‘A Complete Unknown’ starts and ends with Dylan & Woody Guthrie in Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains New Jersey. In this episode we learn more about Dylan’s time there with Guthrie from two people who were directly involved, Woody’s daughter Nora Guthrie and his friend Jahanara Romney (then known as Bonnie Beecher).

Beecher’s name will be familiar to Dylan fans because The Minnesota Hotel Tape was made in her Apartment in by Tony Glover in December 1961 - so she was in fact a friend of Bob’s from the time period just before he came to New York. She is also, not incidentally, often referred to as the original Girl From The North Country (but in reality is likely just one of the characters in the composite), and the subject of an early Dylan original called “Bonnie, why'd you cut my hair.” which an be found on those Minnesota Hotel Tapes.

These interviews were done about six years ago by the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital Oral History Project by Stephanie Kipp. A second interview with Jahanara is here too - telling much the same story, but 25 years earlier. That version is from an interview originally done by Markus Wittman.

This episode is the seventh in an ongoing series offering a guided tour of Bob Dylan's work to new Dylan fans and anyone interested in better understanding his music. Companion posts and bonus materials are published on our blog.

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