“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” is a song written and sung by Bob Dylan, for the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Released as a single, it reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Described by Dylan biographer Clinton Heylin as “an exercise in splendid simplicity”, the song, measured simply in terms of the number of other artists who have covered it, is one of Dylan’s most popular post-1960s compositions. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. (More from Wikipedia)
For one thing, Bob Dylan often used Biblical imagery in his songs. One obvious example is one of his loveliest songs, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”, which is taken from the soundtrack of Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973). On his very first album, Bob Dylan (1962), the first song on Side 2 is “Gospel Plow”.
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Bob Dylan was still a polarizing figure in the late 1970’s, and Slow Train Coming alienated at least as many fans as it attracted. Still, in its first year, the album outsold two of Dylan’s best albums, Blonde on Blonde and Blood on the Tracks in their first years; and “Gotta Serve Somebody” was a #24 hit single – his highest placement in the Billboard Hot 100 since “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” in 1973.
(August 2014)
