Bob Dylan’s latest single “Murder Most Foul,” his first original song in eight years, is also now the folk-rock icon’s first No. 1 hit on a Billboard chart.
“Murder Most Foul” is a sweeping 17-minute ballad about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, and according to Billboard, the song debuted at No. 1 on the Rock Digital Song Sales survey.
Billboard reports that the song hit 10,000 downloads in its first week and was streamed 1.8 million times in the U.S., which landed it at #5 on Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart. The track also has 2.7 million views on YouTube since debuting on March 26.
Dylan has placed on a Billboard chart before. His iconic “Like a Rolling Stone” hit No. 2 on the genre-encompassing Billboard Hot 100 back in September 1965, as did “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35” in May 1966. But he’s never reached No. 1 on any individual genre chart until now.
Billboard also noted that Dylan flirted with some chart-topping success when three of his songs with The Traveling Wilburys (“Handle With Care,” “End of the Line” and “She’s My Baby), all reached No. 2 on the Mainstream Rock Songs charts back in the 1980s and ’90s. His songs also reached No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with Peter Paul & Mary’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” cover and The Byrds’ version of “Mr. Tambourine Man” topping the Hot 100 back in June 1965.
In a surprise on his Instagram page, Dylan released the track late last month and said that “Murder Most Foul” was a previously unreleased track he3 recorded some time ago.
“Greetings to my fans and followers with gratitude for all your support and loyalty over the years,” Dylan said in a statement on Instagram. “This is an unreleased song we recorded a while back that you might find interesting. Stay safe, stay observant, and may God be with you.”
Dylan’s last album of original music was 2012’s “Tempest.” Since then, the folk-rock icon and Nobel Prize winner has released several albums of American standards, including most recently “Triplicate” in 2017.
The elegant piano and orchestral ballad “Murder Most Foul” describes the mournful details of the Kennedy assassination and the surrounding culture of the 1960s and ’70s, including mentions of The Beatles, Patsy Cline, Glenn Frey, Stevie Nicks, Billy Joel and many more.
“The day they killed him, someone said to me, ‘Son, the age of the Antichrist has just only begun,'” Dylan sings in the new track. “The soul of a nation’s been torn away, and it’s beginning to go into a slow decay. It’s 36 hours past judgment day.”
You can listen to “Murder Most Foul” above.
25 Stars Who Only Need a Grammy to EGOT, From Frances McDormand to Al Pacino (Photos)
The EGOT -- an acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony -- is the greatest honor in entertainment. These stars are (or were) close to achieving it. Viola Davis has an opportunity to EGOT this Sunday if she wins a Grammy.
Ellen Burstyn (1932 - )
Emmy: Guest Actress in Drama Series, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (2009); Supporting Actress in Miniseries or Movie, "Political Animals" (2013)
Oscar: Actress, "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974)
Tony: Actress in a Play, "Same Time, Next Year" (1975)
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Maggie Smith (1934 - )
Emmy: Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie "My House in Umbria" (2003); Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, "Downton Abbey" (2011, 2012 and 2016)
Oscar: Actress, "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1969); Supporting Actress, "California Suite" (1978)
Tony: Actress, "Lettice and Lovage" (1990)
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Glenda Jackson (1936 - )
Emmy (2): Outstanding Single and Continued Performance by a Lead Actress, "Elizabeth R" (1971)
Oscar (2): Best Actress, "Women in Love" (1970) and "A Touch of Class" (1973)
Tony: Best Actress in a Play, "Three Tall Women" (2018)
Vanessa Redgrave (1937 - )
Emmy (2): Actress in a Limited Series or a Special, "Playing for Time" (1981); Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, "If These Walls Could Talk 2" (2000)
Oscar: Supporting Actress, "Julia" (1977)
Tony: Actress, "Long Day's Journey Into Night" (2003)
Al Pacino (1940 -)
Emmy: Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, "Angels in America" (2004) and "You Don't Know Jack" (2010)
Oscar: Actor, "Scent of a Woman" (1992)
Tony: Supporting Actor in a Play, "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?" (1969); Actor, "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" (1979)
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Helen Mirren (1945 - )
Emmy: Actress in a Miniseries or a Special, "Prime Suspect" (1996); Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, "The Passion of Ayn Rand" (1999); Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, "Elizabeth I" (2006); Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, "Prime Suspect: The Final Act" (2007)
Oscar: Actress, "The Queen" (2006)
Tony: Actress in a Play, "The Audience" (2015)
Liza Minnelli (1946 - )
Emmy: Single Program - Variety and Popular Music, "Liza With a Z" (1973)
Oscar: Actress, "Cabaret" (1973)
Tony: Actress in a Musical, "Flora, the Red Menace" (1965); Actress, "The Act" (1978)
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Jeremy Irons (1948 - )
Emmy: Voiceover Performance, "The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century" (1997); Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, "Elizabeth I" (2006); Narrator, "Big Cat Week" (2014)
Oscar: Actor, "Reversal of Fortune" (1990)
Tony: Actor in a Play, "The Real Thing" (1984)
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Jessica Lange (1949 - )
Emmy (3): Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, "Grey Gardens" (2009); "American Horror Story" (2012 and 2014)
Oscar (2): Supporting Actress, "Tootsie" (1982); Actress, "Blue Sky" (1994)
Tony: Actress, "Long Day's Journey Into Night" (2016)
Photographed by Megan Mack for TheWrap
Geoffrey Rush (1951 - )
Emmy: Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" (2005)
Oscar: Actor, "Shine" (1996)
Tony: Actor in a Play, "Exit the King" (2009)
Frances McDormand (1957 - )
Emmy: 2 prizes for producing and starring in Limited Series or a Movie, "Olive Kitteridge" (2015)
Emmy: Actress in a Series, "Hazel" (1962 and 1963)
Oscar: Actress, "Come Back, Little Sheba" (1952)
Tony: Supporting Actress in a Play, "Goodbye, My Fancy" (1949); Actress in a Play, "Come Back, Little Sheba" (1950); Actress in a Play, "Time of the Cuckoo" (1953)
Jessica Tandy (1909-1994)
Emmy: Actress in a Miniseries or a Special, "Foxfire" (1987)
Oscar: Actress, "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989)
Tony: Actress in a Drama, "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1948); "The Gin Game" (1978); "Foxfire" (1983)
Jason Robards (1922-2000)
Emmy: Actor in a Miniseries or a Special, "Inherit the Wind" (1988)
Oscar: Supporting Actor, "All the President's Men" (1976); Supporting Actor, "Julia" (1977)
Tony: Actor in a Play, "The Disenchanted" (1959)
Ralph Burns (1922-2001)
Emmy: Music Direction, "Baryshnikov on Broadway" (1980)
Oscar: Scoring, Adaptation and Original Song Score, "Cabaret" (1972); Original Song Score/Adaptation Score, "All That Jazz" (1979)
Tony: Orchestrations, "Fosse" (1999); Orchestrations, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (2002)
Anne Bancroft (1931-2005)
Emmy: Variety or Musical Program - Variety and Popular Music, "Annie, The Women in the Life of a Man" (1970)
Oscar: Actress, "The Miracle Worker" (1962)
Tony: Supporting Actress in a Play, "Two for the Seesaw" (1958); Actress in a Play, "The Miracle Worker" (1960)
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Maureen Stapleton (1925-2006)
Emmy: Single Performance by an Actress in a Drama, "Among the Paths to Eden" (1968)
Oscar: Supporting Actress, "Reds" (1981)
Tony: Supporting Actress in a Play, "The Rose Tattoo" (1951); Actress in a Play, "The Gingerbread Lady" (1971)
Paul Scofield (1922–2008)
Emmy: Single Performance by a Lead Actor, "Male of the Species" (1969)
Oscar: Actor, "A Man for All Seasons" (1966)
Tony: Actor in a Play, "A Man for All Seasons" (1962)
Christopher Plummer (1929-2021)
Emmy (2): Actor in a Limited Series, "Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers" (1977); Voiceover Performance, "Madeline" (1994)
Oscar: Supporting Actor, "The Beginners" (2011)
Tony (2): Actor in a Musical, "Cyrano" (1974); Actor in a Play, "Barrymore" (1997)
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Tony Walton (1934 - 2022)
Emmy: Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special, "Death of a Salesman" (1986)
Oscar: Art Direction, "All That Jazz" (1979)
Tony: Scenic Designer, "Pippin" (1973); Scenic Designer, "The House of Blue Leaves" (1986); "Guys and Dolls" (1992)
A select group of entertainers can round out their trophy cases with a competitive win from the Recording Academy
The EGOT -- an acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony -- is the greatest honor in entertainment. These stars are (or were) close to achieving it. Viola Davis has an opportunity to EGOT this Sunday if she wins a Grammy.
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