MSNBC caused a stir when it inaccurately reported that Bob Dylan had died. The blunder came Saturday when the news channel was covering an auction selling off Dylan memorabilia.
"A long-lost trove of unpublished Bob Dylan documents, including lyrics, were sold at auction for $495,000 to anonymous buyer. The singer of many anthems of the 1960s, Dylan dying last year at the age of 79," an MSNBC anchor said during the on-air report.
MSNBC was quick to issue a retraction and apology that same day.
"A quick correction, some of you online have already caught it, in our headlines just not we mentioned a trove of Bob Dylan’s documents being released," said MSNBC's Joshua Johnson. "We accidentally said that he died last year. Bob Dylan is very much alive, he turned 79 this year. Sorry about that."
Among items sold in individual lots at the auction were manuscripts of old interviews with Dylan, his musings about anti-Semitism, as well as unpublished song lyrics he wrote in 1962, after visiting legendary folk artists, Woody Guthrie, according to Associated Press.
"My eyes are cracked I think I been framed / I can’t seem to remember the sound of my name," the lyrics read. "What did he teach you I heard someone shout / Did he teach you to wheel & wind yourself out / Did he teach you to reveal, respect, and repent the blues / No Jack he taught me how to sleep in my shoes."
The collection was privately held by Dylan's longtime friend and American blues artist Tony Glover, who died last year.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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