'Like A Rolling Stone': How Al Kooper crashed the session and nailed the part in ONE take

The Story of How "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan was Recorded - Al Kooper

Wild story and share if you're into Rock history --and haven't heard this one. It's told by Al Kooper himself on the recording of, 'Like A Rolling Stone'.

Bob Dylan is about to record, 'Like A Rolling Stone'. The scene: The studio. Al Kooper is despondent because though he was hired as a guitar studio session player, better guitarists have replaced him.

Not wanting to be sidelined and wanting desperately to participate in the 'Like A Rolling Stone' session, he sat himself down at the M3 Hammond organ -- just before the recording started. Again -- Al Kooper was a guitarist, NOT an organ player.

The other musicians and producer laughed, but still, for S&G, he was allowed to sit in and riff away at the Hammond M3 organ on 'Like A Rolling Stone'.

Though he had memorized the song, his entire organ part was improvised, AND, he couldn't even hear what he was playing.

It's an amazing story -- you can't make it up. Al Kooper went on to be an in-demand premier 60's organ sessions player ('Positively 4th St', I Am A Rock' etal) And the rest was history.