Editing Like a Rolling Stone (section)

{{short description|1965 single by Bob Dylan}}
{{about|the song|the Japanese film|Like a Rolling Stone (film){{!}}''Like a Rolling Stone'' (film)|other uses|Rolling Stone (disambiguation)}}
{{featured article}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Like a Rolling Stone
| image      = Like a rolling stone by bob dylan us vinyl side a.png
| alt        =
| caption    = Side A of retail US single
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Bob Dylan]]
| album      = [[Highway 61 Revisited]]
| B-side     = [[Gates of Eden (song)|Gates of Eden]]
| released   = {{Start date|1965|7|20}}
| recorded   = June 16, 1965
| studio     = [[Columbia Records#Studio A|Columbia 7th Ave]], New York City<ref name="CONSIDINE">Considine, Shaun, [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/03/opinion/03considine.html "The Hit We Almost Missed"], ''The New York Times'', December 3, 2004</ref>
| genre      = [[Folk rock]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|author-link=Richie Unterberger|title=Great Moments in Folk Rock: Lists of Author Favorites|publisher=www.richieunterberger.com|url=http://www.richieunterberger.com/turnlists.html|access-date=January 26, 2011}}</ref>
| length     = 6:13
| label      = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| writer     = Bob Dylan
| producer   = [[Tom Wilson (record producer)|Tom Wilson]]
| prev_title = [[Maggie's Farm]]
| prev_year  = 1965
| next_title = [[Positively 4th Street]]
| next_year  = 1965
| misc       = {{External music video|{{YouTube|IwOfCgkyEj0|"Like a Rolling Stone"}}
 | type   = single
 | header = Audio
 }}
}}
"'''Like a Rolling Stone'''" is a song by the American singer-songwriter [[Bob Dylan]], released on July 20, 1965, by [[Columbia Records]]. Its confrontational lyrics originated in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a grueling [[Bob Dylan UK Tour 1965|tour of England]]. Dylan distilled this draft into four verses and a chorus. "Like a Rolling Stone" was recorded a few weeks later as part of the sessions for the forthcoming album ''[[Highway 61 Revisited]]'' as its opening track.

During a difficult two-day preproduction, Dylan struggled to find the essence of the song, which was demoed without success in [[Triple metre|{{music|time|3|4}} time]]. A breakthrough was made when it was tried in a [[rock music]] format, and rookie session musician [[Al Kooper]] improvised the Hammond B2 [[Organ (music)|organ]] riff which contributed to the track's signature sound. [[Columbia Records]] was unhappy with both the song's length at over six minutes and its heavy electric sound, and was hesitant to release it. It was only when, a month later, a copy was leaked to a new popular music club and heard by influential DJs that the song was put out as a single. Although radio stations were reluctant to play such a long track, "Like a Rolling Stone" reached No. 2 in the US ''Billboard'' charts (No. 1 in ''Cashbox'') and became a worldwide hit.

Critics have described "Like a Rolling Stone" as revolutionary in its combination of musical elements, the youthful, cynical sound of Dylan's voice, and the directness of the question "How does it feel?". It completed the transformation of Dylan's image from folk singer to rock star, and is considered one of the most influential compositions in postwar [[popular music]]. ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine listed it at No. 1 on their 2004 and 2010 "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]" lists.<ref name="RollingStonelist"/> It has been covered by many artists, from [[the Jimi Hendrix Experience]] and [[the Rolling Stones]]<ref>{{Citation|title=Rolling Stone singing Like a Rolling Stone|url=https://www.bitchute.com/video/BWEMnEZ1GTuE/|language=en|access-date=2021-09-10}}</ref> to [[Bob Marley and the Wailers|the Wailers]], [[Cat Power]], [[Titus Andronicus (band)|Titus Andronicus]] and [[Green Day]]. At an auction in 2014, Dylan's handwritten lyrics to the song fetched $2&nbsp;million, a [[List of most valuable celebrity memorabilia|world record]] for a popular music manuscript.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Blistein|first1=Jon|title=Bob Dylan's 'Like a Rolling Stone' Lyrics Sell for $2 Million; Four-sheet draft includes scratched-out ideas, rhymes and doodles|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bob-dylans-like-a-rolling-stone-lyrics-sell-for-2-million-20140624|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=24 June 2014|access-date=July 1, 2014|archive-date=27 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627065245/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bob-dylans-like-a-rolling-stone-lyrics-sell-for-2-million-20140624|url-status=dead}}</ref>