Tempest cover art

  Studio Album · No. 31

Tempest Songwriting Credits by Bob Dylan

2012 Columbia Records 10 tracks 69 min
Columbia Records FolkFolk rock
100%
Authorship
Complete Artist

Holds writing credit on 10 of 10 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 10 / 10 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 10 tracks with documented writers, by whether Bob Dylan carries a lyricist or composer credit.

100%
10 trackswritten by Bob Dylan 0 tracksoutside writers
Bob Dylan's roles on this album

Share of the 10 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist100%
Composer100%
Producer100%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

10
Tracks
2
Lyricists
1
Producers
274,000
US Copies Sold
2012
Released
Data Insight

Bob Dylan wrote all ten tracks on Tempest except Duquesne Whistle, which he co-wrote with Robert Hunter. He produced the album under his Jack Frost pseudonym, with Scott Litt engineering. The record ranges from rollicking blues to the fourteen-minute title track about the sinking of the Titanic.

Released September 10-11, 2012, Tempest was recorded January through March 2012 at Groove Masters Studios in Santa Monica with Dylan self-producing as Jack Frost and engineer Scott Litt capturing the ensemble live using vintage Neumann microphones. Dylan wrote all ten tracks alone except "Duquesne Whistle," co-written with Robert Hunter. Litt recorded the musicians in the round to create what he described as a soundscape, with critics identifying the album's sound as drawing from jump blues, railroad boogie, archaic country, and folk. Rolling Stone gave it five stars and called it the single darkest record in Dylan's catalog, and it earned a Metacritic score of 83. It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and reached number 1 in Norway, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

Track Listing & Credits 10 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
Duquesne Whistle
Robert Allen ZimmermannRobert Hunter Robert Allen ZimmermannRobert Hunter Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
2
Soon After Midnight
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
3
Narrow Way
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
4
Long and Wasted Years
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
5
Pay in Blood
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
6
Scarlet Town
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
7
Early Roman Kings
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
8
Tin Angel
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
9
Tempest
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
10
Roll On John
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 3 contributors

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Frequently Asked Questions Tempest

Did Bob Dylan write the songs on Tempest?
Bob Dylan wrote all ten tracks on Tempest except Duquesne Whistle, which he co-wrote with Robert Hunter. He produced the album himself under the name Jack Frost.
Who co-wrote Duquesne Whistle on Bob Dylan's Tempest?
Duquesne Whistle was co-written by Bob Dylan and Robert Hunter. It was the opening track and lead single from Tempest.
What is the title track Tempest by Bob Dylan about?
The title track Tempest is a roughly fourteen-minute song about the sinking of the Titanic. It is the longest track on the album.
Who produced Bob Dylan's Tempest?
Bob Dylan produced Tempest under his Jack Frost pseudonym, and Scott Litt engineered it. The album was recorded in early 2012 at Groove Masters in Santa Monica.
How did Tempest by Bob Dylan chart?
Tempest reached number 3 on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart, and number one in several European countries. It sold about 274,000 copies in the United States.
Was Tempest by Bob Dylan certified?
Tempest was certified Gold in the United Kingdom, Austria, and Sweden. No US certification is listed on its Wikipedia page.

Sources