John Wesley Harding Songwriting Credits by Bob Dylan

Released December 27, 1967 and produced by Bob Johnston, the album was Dylan's first studio release following his 1966 motorcycle accident and nearly eighteen months out of public view. All songs are original Dylan compositions, and the spare, parable-like lyrics drew heavily on biblical imagery and American frontier mythology, a sharp stylistic contrast to the psychedelic maximalism dominating rock at the time. Musically the record is stripped to acoustic guitar, harmonica, bass, and drums, with pedal steel guitar appearing only on the final two tracks, anticipating the country direction Dylan would fully embrace on Nashville Skyline. Critics noted that Dylan seemed to feel no need to respond to the predominant trends in pop music, and the record's understated authority earned it enduring critical respect. It reached No. 2 on the US Billboard charts and topped the UK charts, achieved gold certification within three months, and the track "All Along the Watchtower" became a rock standard after Jimi Hendrix's definitive 1968 cover.