Dylan originally wrote and performed a two-verse version of the song; its first public performance, at
Gerde's Folk City on April 16, 1962, was recorded and circulated among Dylan collectors. Shortly after this performance, he added the middle verse to the song. Some published versions of the lyrics reverse the order of the second and third verses, apparently because Dylan simply appended the middle verse to his original manuscript, rather than writing out a new copy with the verses in proper order. The song was published for the first time in May 1962, in the sixth issue of
Broadside, the magazine founded by Agnes 'Sis' Cunningham and Gordon Friesen and devoted to topical songs. The theme may have been taken from a passage in
Woody Guthrie's 1943 autobiography,
Bound for Glory, in which Guthrie compared his political sensibility to newspapers blowing in the winds of New York City streets and alleys. Dylan was certainly familiar with Guthrie's work; his reading of it had been a major turning point in his intellectual and political development. In June 1962, the song was published in
Sing Out!, accompanied by Dylan's comments: Dylan recorded "Blowin' in the Wind" on July 9, 1962, for inclusion on his second album, ''
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'', released in May, 1963.
Bobby Darin recorded "Blowin' in the Wind" on July 30, 1963, for inclusion on his album,
Golden Folk Hits, also released in 1963. Arranged by Walter Raim, there was
Roger McGuinn,
Glen Campbell,
James Burton, and
Phil Ochs all on guitar, and singing harmony. In his sleeve notes for
The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991, John Bauldie wrote that
Pete Seeger first identified the melody of "Blowin' in the Wind" as an adaptation of the old African-American spiritual "
No More Auction Block/We Shall Overcome". According to
Alan Lomax's
The Folk Songs of North America, the song was sung by former slaves who fled to Nova Scotia after
Britain abolished slavery in 1833. In 1978, Dylan acknowledged the source when he told journalist Marc Rowland: "'Blowin' in the Wind' has always been a spiritual. I took it off a song called 'No More Auction Block' – that's a spiritual and 'Blowin' in the Wind' follows the same feeling." Dylan's performance of "No More Auction Block" was recorded at the Gaslight Cafe in October 1962, and appeared on
The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991. The critic
Michael Gray suggested that the lyric is an example of Dylan's "quiet incorporation of Biblical rhetoric into his own", starting with a text from the
Old Testament book of Ezekiel (12:1–2): "Son of Man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see and see not; they have ears to hear and hear not." which Dylan transforms into: "Yes' n' how many times must a man turn his head / Pretending he just doesn't see?" and "Yes'n' how many ears must one man have / Before he can hear people cry?" "Blowin' in the Wind" has been described as an anthem of the
civil rights movement. In
Martin Scorsese's documentary on Dylan,
No Direction Home,
Mavis Staples expressed her astonishment on first hearing the song and said she could not understand how a young white man could write something that captured the frustration and aspirations of black people so powerfully.
Sam Cooke was similarly deeply impressed by the song, incorporating it into his repertoire soon after its release (a version would be included on
Sam Cooke at the Copa), and being inspired by it to write "
A Change Is Gonna Come". "Blowin' in the Wind" was first covered by
the Chad Mitchell Trio, but their record company delayed release of the album containing it because the song included the word
death, so the trio lost out to
Peter, Paul and Mary, who were represented by Dylan's manager,
Albert Grossman. The single sold 300,000 copies in the first week of release and made the song world-famous. On August 17, 1963, it reached number two on the
Billboard pop chart, with sales exceeding one million copies.
Peter Yarrow recalled that, when he told Dylan he would make more than $5,000 () from the publishing rights, Dylan was speechless. Peter, Paul and Mary's version of the song also spent five weeks atop the
easy listening chart. The critic Andy Gill wrote, Dylan performed the song for the first time on television in the UK in January 1963, when he appeared in the
BBC television play
Madhouse on Castle Street. He also performed the song during his first national US television appearance, filmed in March 1963, a performance made available in 2005 on the DVD release of
Martin Scorsese's
PBS television documentary on Dylan,
No Direction Home. An allegation that the song was written by a high-school student named Lorre Wyatt (a member of
Millburn High School's "Millburnaires" all-male folk band) and subsequently purchased or plagiarised by Dylan before he gained fame was reported in an article in
Newsweek magazine in November 1963. The plagiarism claim was eventually shown to be false. == Legacy ==