Old Crow Medicine Show – Sweet Amarillo

Six-member string band Old Crow Medicine Show recorded “Sweet Amarillo” as part of their Grammy Award-winning album Remedy in 2014. The group became part of the prestigious Grand Ole Opry on September 17, 2013.

First surfacing as a short jam on the outtakes of Dylan’s 1973 Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid sessions, the song was completed a year later by songwriter Donna Weiss and released on Brenda Paterson’s 1974 album, Like Good Wine. The impromptu track on Dylan’s session was polished for pop splendor with a faster beat, a catchy hook, and a bell-bottom clad Patterson singing “Sweet Amarillo/ You stole my pillow/ You stole my pillow/ Hun, you ruined my mind/ Sweet Amarillo/ Like the wind and the willow/ I never will know/ Just how much you lied.”

Forty years later, just after Rucker’s pop-country cover of “Wagon Wheel” received near constant radio play, Dylan delivered his original lyrics for “Sweet Amarillo” to OCMC. “Wagon Wheel” was based on an idea of Bob Dylan’s that was later brought to fruition by Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor, and Dylan seemed interested in seeing what the band could do with yet another one of Dylan’s unfinished pieces.

Old Crow’s Ketch Secor explained the connection to CMT:

We got an email from Bob Dylan’s manager saying congratulations right around the time Darius Rucker had a No. 1 single with “Wagon Wheel.” It’s not every day that country music recognizes this great pioneer and huge influence, Bob Dylan. Bob doesn’t have many No. 1 songs in any genres. So it was a big deal to get one.

Bob realized that and sent us a note, and a couple of weeks later, he sent a demo and said, “Here’s a song that I never really finished. It was recorded a few days after ‘Rock Me Mama.’ Give it a try. We’d like the boys, the Old Crows to give it whirl.”

Video is directed by Philip Andelman — whose credits include Taylor Swift, the Avett Brothers and Jay-Z

“Sweet Amarillo” – single by Old Crow Medicine Show, released on July 1, 2014.
Album: Remedy – charted No.15 on the Billboard 200.
Songwriters – Bob Dylan, Critter Fuqua*, Ketch Secor
Producer – Ted Hutt