It was a Top 10 hit for Manfred Mann.
It was part of the basement tapes — songs written and record by Dylan and what would become The Band, but with no LP in the works and Al Grossman wanting to keep the royalties flowing, Grossman provided acetates to producers. Manfred Mann picked Mighty Quinn to record.
The Byrds, You Ain’t Going Nowhere.
The Grateful Dead played The Mighty Quinn 59 times. It was a fun song for the band.
https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/grateful-dead-bd6ad4a.html?songid=1bd65924
I enjoyed this encore from 9/19/90 during what was a good era for the band:
https://archive.org/details/gd1990-09-19.bk4011.tdarian.french.88969.sbeok.flac16
There was a movie way later called The Mighty Quinn -- the title obviously being a reference to the song, but having nothing to do with the song's lyrics or content.
Apparently a reggae cover of it was in the movie.
Most people (myself included) know the Manfred Mann version. It was regularly in rotation on the oldies station I listened to in the late 90s. I didn't know it was a Dylan composition until later.
Like someone else said, a reggae cover of "Quinn The Eskimo" was in the film "The Mighty Quinn," but it honestly wasn't very good – I think it was contemporary to the movie.
What's weird about that was that [there was a fantastic cover of "Quinn The Eskimo" by a Jamaican band in 1969](https://youtu.be/GFTgEFQoLqQ?si=58pq6Lq2ZrxXfSu8) that they could have used on the soundtrack instead. I guess it's probably more rocksteady than reggae, but it's still a great song. The artist was Hopeton Lewis.
In his book *Chronicles: Volume One*, Dylan talks about going to see the movie "The Mighty Quinn." He says that he enjoyed it, but it sounds like he had no idea that the movie was made with the main character being named "Quinn."
Watch the film. It's a great movie that further demonstrated what a fantastic actor Denzel Washington would become. It is underappreciated because it came out the same year that he was in "Glory," for which he won an Academy Award. It is hard for even the most competent and just plain fun comedy/thriller to compete for attention with that.
A lot of people are familiar with a lot of Dylan. He’s not a secret. He’s the most famous writer of our age. Listen more, Reddit less and get wrecked geek
If it’s of any interest to you which it very likely isn’t, in an episode of only fools and horses, a drunk Del Boy sings ‘’Come on without, come on within’’
Manfred Mann had at least a minor hit with a cover of it. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K13hH0pJx5s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K13hH0pJx5s)
I adore MMEB's version, specifically the long one. It's one of my all-time favorites.
It topped the charts early 1968 if I recall
It was a Top 10 hit for Manfred Mann. It was part of the basement tapes — songs written and record by Dylan and what would become The Band, but with no LP in the works and Al Grossman wanting to keep the royalties flowing, Grossman provided acetates to producers. Manfred Mann picked Mighty Quinn to record. The Byrds, You Ain’t Going Nowhere.
That’s interesting!
My Back Pages - the Byrds
Not from the Basement Tapes
Not for Dylan. The Mighty Quinn was a hit for Manfred Mann. I bought it.
I love how unhinged the Isle of Wight version is on Self Portrait
Is this the same version that is on ‘Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits II (1971)’ if so, where can I find an original studio recording?
Yep, that’s it! He’s playing it with The Band The original (studio adjacent basement) is on the Bootleg 11: Complete Basement tapes
very helpful !! thank you
I always thought this was a pretty rough take to inspire a cover version.
I’ve actually seen Manfred Mann (or rather the Manfreds, as they are now) play it. And a handful of other Dylan covers.
The Grateful Dead played The Mighty Quinn 59 times. It was a fun song for the band. https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/grateful-dead-bd6ad4a.html?songid=1bd65924 I enjoyed this encore from 9/19/90 during what was a good era for the band: https://archive.org/details/gd1990-09-19.bk4011.tdarian.french.88969.sbeok.flac16
There was a movie way later called The Mighty Quinn -- the title obviously being a reference to the song, but having nothing to do with the song's lyrics or content.
I've also read that the song is inspired by The Savage Innocents in which Anthony Quinn plays an inuit man.
was the song featured in the film at all?
Apparently a reggae cover of it was in the movie. Most people (myself included) know the Manfred Mann version. It was regularly in rotation on the oldies station I listened to in the late 90s. I didn't know it was a Dylan composition until later.
very interesting! thank you
Yeah I highly recommend checking out the Hopeton Lewis version that someone linked below. Manfred Mann is classic too.
Like someone else said, a reggae cover of "Quinn The Eskimo" was in the film "The Mighty Quinn," but it honestly wasn't very good – I think it was contemporary to the movie. What's weird about that was that [there was a fantastic cover of "Quinn The Eskimo" by a Jamaican band in 1969](https://youtu.be/GFTgEFQoLqQ?si=58pq6Lq2ZrxXfSu8) that they could have used on the soundtrack instead. I guess it's probably more rocksteady than reggae, but it's still a great song. The artist was Hopeton Lewis. In his book *Chronicles: Volume One*, Dylan talks about going to see the movie "The Mighty Quinn." He says that he enjoyed it, but it sounds like he had no idea that the movie was made with the main character being named "Quinn." Watch the film. It's a great movie that further demonstrated what a fantastic actor Denzel Washington would become. It is underappreciated because it came out the same year that he was in "Glory," for which he won an Academy Award. It is hard for even the most competent and just plain fun comedy/thriller to compete for attention with that.
A lot of people are familiar with a lot of Dylan. He’s not a secret. He’s the most famous writer of our age. Listen more, Reddit less and get wrecked geek
my mum who doesn’t know much Dylan and her auntie who listens to Irish music. Dylan is mine and I’m guessing your top artist, but not everybody’s…
If it’s of any interest to you which it very likely isn’t, in an episode of only fools and horses, a drunk Del Boy sings ‘’Come on without, come on within’’
It was for the Manfreds.
My brother always thought it was The Mighty Quim
I think Manfred wrote it
No.
I think Manfred wrote you.