View source for John Wesley Harding

{{About|the Bob Dylan album|its title track|John Wesley Harding (song)|other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = John Wesley Harding
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Bob Dylan]]
| cover        = Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding.jpg
| alt          = A black-and-white photo of several men standing in a wooded field, with Dylan in the center
| released     = {{Start date|1967|12|27}} <!-- Reverted December 17...see Talk page discussion -->
| recorded     = October–November 1967
| studio       = [[Bradley Studios|Columbia Studio A]] (Nashville, Tennessee)<ref name="KosserM">{{cite book|last=Kosser|first=Michael|title=How Nashville Became Music City, U.S.A.: A History Of Music Row|publisher=Backbeat Books|location=Lanham, Maryland, US|date=2006|isbn=978-1-49306-512-7|pages=149-150}}</ref>
| genre        = * [[Folk rock]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Ribowsky|first=Mark|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3g79BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA44|title=Whiskey Bottles and Brand-New Cars: The Fast Life and Sudden Death of Lynyrd Skynyrd|date=2015|publisher=Chicago Review Press|isbn=978-1-56976-164-9|page=44}}</ref>
* [[country rock]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|title=Bob Dylan {{!}} Biography & History|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bob-dylan-mn0000066915/biography|access-date=January 27, 2021|website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>
* [[roots rock]]<ref name= "Stanley 2013">{{cite book|first=Bob |last=Stanley|title=Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop|chapter= I Can't Sing, I Ain't Pretty and My Legs Are Thin: Hard Rock|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9emZAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT7|date=13 September 2013|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0-571-28198-5|page=259}}</ref>
| length       = {{Duration|m=38|s=24}}
| label        = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| producer     = [[Bob Johnston]]{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 54, track 4}}
| prev_title   = [[Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits]]
| prev_year    = 1967
| next_title   = [[Nashville Skyline]]
| next_year    = 1969
| misc         = {{Singles
 | name        = John Wesley Harding
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[All Along the Watchtower]]/[[I'll Be Your Baby Tonight]]
 | single1date = November 22, 1968
 | single2     = [[Drifter's Escape]]
 | single2date = April 1969
}}
}}

'''''John Wesley Harding''''' is the eighth studio album by the American singer-songwriter [[Bob Dylan]], released on December 27, 1967, by [[Columbia Records]]. <!-- Reverted December 17...see Talk page discussion -->  Produced by [[Bob Johnston]], the album marked Dylan's return to semi-acoustic instrumentation and folk-influenced songwriting after three albums of lyrically abstract, blues-indebted [[rock music]]. ''John Wesley Harding'' was recorded around the same time as the home recording sessions with [[the Band]] known as ''[[The Basement Tapes]]''.

''John Wesley Harding'' was well received by critics and sold well, reaching {{thinspace|No.|2}} on the U.S. charts and topping the UK charts. Less than three months after its release, ''John Wesley Harding'' was certified gold by the [[RIAA]]. "[[All Along the Watchtower]]" became one of his most popular songs after [[Jimi Hendrix]]'s rendition was released in the autumn of 1968.

The album was included in [[Robert Christgau]]'s "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981).<ref>{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=0899190251|chapter=A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg70/basics.php|access-date=March 16, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref> In 2003, it was ranked number 301 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 greatest albums of all time]], moving to 303 in the 2012 version of that list,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/bob-dylan-john-wesley-harding-20120524|title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=September 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830162631/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/bob-dylan-john-wesley-harding-20120524|archive-date=August 30, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> then to 337 in the 2020 version.<ref>{{Cite magazine|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=September 22, 2020|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|access-date=July 14, 2021|language=en-US}}</ref> It was voted number 203 in the third edition of [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]'s book ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' (2000).<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=101}}</ref>

The album is named after Texas outlaw [[John Wesley Hardin]], whose name was misspelled.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Potter |first=Jordan |date=April 17, 2023 |title=Bob Dylan – 'John Wesley Harding' Review |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/bob-dylan-john-wesley-harding-album-review/ |access-date=January 7, 2024 |website=Far Out}}</ref>

==Recording sessions==
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2017}}

Dylan went to work on ''John Wesley Harding'' in the fall of 1967. By then, 18 months had passed since the completion of ''[[Blonde on Blonde]]''. Dylan spent a substantial amount of time recording the informal basement sessions with [[the Band]] in [[West Saugerties, New York]]. During that time, he stockpiled a large number of recordings, including many new compositions. He eventually submitted nearly all of them for copyright, but declined to include any of them in his next studio release (Dylan would not release any of those recordings to the commercial market until 1975's ''[[The Basement Tapes]]'', by which time some of them had been bootlegged, usually sourced from an easy-to-find set of publisher's demos). Instead, Dylan used a different set of songs for ''John Wesley Harding''.

It is not known when these songs were actually written, but none of them have turned up in the dozens of basement recordings that have since surfaced. [[Robbie Robertson]], the guitarist and principal songwriter of the Band, recalled that "it was just on a kind of whim that Bob went down to [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]]. And there, with just a couple of guys, he put those songs down on tape."<ref name="Heylin1991">{{cite book|author=Clinton Heylin|title=Dylan: Behind the Shades|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TAYwAQAAIAAJ&q=%22As%20I%20recall%20it%20was%20just%20on%20a%20kind%20of%20whim%20that%20Bob%20went%20down%20to%20Nashville.%22|date=1 June 1991|publisher=Viking|isbn=978-0-670-83602-4|page=187}}</ref> Those sessions took place in the autumn of 1967, requiring less than twelve hours over three stints in the studio.

Dylan was once again recording with a band, but the instrumentation was very sparse. During most of the recording, the rhythm section of drummer [[Kenneth A. Buttrey]] and bassist [[Charlie McCoy]] were the only ones supporting Dylan, who handled all harmonica, guitar, piano, and vocal parts. "I didn't intentionally come out with some kind of mellow sound," Dylan said in 1971. "I would have liked… more steel guitar, more piano. More music… I didn't sit down and plan that sound."

The first session, held on October 17 at [[Bradley Studios#Columbia Studios|Columbia's Studio A]], lasted only three hours, with Dylan recording master takes of "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine", "Drifter's Escape", and "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest". Dylan returned to the studio on November 6, recording master takes for "All Along the Watchtower", "John Wesley Harding", "As I Went Out One Morning", "I Pity the Poor Immigrant", and "I Am a Lonesome Hobo". Dylan returned for one last session on November 29, completing all of the remaining work.

Sometime between the second and third session, Dylan approached Robertson and keyboardist/saxophonist [[Garth Hudson]] to furnish overdubs on the basic tracks, but as Robertson recalled: "We did talk about doing some overdubbing on it, but I really liked it when I heard it and I couldn't really think right about overdubbing on it. So it ended up coming out the way he brought it back."

Dylan had arrived in Nashville with a set of songs similar to the feverish yet pithy compositions that came out of ''The Basement Tapes''. They would be given an austere sound that he and his producer [[Bob Johnston]] thought sympathetic to their content. Johnston recalls that "he was staying in the [[Ramada Inn]] down there, and he played me his songs and he suggested we just use bass and guitar and drums on the record. I said fine, but also suggested we add a steel guitar, which is how [[Pete Drake]] came to be on that record."<ref name="Prince2013">{{cite web|author1=William Henry Prince |title=Drifter's Escape |url=http://driftersescapes.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_1899.html |website=Drifter's Escape |access-date=26 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126030511/http://driftersescapes.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_1899.html |archive-date=26 January 2017 |date=June 8, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The final session did break from the status quo by employing [[Pete Drake]] on the final two recordings. Cut between 9pm and 12 midnight, "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" and "Down Along the Cove" would be the only two songs featuring Drake's light pedal steel guitar.

''John Wesley Harding'' was Dylan's last LP to be issued simultaneously in both monophonic (CL 2804) and stereophonic (CS 9604) formats. By the middle of the following year, most of Dylan's LPs would be released solely in stereophonic.

On November 1, 2019, Dylan released several new outtakes from this album and ''Nashville Skyline'' on ''The Bootleg Series, Vol. 15: Travelin' Thru 1967–1969.''

==Packaging==
The album is named after Texas outlaw [[John Wesley Hardin]], whose name Dylan misspelled.<ref name=":0" /> Singer [[John Wesley Harding (singer)|Wesley Stace]], who used the stage name John Wesley Harding, said in a ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' editorial that "no one knows why" Dylan misspelled Hardin's name in the title, and that to his knowledge, "no one’s ever bothered to ask".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stace |first=Wesley |author-link=John Wesley Harding (singer) |date=October 25, 2013 |title=Dropping a Name (Or, Goodbye, John Wesley Harding) |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/25/dropping-a-name-or-goodbye-john-wesley-harding/ |access-date=January 7, 2024 |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> The cover photograph of ''John Wesley Harding'' shows a squinting Dylan flanked by brothers Luxman and [[Purna Das Baul|Purna Das]], two [[Baul|Bengali Bauls]], Indian musicians brought to Woodstock by Dylan's manager, [[Albert Grossman]]. Behind Dylan is Charlie Joy, a local stonemason and carpenter.

Upon the album's release, rumors circulated that the faces of the [[Beatles]] were hidden on the front cover in the knots of the tree. When contacted by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 1968, album cover photographer [[John Berg (art director)|John Berg]] "acknowledged their presence but was reluctant to talk about it."<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dylan-record-puts-beatles-up-a-tree-19680309| title = Dylan Record Puts Beatles Up A Tree| date = March 9, 1968| access-date = January 26, 2016| publisher = rollingstone.com| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160204004948/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dylan-record-puts-beatles-up-a-tree-19680309| archive-date = February 4, 2016| url-status = live}}</ref> However, in a 1995 interview, Berg clarified that although the images seem to resemble the Beatles, this was not done intentionally, nor was he aware of the resemblance until it was pointed out to him after the album's release:  "Later on, I got a call from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in San Francisco. Someone had discovered little pictures of the Beatles and the hand of Jesus in the tree trunk. Well, I had a proof of the cover on my wall, so I went and turned it upside down and sure enough . . . Hahaha! I mean, if you wanted to see it, you could see it. I was as amazed as anybody."<ref>{{cite web| url = http://expectingrain.com/dok/who/h/hardingjohnwesley.html| title = The Bob Dylan Who's Who/ Harding, John Wesley| access-date = January 26, 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003953/http://expectingrain.com/dok/who/h/hardingjohnwesley.html| archive-date = March 4, 2016| url-status = live}}</ref>

The album sleeve is also notable for its liner notes, written by Dylan himself. The liner notes tells the story of three kings and three characters (Terry Shute, Frank, and Frank's wife, Vera) incorporating details from the album's songs.

==Release dates==
Contradictory release dates have been claimed for ''John Wesley Harding''. The [[liner notes]] to the [[The Original Mono Recordings|Dylan mono box]] states December 17, 1967 as the original date of release.<ref>''The Original Recordings in Mono''. [[Legacy Records]] 88697761042, 2010, liner notes p. 53.</ref> Reproduced in the liner notes to [[The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete|the eleventh volume]] of the Dylan ''Bootleg Series'' is an article by [[Al Aronowitz]] for ''[[The New York Times]]'', date stamped December 23, 1967, in which he states that ''John Wesley Harding'' would be released "within the next two weeks".<ref>''[[The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete]]'', [[Legacy Records]] 88875016122 2014, Lo & Behold Photographs & More [[liner notes]], p. 72.</ref> Original CD editions from the 1980s and 1990s have the copyright year of 1968. The January 20 issue of ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' reported on the "blockbuster response" to the LP, saying: "In stores less than a week, the record is reported to have sold more than 250,000 copies."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Billboard staff|title=Dylan's Col. LP Getting Blockbuster Response|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vgoEAAAAMBAJ&q=Dylan|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=January 20, 1968|page=6|access-date=December 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215065756/https://books.google.com.au/books?id=vgoEAAAAMBAJ&q=Dylan#v=snippet&q=Dylan&f=false|archive-date=December 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In his [[The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia|encyclopedia of all things Dylan]], Michael Gray indicates a January 1968 release date for the LP.<ref>Gray, Michael. ''[[The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia]]''. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006, ISBN 0-8264-6933-7, p. 350.</ref>

In the February 3, 1968 issue of ''[[Melody Maker]]'', the album was reviewed and announced for release in Britain on February 23.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=MM staff|title=New Dylan LP released on Feb. 23|magazine=[[Melody Maker]]|date=February 3, 1968|page=2}}</ref> It first charted there on March 2, at number 25, before achieving a run of 13 weeks at number 1.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/28513/bob-dylan/|title=John Wesley Harding" > "Chart Facts|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=December 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109153122/https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/28513/bob-dylan/|archive-date=November 9, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

The album was re-released as one of the 15 Dylan titles remastered for [[Hybrid SACD]] on September 16, 2003, and was reissued again as part of ''[[The Original Mono Recordings]]'' on October 10, 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bobdylan.com/fr/music/original-mono-recordings |title=The Original Mono Recordings |date=October 19, 2010 |access-date=April 24, 2011 |publisher=bobdylan.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110227233514/http://www.bobdylan.com/fr/music/original-mono-recordings |archive-date=February 27, 2011 }}</ref>

==Legacy==
{{Album reviews
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Erlewine AllMusic">{{cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=''John Wesley Harding'' – Bob Dylan |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/john-wesley-harding-mw0000189848 |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=July 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602145914/https://www.allmusic.com/album/john-wesley-harding-mw0000189848 |archive-date=June 2, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[The Great Rock Discography]]''
| rev3score = 6/10<ref>{{cite book |last1=Strong |first1=Martin C. |title=The Great Rock Discography |date=2006 |publisher=Canongate Books |location=Edinburgh |isbn=1-84195-827-1 |chapter=Bob Dylan |page=338}}</ref>
| rev4      = ''[[MusicHound Rock]]''
| rev4Score = 3.5/5<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Graff|editor-first1=Gary|editor-last2=Durchholz|editor-first2=Daniel|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|edition=2nd|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Farmington Hills, MI|year=1999|isbn=1-57859-061-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/371 371]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/371}}</ref>
|rev5 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
|rev5score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA262|editor-last1=Brackett|editor-first1=Nathan|editor-last2=Hoard|editor-first2=Christian|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|publisher=Fireside|location=New York, NY|year=2004|access-date=August 22, 2015|page=262|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401144654/https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA262&hl=en|archive-date=April 1, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|edition=4th|isbn=978-0195313734|title-link=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref>
| rev6 = [[Tom Hull (critic)|Tom Hull]]
| rev6Score = A<ref>{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|date=June 21, 2014|url=http://www.tomhull.com/ocston/arch/rhap/rh1406-1.php|title=Rhapsody Streamnotes: June 21, 2014|website=tomhull.com|access-date=March 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301205733/http://www.tomhull.com/ocston/arch/rhap/rh1406-1.php|archive-date=March 1, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

"I asked Columbia to release it with no publicity and no hype, because this was the season of hype," Dylan said. [[Clive Davis]] urged Dylan to pull a single, but even then Dylan refused, preferring to maintain the album's low-key profile.<ref name="Hoskyns2006">{{cite book|author=Barney Hoskyns|title=Across the Great Divide: The Band and America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fEA7MuMoLqcC&pg=PA174|year=2006|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=978-1-4234-1442-1|page=174}}</ref>

In a year when [[psychedelia]] dominated popular culture, the agrarian-themed ''John Wesley Harding'' was seen as reactionary. Critic [[Jon Landau]] wrote in ''[[Crawdaddy!]]'' magazine, "For an album of this kind to be released amidst ''Sgt. Pepper'', ''[[Their Satanic Majesties Request]]'', ''[[After Bathing at Baxter's]]'', somebody must have had a lot of confidence in what he was doing… Dylan seems to feel no need to respond to the predominate {{sic}} trends in pop music at all. And he is the only major pop artist about whom this can be said."<ref>Quoted in Riley, Tim (1999), p. 171.</ref>

The critical stature of ''John Wesley Harding'' has continued to grow. As late as 2000, [[Clinton Heylin]] wrote, "''John Wesley Harding'' remains one of Dylan's most enduring albums. Never had Dylan constructed an album-as-an-album so self-consciously. Not tempted to incorporate even later basement visions like 'Going to Acapulco' and 'Clothesline Saga,' Dylan managed in less than six weeks to construct his most perfectly executed official collection."<ref name=heylin>Heylin, Clinton (2001). ''Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited'', pp. 286-90. HarperCollins. {{ISBN|0-06-052569-X}}.</ref>

The album was remastered and re-released in 2003 using a new technology, [[Super Audio CD|SACD]].{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

In 2016, the band The Chairman Dances released "Augustine", a [[Answer song|response song]] to John Wesley Harding's "[[I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine]]". In it, [[Augustine of Hippo]] says he's not sure why Dylan dreams about him.<ref>{{cite web |title=Augustine by The Chairman Dances |url=https://thechairmandances.bandcamp.com/track/augustine |website=Bandcamp |publisher=Bandcamp |access-date=14 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Snyder |first1=Chad |title=The Chairman Dances ponders its influence’s influences on “Augustine” |url=https://xpn.org/2016/09/25/the-chairman-dances/ |website=WXPN |publisher=WXPN |access-date=14 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Doyle |first1=Jon |title=Time Without Measure - The Chairman Dances |url=https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2016/09/01/the-chairman-dances-time-without-measure/ |website=Various Small Flames |publisher=Various Small Flames |access-date=14 February 2025}}</ref>

While legend has it that Dylan recorded ''John Wesley Harding'' after finishing ''[[The Basement Tapes]]'' sessions with members of [[the Band]], several biographers and discographers have argued that the final reel of basement recordings actually postdates the first ''John Wesley Harding'' session.<ref>Dundas, and Heylin</ref>

Regardless of when this session actually occurred, the Band did accompany Dylan for at least one performance in the months following ''John Wesley Harding''. After hearing of [[Woody Guthrie]]'s passing (two weeks before ''John Wesley Harding''{{'}}s first session), Dylan contacted [[Harold Leventhal]], Guthrie's longtime friend and manager, and extended an early acceptance to any invitation for any memorial show that might be planned. The memorial came on January 20, 1968, with a pair of shows at New York's [[Carnegie Hall]]. Sharing the bill with his folk contemporaries like [[Tom Paxton]], [[Judy Collins]], and Guthrie's son, [[Arlo Guthrie|Arlo]], Dylan gave his first public performances in twenty months, backed by the Band (billed then as the Crackers). They played only three songs ("Grand Coulee Dam", "Dear Mrs. Roosevelt", and "[[Ain't Got No Home (Woody Guthrie song)|I Ain't Got No Home]]"), and it would be another eighteen months before Dylan would again perform in concert.<ref name=heylin/>

As 1967 came to a close, Dylan's lifestyle became more stable. His wife, Sara, had given birth to their daughter, Anna, earlier that summer. He had reconciled with his estranged parents. A long contract negotiation ended in a lucrative new deal, allowing Dylan to stay with [[Columbia Records]]. While the media would never lose interest, Dylan maintained a low enough profile that kept him out of the spotlight.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

After his appearance at Woody Guthrie's memorial concert, 1968 would see little, if any, musical activity from [[Bob Dylan]]. His songs continued to be a major presence, appearing on landmark albums by [[Jimi Hendrix]], [[the Byrds]], and the Band, but Dylan himself would not release or perform any additional music. There was very little songwriting activity, as well.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} "One day I was half-stepping, and the lights went out," Dylan would recall ten years later. "And since that point, I more or less had amnesia… It took me a long time to get to do consciously what I used to be able to do unconsciously."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bob-dylan-the-rolling-stone-interview-part-2-173545/4/|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|title=Bob Dylan: The Rolling Stone Interview, Part 2|author=[[Jonathan Cott]]|date=November 16, 1978|publisher=Penske Media Corporation}}</ref> Around this time, there were significant changes in Dylan's private life: his father died from a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]], prompting Dylan to return to [[Hibbing]] to attend the funeral. Shortly afterwards, on July 30, 1968, Sara gave birth to their third child, Samuel Isaac Abram.

==Track listing==
The track durations cited here are those of the remastered version released September 16, 2003, and re-released June 1, 2004. Previous versions differ. All songs are written by [[Bob Dylan]].

{{ Track listing
| headline = Side one
|extra_column = Recorded
| title1 = [[John Wesley Harding (song)|John Wesley Harding]]
| length1 = 2:58
| extra1 = November 6, 1967

| title2 = [[As I Went Out One Morning]]
| length2 = 2:49
| extra2 = November 6, 1967

| title3 = [[I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine]]
| length3 = 3:53
| extra3 = October 17, 1967

| title4 = [[All Along the Watchtower]]
| length4 = 2:31
| extra4 = November 6, 1967

| title5 = [[The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest]]
| length5 = 5:35
| extra5 = October 17, 1967

| title6 = [[Drifter's Escape]]
| length6 = 2:52
| extra6 = October 17, 1967

| total_length = 20:38
}}
{{ Track listing
| headline = Side two
|extra_column = Recorded

| title1 = [[Dear Landlord]]
| length1 = 3:16
| extra1 = November 29, 1967

| title2 = [[I Am a Lonesome Hobo]]
| length2 = 3:19
| extra2 = November 6, 1967

| title3 = [[I Pity the Poor Immigrant]]
| length3 = 4:12
| extra3 = November 6, 1967

| title4 = [[The Wicked Messenger]]
| length4 = 2:02
| extra4 = November 29, 1967

| title5 = [[Down Along the Cove]]
| length5 = 2:23
| extra5 = November 29, 1967

| title6 = [[I'll Be Your Baby Tonight]]
| length6 = 2:34
| extra6 = November 29, 1967

| total_length = 17:46 38:24
}}

==Personnel==
*[[Bob Dylan]]&nbsp;– acoustic guitar, harmonica, piano, vocals

'''Additional musicians'''
*[[Kenneth A. Buttrey]]&nbsp;– drums
*[[Pete Drake]]&nbsp;– [[pedal steel guitar]] on "Down Along the Cove" and "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" 
*[[Charlie McCoy]]&nbsp;– bass guitar

'''Production and design'''
*John Berg&nbsp;– cover photo
*Charlie Bragg&nbsp;– [[Sound engineer|engineering]]
*[[Bob Johnston]]&nbsp;– [[Record producer|production]]

==Charts==
===Weekly charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Year
!Chart
!Peak<br/>position
|-
|rowspan="5"|1968
|[[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' Top LP's]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Bob Dylan – Chart history|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/293235/bob-dylan/chart?f=305|website=www.billboard.com|access-date=18 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814080019/https://www.billboard.com/artist/293235/bob-dylan/chart?f=305|archive-date=August 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
|2
|-
|Cashbox Album Chart<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Cash-Box-Magazine.htm|title=CASH BOX MAGAZINE: Archive of all issues from1942 to 1996|website=www.americanradiohistory.com|access-date=2018-08-13}}</ref>
|2
|-
|Record World Album Chart<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Record_World.htm|title=RECORD WORLD MAGAZINE: 1942 to 1982|website=www.americanradiohistory.com|access-date=2018-08-13}}</ref>
|1
|-
|[[Productores de Música de España|Spanish Albums Chart]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Salaverri|first=Fernando|title=Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002|publisher=Fundación Autor-SGAE|year=2005|isbn=84-8048-639-2|location=|pages=}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|-
|[[UK Albums Chart]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Official Charts Company|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/28513/bob-dylan/|website=www.officialcharts.com|access-date=18 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610180740/http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/28513/bob-dylan/|archive-date=June 10, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
|1
|}

==Certifications and sales==
{{certification Table Top}}
{{certification Table Entry|title=John Wesley Harding|type=album|artist=Bob Dylan|relyear=1989|region=United Kingdom|award=Gold|certyear=2013|id=10241-3101-2|note=1989 release|access-date=August 27, 2022}}
{{certification Table Entry|title=John Wesley Harding|type=album|artist=Bob Dylan|relyear=1967|region=United States|award=Platinum|certyear=2001}}
{{certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*Dundas, Glen. ''Tangled Up in Tapes : a Recording History of Bob Dylan'' (Thunder Bay, Ontario: SMA Services, 1999 (4th ed.)) {{ISBN|0-9698569-2-X}}
*{{Gilliland |show=54 |title=Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll: Getting back to rock's funky, essential essence.}}
*Heylin, Clinton. ''Bob Dylan : The Recording Sessions, 1960-1994'' (London: St. Martin's, 1995) {{ISBN|0-312-13439-8}}

==External links==
<!-- This is a licensed stream for the album, which is allowed under Wikipedia polices -->
*[https://open.spotify.com/album/2KzCDxKpgLqBffHu1IZ7Kn ''John Wesley Harding''] at [[Spotify]] (streamed copy where licensed - registration required)

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[[Category:Bob Dylan albums]]
[[Category:1967 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Bob Johnston]]
[[Category:Columbia Records albums]]
[[Category:Country rock albums by American artists]]
[[Category:Folk rock albums by American artists]]
[[Category:Roots rock albums]]