in response to publicist Bob Merlis. “Gail Goldberg, his wife of 53 years, and son Aram were at that bedside.”

The great blues-rock keyboardist, who was also a bandleader, songwriter and producer, was born on Christmas Day 1942 and grew up in Chicago, where he nurtured his love of music and quickly rose through the ranks of the Windy City's keyboardists. As the story goes, Goldberg was still a young person when he shared the stage with Chicago blues legends like Muddy Waters, Otis Rush and Howlin' Wolf.

Goldberg was also still in highschool when he met and befriended top guitarist Mike Bloomfield, and the 2 aspiring artists soon made a reputation for themselves within the Chicago blues scene. They eventually joined the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, which might help shock the folks music world – and far of the remaining of the world – once they supported Bob Dylan as he went electric on the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

Now widely considered some of the famous/infamous performances within the history of popular music, this electrifying moment is featured prominently within the Oscar-nominated Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.

Goldberg co-produced albums/songs for Percy Sledge, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, the Textones and even Dylan himself. An completed songwriter, Goldberg wrote songs that were later recorded by Rod Stewart, Gladys Knight, Joe Cocker, Steve Miller, Bobby ” Blue” Bland, Gram Parsons, BJ Thomas and others were recorded.

Despite his many different roles in the music business over the decades, Goldberg remained first and foremost a Chicago bluesman. Therefore, he was the ideal choice to lead the Chicago Blues Reunion, a group that over the years has also included Sam Lay, Nick Gravenites, Harvey Mandel, Corky Siegel, Tracy Nelson, Charlie Musselwhite, Jimmy Vivino, Marcy Levy and others Artists mattered.

In lieu of flowers, Goldberg's family requests that donations be made to The Bear League in the celebrated musician's name savebears.org.

Originally published:

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