a Blonde On Blonde labelography and price guide

EsĀ­tiĀ­mated reading time is 13 minĀ­utes.

THIS IS A LABELOGRAPHY and price guide for the iniĀ­tial pressĀ­ings of Bob DyĀ­lan’s 1966 two-record album BLONDE ON BLONDE. It is inĀ­tended as a comĀ­pleĀ­menĀ­tary piece to the arĀ­ticle ā€œWhat Was the First Rock Double-Album of the ’60s?ā€ Whereas that piece was for a genĀ­eral readĀ­erĀ­ship, this arĀ­ticle is inĀ­tended for colĀ­lecĀ­tors (alĀ­though many of those genĀ­eral readers can enjoy the photos and some of the history).

We deĀ­terĀ­mined that the ofĀ­fiĀ­cial reĀ­lease of BLONDE ON BLONDE was at least two weeks after the reĀ­lease of FREAK OUT. This gives the Mothers bragĀ­ging rights over Dylan for the ā€œfirst rock double-album.ā€ That is, the first two-record set of newly recorded maĀ­teĀ­rial of rock music. Frankly, this is so much nitĀ­picking, as the two alĀ­bums were reĀ­leased within a week of each other.

NitĀ­picking aside, Bob Dylan and Frank Zappa efĀ­fecĀ­tively conĀ­ceived, recorded, and reĀ­leased the first two rock double-album at the same time. BeĀ­fore proĀ­ceeding here, I sugĀ­gest you read ā€œWhat Was the First Rock Double-Album of the ’60s?ā€

What folĀ­lows here is a look at DyĀ­lan’s album and the backĀ­ground inĀ­forĀ­maĀ­tion if the preĀ­vious arĀ­ticle will clarify things.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde m c top 500

Bob Dylan: Blonde On Blonde
CoĀ­lumbia C2L-41 (mono) 
CoĀ­lumbia C2S-841 (stereo)
ReĀ­leased: July 4, 1966

CoĀ­lumbia reĀ­leased Blonde on Blonde in mono (C2L-41) and stereo (C2S-841). The acĀ­tual date of reĀ­lease of Blonde on Blonde is unĀ­cerĀ­tain at this time. It may have been reĀ­leased as early as June 27, 1966, in seĀ­lect marĀ­kets (noĀ­tably Los AnĀ­geles) but it may have not been reĀ­leased until July 10, 1966.

DyĀ­lan’s first round of recording sesĀ­sions his sevĀ­enth album began on OcĀ­tober 5, 1965, at Columbia’s Studio A in New York City. The final sesĀ­sions were held at Columbia’s Studio B in Nashville, TenĀ­nessee, on March 10, 1966. The last overdub sesĀ­sion was on June 16. Bob JohnĀ­ston was the proĀ­ducer for these sessions.

That is, Bob began work on his project five months beĀ­fore the Mothers’ first ofĀ­fiĀ­cial sesĀ­sion for Verve, yet finĀ­ished two days after they had wrapped up their sesĀ­sions. Of course, it was well worth the efĀ­fort and the wait!

Those of us who came of age in the ’60s grew up with the legend that Dylan wasn’t cerĀ­tain that he had a two-record set until the last sesĀ­sion. At that point, he and Bob Johnson reĀ­alĀ­ized they had too much maĀ­teĀ­rial for a single record but not enough for two.

Then Dylan stepped up to the plate and hit a grand-slam, writing all eleven minĀ­utes of ā€œSad-Eyed Lady of the LowĀ­landsā€ in one sitĀ­ting just to fill up the fourth side!

Anyway, someĀ­thing along those lines is how the legend went.

Hah!

We now know two facts that ruin that legend:

1. There was plenty of maĀ­teĀ­rial for two LPs beĀ­fore ā€œSad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands.ā€

2. ā€œSad-Eyed Lady of the LowĀ­landsā€ wasn’t even the last track recorded!

The album’s conĀ­tents and their seĀ­quencing were inĀ­tenĀ­tional. The reĀ­leased album could have held more music, but Dylan didn’t want any more on the records than what he seĀ­lected. The deĀ­ciĀ­sion to place ā€œSad-Eyed Lady of the LowĀ­landsā€ as the sole track on the fourth side was exĀ­actly that: an aesĀ­thetic deĀ­ciĀ­sion. And a brilĀ­liant deĀ­ciĀ­sion it was!

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde m c full 500

This is how the album looked when the gateĀ­fold jacket was opened flat. This was a rather imĀ­presĀ­sive sleeve deĀ­sign for the time—including the fact that it was deĀ­void of any text exĀ­cept for the CoĀ­lumbia logo in the upper left corner.

Photography

ExĀ­cept for one photo, all the imĀ­ages on the inner and outer covers were taken by Jerry Schatzberg.ā€ AcĀ­cording to the photographer:

ā€œI wanted to find an inĀ­terĀ­esting loĀ­caĀ­tion out of the studio. We went to the west side, where the Chelsea Art galĀ­leries are now. At the time it was the meat-packing disĀ­trict of New York and I liked the look of it. It was freezing and I was very cold. The frame he chose for the cover is blurred and out of focus.

Of course, everyone was trying to inĀ­terĀ­pret the meaning, saying it must repĀ­reĀ­sent getĀ­ting high or an LSD trip. It was none of the above; we were just cold and the two of us were shivĀ­ering. There were other imĀ­ages that were sharp and in focus, but to his credit, Dylan liked that photograph.ā€

Most of us didn’t see the gateĀ­fold jacket fully opened unĀ­less we or a friend bought it and took it home. As the jacket was manĀ­uĀ­facĀ­tured over time, the tones of the colors on the front and back covers varied somewhat.

As this was a gateĀ­fold jacket, it opened up into two leaves, both of which inĀ­cluded black and white photos. The song tiĀ­tles were printed across the top with adĀ­diĀ­tional data such as muĀ­siĀ­cian credits along the bottom. The song Stuck InĀ­side of MoĀ­bile with the MemĀ­phis Blues Again is listed simply as MemĀ­phis Blues Again.

OrigĀ­inal jackets had nine photos, two of them of women who are not idenĀ­tiĀ­fied (inĀ­cluding a promiĀ­nent one later idenĀ­tiĀ­fied as acĀ­tress Claudia CarĀ­diĀ­nale). The black and white photos have grey tones. SupĀ­posĀ­edly, copies exist with black and white photos with blue tones.

In 1968, the inner panels of the jacket were changed: The two photos of the women were reĀ­moved and one shot of Dylan was enĀ­larged. All subĀ­seĀ­quent printĀ­ings of the jacket feaĀ­tured these seven phoĀ­tographs on the inside.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde c inner 1 750

ExĀ­cept for the shot of Dylan in conĀ­cert in PhiladelĀ­phia on FebĀ­ruary 24, 1966, in the lower left corner, the photos were taken by Jerry Schatzberg. OrigĀ­inal jackets had nine black and white photos with grey tones. Two photos have unidenĀ­tiĀ­fied women in them, one being of Italian acĀ­tress Claudia CarĀ­diĀ­nale that Schatzberg had taken in 1963.

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde c inner 2 750

In 1968, the jacket was alĀ­tered: the two photos of with the women were reĀ­moved and one shot of Dylan was enĀ­larged. All subĀ­seĀ­quent printĀ­ings of the jacket feaĀ­tured only seven phoĀ­tographs on the inĀ­side. Copies of this verĀ­sion of the jacket can be found without the tiĀ­tles at the top and the credits at the bottom exist and are rather rare.

Mono and stereo versions

While the catĀ­alog numĀ­bers for the mono and stereo alĀ­bums are C2L-41 and C2S-841, the inĀ­diĀ­vidual records have inĀ­diĀ­vidual catĀ­alog numĀ­bers. The two mono records are CL-2516 and CL-2517 and the two stereo records are CS-9316 and CS-9317.

•  The mono records have sigĀ­nifĀ­iĀ­cantly difĀ­ferent mixes than the stereo records and the length of some of the tracks differ.

•  The mono verĀ­sions isĀ­sued in Canada and France in the ’60s conĀ­tained earĀ­lier, difĀ­ferent mixes than the mono records reĀ­leased in the US.

•  In 1968, CoĀ­lumbia started using a slightly difĀ­ferent mix on the stereo records, making the stereo alĀ­bums from the ’60s that much more atĀ­tracĀ­tive to fans and collectors.

For even more variĀ­aĀ­tions, check out the ElecĀ­tric Dylan website.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde m c full dj 300

ProĀ­moĀ­tional copies had two strips with the song tiĀ­tles and their playing time (title & timing strips) afĀ­fixed to the bottom of the gateĀ­fold jacket for radio staĀ­tion perĀ­sonnel to better gauge what could be played.

Promotional pressing

Like most alĀ­bums of the time, CoĀ­lumbia pressed speĀ­cial proĀ­moĀ­tional copies with white laĀ­bels priĀ­marily to be shipped to radio staĀ­tions for airplay.

They were usuĀ­ally mono records and some copies had two white stickers with the song tiĀ­tles and their playing time afĀ­fixed to the bottom of the back cover.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde m Side2 1 wlp 600

ProĀ­moĀ­tional pressĀ­ings were mono records with white laĀ­bels with two stylĀ­ized speaker logos (or ā€œeye logosā€), one at 9 o’­clock and one at 3 o’­clock. The word ā€œNonĀ­breakĀ­ableā€ does not apĀ­pear on the left side. In the perimeter print at the bottom, there is a tiny speaker-logo to the left of ā€œMarcas.ā€ The second song on Side 2 is listed as MemĀ­phis Blues Again.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde s shrink sticker 600

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde s shrink sticker2 400

Some of us saw the album for the first time with this sticker hyping the inĀ­cluĀ­sion of two hit sinĀ­gles. This parĀ­ticĀ­ular factory-sealed stereo copy with the first hype sticker sold for more than $1,600 on eBay in 2015—many times what a simĀ­ilar copy would have sold for even with mint records in a mint jacket. After its iniĀ­tial reĀ­lease, CoĀ­lumbia had a new sticker afĀ­fixed to the shrinkwrap of BLONDE ON BLONDE hyping the hit sinĀ­gles and listing the rest of the alĀ­bum’s song titles.

Commercial pressings

From 1966 through 1969, BLONDE ON BLONDE was manĀ­uĀ­facĀ­tured with Columbia’s red laĀ­bels with two speaker logos on each side of the spindle hole, one at 3 o’­clock and one at 9 o’­clock. On the bottom, ā€œ360 Soundā€ apĀ­peared on both sides of eiĀ­ther ā€œMonoā€ or ā€œStereoā€ in white print.

During these four years, there were three variĀ­aĀ­tions on the mono laĀ­bels and four for the stereo records:

 

dbl BOB label v1m 1

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde s Side2 1 600

With NONBREAKABLE and MEMPHIS BLUES AGAIN

Both mono and stereo records (1966) have red laĀ­bels two stylĀ­ized speaker logos (or ā€œeye logosā€), one at 9 o’­clock and one at 3 o’­clock. The word ā€œNonĀ­breakĀ­ableā€ apĀ­pears on the left side below the catĀ­alog number. In the perimeter print at the bottom, there is a tiny speaker-logo to the right of ā€œMarcas.ā€ The second song on Side 2 is listed as MemĀ­phis Blues Again.

As both the proĀ­moĀ­tional pressing and the album jacket list MemĀ­phis Blues Again, I asĀ­sume that the comĀ­merĀ­cial pressing listing MemĀ­phis Blues Again is the first pressing while those listing Stuck InĀ­side Of MoĀ­bile With The are later pressings—although they could be alĀ­terĀ­naĀ­tive first pressings.

This is the most common of the label variĀ­aĀ­tions from the ’60s. NonetheĀ­less, as the first pressing it is also the most sought after—if you’re a Dylan or ’60s colĀ­lector and want one copy of BLONDE ON BLONDE to have in your colĀ­lecĀ­tion, this is the copy to have!

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde m Side2 2 600

dbl BOB label v2s

With NONBREAKABLE and STUCK INSIDE OF MOBILE

Both mono and stereo records (1966) have red laĀ­bels with two stylĀ­ized speaker logos (or ā€œeye logosā€), one at 9 o’­clock and one at 3 o’­clock. The word ā€œNonĀ­breakĀ­ableā€ apĀ­pears on the left side below the catĀ­alog number. In the perimeter print at the bottom, there is a tiny speaker-logo to the right of ā€œMarcas.ā€ The second song on Side 2 is listed as Stuck InĀ­side Of MoĀ­bile With The.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde m Side2 3 600

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde s Side2 3 600

With NONBREAKABLE and STUCK INSIDE OF MOBILE

Later pressing mono and stereo records (1967-1968) have red laĀ­bels with two stylĀ­ized speaker logos (or ā€œeye logosā€), one at 9 o’­clock and one at 3 o’­clock. The word ā€œNonĀ­breakĀ­ableā€ does not apĀ­pear on the left side. In the perimeter print at the bottom, there is a tiny speaker-logo to the right of ā€œMarcas.ā€ The second song on Side 2 is listed as Stuck InĀ­side Of MoĀ­bile With The.

 

dbl BOB label v4b

Without NONBREAKABLE with STUCK INSIDE OF MOBILE

Later pressing stereo records (1968-1969) have red laĀ­bels with two stylĀ­ized speaker logos (or ā€œeye logosā€), one at 9 o’­clock and one at 3 o’­clock. The word ā€œNonĀ­breakĀ­ableā€ does not apĀ­pear on the left side. In the perimeter print at the bottom, the tiny speaker-logo is to the left of ā€œMarcas.ā€ The second song on Side 2 is listed as Stuck InĀ­side Of MoĀ­bile With The.

 

dbl BOB label v3b

The new Columbia label

In 1970, CoĀ­lumbia changed the look of their label: it reĀ­mained red but dropped the speaker logos and the ā€œ360 Soundā€ and inĀ­stead had ā€œCoĀ­lumbiaā€ in print printed in gold six times around the perimeter.

TiĀ­tles reĀ­leased prior to the change kept their origĀ­inal catĀ­alog numĀ­bers, hence BLONDE ON BLONDE reĀ­mained C2S-831. This label reĀ­mained in use into the ’80s and most Dylan alĀ­bums from the ’60s with these laĀ­bels sell for apĀ­proxĀ­iĀ­mately $10 in NM condition.

 

Dylan SaturdayEveningPost 6 30 1966 400

BLONDE ON BLONDE phoĀ­togĀ­raĀ­pher Jerry Schatzberg’s imĀ­ages were used for this great cover arĀ­ticle on Dylan ā€œ(the Rebel King of Rock­’n’Rollā€) for the June 30, 1966, issue of The SatĀ­urday Evening Post.

Inner sleeve

BeĀ­tween 1963 and 1967, CoĀ­lumbia reĀ­leased all of their LPs with clear plastic inner sleeves inĀ­stead of the more common paper inner sleeve. These sleeves were loose and Baggies-like and rounded at one end and sealed at the other end, which was straight across. That is, you could break the shrinkwrap on the album and still have a still-sealed record.

To open, you had to pull off a quarter-inch strip of the baggy along a perĀ­foĀ­rated line.

So all origĀ­inal pressĀ­ings of BLONDE ON BLONDE from 1966 into 1967 should have the record housed in two Baggies-like sleeves. Later pressĀ­ings were isĀ­sued with stanĀ­dard comĀ­pany paper sleeves adĀ­verĀ­tising other CoĀ­lumbia artists and titles.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde c sticker5 Deluxe 300

Copies of BLONDE ON BLONDE with this generic sticker that reads ā€œDeluxe (2) Two Record Setā€ are hard to find.

Special stickers

There are at least three unique stickers that were afĀ­fixed to the shrinkwrap of comĀ­merĀ­cial copies of BLONDE ON BLONDE and sevĀ­eral generic stickers afĀ­fixed to comĀ­merĀ­cial and proĀ­moĀ­tional copies of the album.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde c sticker1 500

ComĀ­merĀ­cial copies of BLONDE ON BLONDE can be found with speĀ­cial stickers afĀ­fixed to the shrinkwrap on the front of the album. Rainy Day Women 12&35 and I Want You had both been reĀ­leased prior to the album, so CoĀ­lumbia was safe in printing the sticker noting those two hits the first press run of the album in mid-1966.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde c sticker2 500

Once BLONDE ON BLONDE was comĀ­pleted and reĀ­leased, CoĀ­lumbia could print a new sticker noting the two hits plus listing the rest of the alĀ­bum’s tracks. This sticker was used in the second half of 1966 and may have been printed and used into 1967.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde c sticker6 500

This is anĀ­other sticker that lists the conĀ­tents of the album that was apĀ­parĀ­ently afĀ­fixed to alĀ­bums in 1966. It is the rarest of the three conĀ­tent stickers.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde c sticker3 dj 500

This sticker was afĀ­fixed to the jacket of white label proĀ­moĀ­tional pressĀ­ings of the album and shipped to radio staĀ­tions for airplay.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde c sticker4 dj 600

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde s Side2 dj sticker 400

This sticker was often afĀ­fixed to the jacket or the laĀ­bels of comĀ­merĀ­cial alĀ­bums that were desĀ­igĀ­nated for proĀ­moĀ­tional purĀ­poses. These were generic stickers that CoĀ­lumbia used on thouĀ­sands of difĀ­ferent tiĀ­tles over the years.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde c SpecialProducts promo sticker 300

This gold sticker idenĀ­tiĀ­fies the album as being desĀ­igĀ­nated for proĀ­moĀ­tional use by Columbia’s SpeĀ­cial Product diĀ­viĀ­sion. The first time I ever saw these stickers in genĀ­eral use was in 1968 when the US record inĀ­dustry deleted mono alĀ­bums from their catĀ­aĀ­logs and then dumped milĀ­lions of them on the market, usuĀ­ally by selling them for a fracĀ­tion of their normal wholeĀ­sale price to deĀ­partĀ­ment stores across the country.

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde songbook deluxe 500

Schatzberg’s photos were used for the songĀ­books reĀ­leased with the alĀ­bum’s music. Aside from this Deluxe ediĀ­tion, there were speĀ­cialĀ­ized song books pubĀ­lished for Easy Guitar & HarĀ­monica; Dylan Style Guitar; Ukulele, BariĀ­tone Uke, Tenor Guitar; and 5 String Banjo, Tenor Banjo, Mandolin.

Pressing plants

The records were pressed at each of the Columbia’s three pressĀ­ings plants in Pitman, New Jersey, in Santa Maria, CalĀ­iĀ­fornia, and in Terre Haute, InĀ­diana. The Pitman pressĀ­ings usuĀ­ally have a capĀ­ital ā€œPā€ stamped into the runout vinyl; the Terre Haute pressĀ­ings usuĀ­ally have a capĀ­ital ā€œTā€ stamped into the runout vinyl; the Santa Maria pressing have a capĀ­ital ā€œSā€ or a backĀ­ward capĀ­ital ā€œSā€ (ā€œĘ§ā€).

 

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde Volume1 Germany 600

In some EuĀ­roĀ­pean counĀ­tries, BLONDE ON BLONDE was origĀ­iĀ­nally isĀ­sued as two sepĀ­aĀ­rate alĀ­bums. On the front cover of this West German pressing, it reads ā€œBob Dylan Vol. 1ā€ but the laĀ­bels read ā€œBlonde on Blonde Vol. 1.ā€ All subĀ­seĀ­quent pressĀ­ings were two-record albums.

Later pressings and reissues

While CoĀ­lumbia dropped the mono verĀ­sion of BLONDE ON BLONDE from its catĀ­alog in 1967, it kept the stereo verĀ­sion in print as an LP, a preĀ­reĀ­corded tape, and as a CD. There have been sevĀ­eral reisĀ­sues of the mono album in reĀ­cent years, my fave being from SunĀ­dazed Records.

In 2002, SunĀ­dazed isĀ­sued a reĀ­masĀ­tered, facĀ­simile ediĀ­tion of the mono BLONDE ON BLONDE taken from the origĀ­inal mono masĀ­ters (SunĀ­dazed LP-5110). AcĀ­cording to SunĀ­dazed’s Bob Irwin:

ā€œThere was clear viĀ­sion throughout the mono mixing. I can let you know, without a doubt, the mono mix was the one that was conĀ­sidĀ­ered most imĀ­porĀ­tant to everyone asĀ­soĀ­ciĀ­ated with the album at the time. The final mono mix is much, much more comĀ­pliĀ­cated and deĀ­libĀ­erate than the stereo.ā€ (ElecĀ­tric Dylan)

There were probĀ­lems with the quality of the vinyl and the pressing of the origĀ­inal SunĀ­dazed LP-5110 reĀ­sulting in noisy and warped LPs. In 2008, SunĀ­dazed isĀ­sued a reĀ­masĀ­tered verĀ­sion of LP-5110 that fixed those isĀ­sues. Both ediĀ­tions have the same bar-code (090771511010) but the corĀ­rected verĀ­sion has ā€œ[email protected]ā€ in the trail-off/runout area.

 

dbl Dylan IWantYou2

Schatzberg’s phoĀ­togĀ­raphy was also used on the single I Want You that preĀ­ceded BLONDE ON BLONDE by a few weeks.

Price guide

First, the verĀ­sion of the album with the records that list the second song on Side 2 as MemĀ­phis Blues Again is the first pressing (1966-1967) and is also the most common pressing. The variĀ­aĀ­tions with that song listed as Stuck InĀ­side Of MoĀ­bile With The are apĀ­parĀ­ently second pressĀ­ings (1968-1969) and are much rarer than the first pressing.

At this time, colĀ­lecĀ­tors have not difĀ­ferĀ­enĀ­tiĀ­ated beĀ­tween them in terms of prices paid:

                        VG           VG+            NM 
C2L-41    $ 40-6
0    75-100   150-200
C2S-841 
$ 20-30     40-60      75-100

White label promos are alĀ­most imĀ­posĀ­sible to find in any conĀ­diĀ­tion and can sell for $1,000 even in less than near mint condition!

The final mono mix of BLONDE ON BLONDE is much more comĀ­pliĀ­cated and deĀ­libĀ­erate than the stereo. Click To Tweet

Dylan BlondeOnBlonde c inner left photo 1000

FEATURED IMAGE: The photo at the top of this page was cropped from the inĀ­side of the BLONDE ON BLONDE gateĀ­fold jacket. It’s a photo of chain-smoking Bob lights up yet anĀ­other cigĀ­aĀ­rette while gabĀ­bing with manĀ­ager AlĀ­bert Grossman.

Much of the inĀ­forĀ­maĀ­tion above is from Frank Daniels’ Bob Dylan PressĀ­ings. Frank also proĀ­vided me with scans of many of the imĀ­ages below and proofed the text.

BLONDE ON BLONDE was cerĀ­tiĀ­fied by the RIAA for a Gold Record Award on AuĀ­gust 25, 1967. This award repĀ­reĀ­sented $1,000,000 in sales at the wholeĀ­sale level for apĀ­proxĀ­iĀ­mately 300,000-400,000 copies sold. It was fiĀ­nally cerĀ­tiĀ­fied as PlatĀ­inum for 1,000,000 copies sold on May 5, 1999.

FiĀ­nally, BLONDE ON BLONDE may be one of the dumbest tiĀ­tles for one of the greatest rock alĀ­bums ever but few of us who grew up with the album think about that any more than we think about the fact that HopaĀ­long CasĀ­sidy was Irish . . .

 

 

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