OPEN THE DOOR, RICHARD!
“Open the Door, Richard” is a song first recorded by the saxophonist Jack McVea for Black & White Records at the suggestion of A&R man Ralph Bass. In 1947, it was the number one song on Billboard’s “Honor Roll of Hits” and became a runaway pop sensation. Bob Dylan and the Band recorded a version of “Open the Door, Richard” in 1967, officially released under the name “Open the Door, Homer” (though with “Richard” sung in the chorus line); it was included on the double-LP The Basement Tapes. The song was first included on the bootleg album Great White Wonder, with the name of the song shown as “Open the Door, Richard!”. (More from Wikipedia)
What attracted the most attention on Great White Wonder were seven songs recorded by Bob Dylan with the Band, probably at a house called Big Pink that is referenced in the name of the debut album released by the Band, Music from Big Pink (1968). They are clustered mostly on Side 4 and also include the last two songs on Side 2; in order (as listed on the Great White Wonder labels), they are “Mighty Quinn”, “This Wheel’s on Fire”, “I Shall Be Released”, “Open the Door, Richard!”, “Too Much of Nothing”, “Nothing Was Delivered”, and “Tears of Rage”. All great songs, no question; but this was barely a quarter of the music, and many people seem to think that the earlier acoustical songs that I loved equally well didn’t matter. I have never felt that way myself; Great White Wonder is great from one end to the other to these ears.
(September 2017)
