music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Wigwam" is a song by Bob Dylan that was released on his 1970 album Self Portrait. It was a hit single that reached the Top 10 in several countries worldwide. The song's basic track, including "la-la" vocals, was recorded in early March 1970 in New York City. Later that month, producer Bob Johnston had brass instrument overdubs added to the track; these were recorded in Nashville, Tennessee at a session without Dylan present.

"Wigwam"
Single by Bob Dylan
from the album Self Portrait
B-side	"Copper Kettle"
Released	1970 (1970)
Recorded	March 1970
Genre	Country rock
Length	3:06 (album version) 3:28 (single version)[1]
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Bob Dylan
Producer(s)	Bob Johnston
Bob Dylan singles chronology
"Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You" (1969) "Wigwam" (1970) "If Not for You" (1970)
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Critical appraisal of "Wigwam" has been mostly positive, and reviewers have called it a highlight of Self Portrait. Several artists have covered the composition, including Drafi Deutscher, whose version of it was a Top 20 hit in Germany.

Recording

"Wigwam" was recorded during the sessions for Dylan's Self Portrait album, and produced by Bob Johnston.[2] The basic track was put on tape on March 4, 1970,[3] at Columbia Studio A in New York City,[4] and was labelled "New Song 1" on the recording sheet.[4] The musicians on the basic track were Dylan, vocals and guitar; David Bromberg, guitar; Al Kooper, piano.[3] On April 20, 2013, this early version of "Wigwam" was released as a single for Record Store Day,[5] and on August 27 of the same year, it appeared on The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 – Another Self Portrait (1969–1971).[3][6]

On March 17, 1970, at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, instrumental overdubs were recorded for "Wigwam" and several other songs.[2] Dylan was not present for the overdubs, and they were overseen by Johnston.[7]

In the song, Dylan sings "la-la" vocals, accompanied by horns,[8] in an arrangement that has been called "mariachi-like",[9] and "Tex-Mex".[10] The feeling of the song has also been described as "campfire music"[11] and as having a "hazy glow".[12]

Release

"Wigwam" was released on Self Portrait on June 8, 1970,[13] and as a single in June or July.[4][14][15] The single's B-side is "Copper Kettle".[1][14] The single was a Top 10 hit in Belgium,[16] Denmark (in 1972),[17] France,[18] Malaysia,[19] the Netherlands,[1] Singapore,[20] and Switzerland,[21] and was a Top 40 hit in Canada[22] and Germany.[23] In the US, the song reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100,[24] and No. 13 on the Billboard Top 40 Easy Listening chart.[25]

Years later, in the early 2000s, "Wigwam" appeared on the "Limited Tour Edition" of The Essential Bob Dylan.[26][27] The song was also included on the soundtrack to the film The Royal Tenenbaums (2001),[12] as well as on the compilations One Hit Wonders and Hard to Find Classics (2003),[28] Radio 2 - De Topcollectie '70 Vol. 2 (2010),[29] Top 40 Hitarchief - 1970 (2011),[30] and Remember the 70s Vol. 5.[31]

Reception

Reactions to the song have been generally positive. A review in Billboard magazine describes the track as "winning".[10] Biographer Rober Shelton includes "Wigwam" among the "quality" songs on Self Portrait, describing it as "hard to forget";[32] Michael Gray similarly rates it as one of the "best tracks" on the album.[33] Greil Marcus is likewise positive about the track, calling it "a great job of arranging".[11] PopMatters reviewer Tom Useted calls the song "more than worthy",[34] while NME writer Paul Stokes qualifies it as "melodious" and as demonstrating Dylan's "versatility and impact".[35] In a review of The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack, critic Heather Phares writes that the "hazy glow" of the song "add[s] to the album's strangely timeless but emotionally direct atmosphere."[12] Critic Sean Egan writes that "Dylan la-las against a big brass arrangement in a not disagreeable way—but is 'not disagreeable' supposed to be what a Dylan track amounts to?"[8]

On a more negative note, writer Seth Rogovoy describes "Wigwam" as a "bizarre, wordless vocal tune".[9] Critic Anthony Varesi considers the instrumentation on "Wigwam" to be an example of "horns misplaced", and "evidence of flaws" in Bob Johnston's production choices on Self Portrait.[36] Pitchfork writer Rob Mitchum characterizes the song as "moaning along with the brass section" and "rather unpleasant".[37]

Covers

Artists who have covered "Wigwam" include the New Christy Minstrels,[38] Sounds Orchestral,[39] and the French orchestra leaders Raymond Lefèvre[40] and Caravelli.[41] Drafi Deutscher released a version with German lyrics, entitled "Weil ich dich liebe" ("Because I Love You"), that was a Top 20 hit in Germany in 1970.[42] Saragossa Band[43] have covered this song as well.

Charts

Chart (1970)	Peak position
Belgium Single Charts	9[16]
Canadian RPM Singles Chart	17[22]
Dutch Single Top 100	3[1]
German Singles Charts	33[23]
Malaysia Top 10	8[19]
Swiss Music Charts	9[21]
US Billboard Hot 100	41[24]
US Billboard Top 40 Easy Listening	13[25]

Notes

References

• "Another Self Portrait 1969-1971: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 10: Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
• Bennett, Andy; et al. (2006). The Popular Music Studies Reader. Routledge. ISBN 9780415-307093. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
• Björner, Olof (March 15, 1996). "Still on the Road: Studio B Columbia Recording Studios New York City, New York 4 March 1970". Bjorner.com. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
• "Bob Dylan – The Essential (Album)" (in Dutch). GfK Dutch Charts. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
• "Bob Dylan – Wigwam" (in French). utltrapop. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
• "Bob Dylan – Wigwam" (in Dutch). GfK Dutch Charts. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
• "Bob Dylan – Wigwam". Hiparade.ch. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
• "Drafi Deutscher – Weil Ich Dich Liebe". Hiparade.ch. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
• Egan, Sean (2011). Self Portrait. The Mammoth Book of Bob Dylan. Constable & Robinson Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84901-466-3. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
• Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Essential Bob Dylan Limited Tour Edition: Review". Allmusic. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
• Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Self Portrait: Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
• Gray, Michael (1981). The Art of Bob Dylan: Song & Dance Man. Hamylin. ISBN 9780600342243.
• Heylin, Clinton (1995). Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions, 1960–1994. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-15067-9.
• Hinton, Brian (2006). Bob Dylan Complete Discography. Universe. ISBN 9780789314949.
• "Hits of the World". Billboard. October 17, 1970. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
• "Hits of the World". Billboard. November 7, 1970. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
• "Hits of the World". Billboard. November 28, 1970. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
• "Hits of the World". Billboard. March 18, 1972. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
• Marcus, Greil, with Michael Simmons (2013). The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 – Another Self Portrait (1969–1971) (CD booklet). New York.
• Marcus, Greil (2010). Self Portrait No. 25. Bob Dylan: Writings 1968–2010. Public Affairs, New York. ISBN 9781586489199. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
• Mitchum, Rob (January 29, 2002). "The Royal Tenenbaums Sdtk". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
• "One Hit Wonders & Hard to Find Classics: Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
• Phares, Heather. "The Royal Tenenbaums Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Review". Allmusic. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
• "'Portrait' Single From LP Hot For Columbia". Billboard. April 17, 1970. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
• "Radio 2 - De Topcollectie '70 Vol. 2" (in Dutch). GfK Dutch Charts. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
• "Raymond Lefèvre – Wigwam". Hiparade.ch. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
• "Remember the 70s Vol. 5" (in Dutch). GfK Dutch Charts. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
• Rogovoy, Seth (2009). Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781416559832. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
• "Self Portrait: Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
• Shelton, Robert (1986). No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan (2003 ed.). Da Copa Press. ISBN 0-306-81287-8. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
• "Single – Bob Dylan, Wigwam" (in German). Charts.de. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
• "Sounds Orchestral – Wigwam". Hiparade.ch. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
• "Special Merit Picks". Billboard. December 5, 1970. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
• Stokes, Paul (May 19, 2011). "Album A&E – Bob Dylan, 'Self Portrait'". NME. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
• "Top 40 Easy Listening". Billboard. September 5, 1970. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
• "Top 40 Hitarchief - 1970" (in Dutch). GfK Dutch Charts. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
• "Top Singles - Volume 14, No. 1, August 22, 1970". RPM. August 21, 1971. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
• "Top 60 Pop Spotlight". Billboard. July 11, 1970. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
• Useted, Tom (July 28, 2008). "Detours - The Strangest Albums From the Biggest Artists – Part One: The Icons". PopMatters. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
• Varesi, Anthony (2002). The Bob Dylan Albums: A Critical Study. Guernica Editions. ISBN 9781550711394. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
• "WIGWAM single to be released for Record Store Day". Bobdylan.com. Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
• "Flight of the Barbarian". Clash of Clans TV advert, background music. December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
• "Saragossa Band - Wigwam (Vinyl, Single, 45 RPM) - Discogs". Retrieved December 13, 2018.

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