Bob Neuwirth, Remixed and Revisited

His 1974 Debut Album, Uncluttered and Reissued

Bob Neuwirth's reputation as a scene-maker, people-connector, party dude and master of the acid-laced put down,  was sealed nearly 60 years ago, when he appeared as Bob Dylan's wise-cracking sidekick in the 1967 D.A. Pennebaker documentary Dont Look Back. [Officially, there is no apostrophe in the original title, though no one complains if you add it.]

Part of his notoriety came from appearing to insult Joan Baez on the the 1965 tour of England and Europe depicted in the film, and keeping her away from Dylan on stage.

Yet Baez held no grudges. When Neuwirth died in 2022 at age 82, Baez posted a picture of her applying makeup to Neuwirth's eyebrows on her Instagram account, and wrote: "Bob Neuwirth. One of the funniest - and kindest - people I’ve ever known. Rest well, my friend. It’s been wonderful having you in my life."

Others felt that way as well. "Bobby was a guardian angel of sorts during a magical time of my life," the late Kris Kristofferson wrote in an undated journal entry shar…