The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has released an ensemble rendition of Bob Dylan’s 1964 classic “The Times They Are A-Changin,’” including Jason Isbell, Rosanne Cash, the War and Treaty, and Steve Earle.
The all-star group of artists trade off verses on Dylan’s immortal song for this charity single, the proceeds of which will benefit Feeding America.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band lead singer Hanna begins and ends the song on lead vocals, but each guest adds their own vocal approach to their respective verse. Isbell’s brings a country-folk drawl while Cash takes an elegant ballad approach, all before Michael and Tanya Blount Trotter of the War and Treaty bring home the song’s fourth verse.
“I’ve been a fan of Bob Dylan’s since I was a teenager, living in California,” said Hanna. “I was fortunate enough to see him sing ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ in concert the year the song was released.”
The track was recorded in studios in New York and Nashville and produced by Ray Kennedy (Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell).
“It moved me deeply then and that hasn’t changed,” Hanna said of the song upon its release. “The lyrics are as relevant today as they were when Dylan wrote it. Maybe even more so.”
