Hurricane (song)
From Freepedia
"Hurricane" is a protest song by Bob Dylan about the imprisonment of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. It compiles acts of racism and profiling against Carter, which Dylan describes as leading to a false trial and conviction.
Background
The album opens with "Hurricane," arguably the most popular song on Desire. Named after former heavyweight contender Rubin Carter (aka "Hurricane"), Dylan had been inspired to write it after reading Carter's autobiography, The Sixteenth Round, which Carter had sent him "because of his prior commitment to the [civil rights] struggle." Carter and a man named John Artis had been charged of a multiple homicide which occurred in a bar back in 1967. Widely reported as a racially motivated crime, Carter and Artes were found guilty of committing the murders, and both were sentenced to four consecutive life sentences. In the years that followed, a substantial amount of controversy emerged over the case, ranging from faulty evidence and questionable eye-witness testimony to an unfair trial. In his autobiography, Carter maintained his innocence, and his story eventually led Dylan to visit him in Rahway Prison in Trenton, New Jersey. Dylan had written topical ballads before, including songs on Hattie Carroll and Emmett Till, but according to Jacques Levy, he "wasn't sure that he could write a song...he was just filled with all these feelings about Hurricane. He couldn't make the first step. I think the first step was putting the song in a total storytelling mode. I don't remember whose idea it was to do that. But really, the beginning of the song is like stage directions, like what you would read in a script: 'Pistol shots ring out in a barroom night...Here comes the story of the Hurricane.' Boom! Titles. You know, Bob loves movies, and he can write these movies that take place in eight to ten minutes, yet seem as full or fuller than regular movies."
"Hurricane" brought Rubin Carter's case to a wider audience. During the fall tour preceding Desire's release, Dylan and the Rolling Thunder Revue played a benefit concert for Carter in New York City's Madison Square Garden. The following year, they played another benefit at Houston, Texas's Astrodome. "Hurricane" ultimately raised enough funds and publicity to help Carter take legal action. A witness confessed to conspiring with the police for an early verdict, prompting the New Jersey Supreme Court to throw out the original trial for lack of evidence. During the new trial, the witness recanted his confession, and Carter and Artis were once again found guilty. On February 9, 1979, Carter was sentenced to two consecutive life terms, but he was released on parole in November of 1985.
The song was published on the album Desire in January 1976, making the Carter case known to a broad public. "Hurricane" is attributed to harvesting popular support for Carter's defense. The conviction finally was overturned by the Supreme Court of New Jersey in 1985.
