The first two weeks of that tour with Bob Dylan, were at the Warfield Theater, which Bill Graham had just recently renovated.

It was sold out prior to the first night, two weeks. And what I remember, like the first three nights, half the audience was (applaud) and half of them was "boooooooo, booooo, boooo." So that just blew me away. I couldn't get used to that. Really it was interesting, but, you know, you go out on the sidewalk, and there would be placards protesting Dylan's change of music and religion, and then, after three days, it went away. It was just like all the antagonists suddenly just had their say, and they went away. The rest of the tour wasn't like that, that I can recall. Around 1980-'81--it was a time, when people were ready for change, but didn't want to change at the same time. So it was very interesting times to be in music.

Contrary to the idea that Bob may have been moved in a bad way by the negative press, I remember hearing him comment that he welcomed controversy and people to be allowed to have a controversy with him. In other words, don't accept what I say, let's talk about it. Let's have an interaction.

Most people were calm and just listened to the music and, hopefully if it was a good thing, they were moved in their heart and mind and went home with a little pillow to sleep on maybe.

And then 'course these singers--Regina McCrary...and all the girl singers--man! You know, just the background in the feverish interest in their music, they just pull you right into their spiritual gospel kinda thing. I was moved by what I was around, the music I was around. I was spiritually moved by it, and that's a good thing, I think.

I'd say that [gospel] music was very important in the scheme of things in a lifetime of work because, you know, each new thing that isn't appreciated at the time, suddenly years later looked at as a body of work, it becomes a part of the work, an important part. And time will only tell what endures and what doesn't, so hopefully the dent back then by that music will surface again someday, and that's when the true test of the strength of something is, I think, is how long it lasts.