The Bailey Tapes consist of more than a half-dozen previously unknown and largely unheard open-reel tapes of Bob Dylan recorded in New York City in 1961 and 1962 by noted folk and calypso enthusiasts Milton (“Mell”) and Lillian Bailey.
The Baileys, whose apartment at 185 3rd Street served as a sort of salon for the vibrant Greenwich Village folk music scene, acted as documentarians of one of the most critical moments in US popular music history.
Along with recording intimate private parties that attracted the likes of Bob Dylan, Paul Clayton, Cynthia Gooding, Bruce Langhorne, Ian and Sylvia, Dave Van Ronk, Tom Paxton, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, they captured and preserved pivotal radio broadcasts from New York City stations WBAI and WRVR.
