Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan is a tribute album released on the Sony/Columbia label in 2003, which features traditional and contemporary gospel singers performing songs written by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

 during his "born again" period (1979–81). Five songs on the album had originally appeared in Dylan's own performances on his first Christian album, Slow Train Coming

Slow Train Coming

Slow Train Coming is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 19th studio album, released by Columbia Records in August 1979.It was the artist's first effort since becoming a born-again Christian, and all of the songs either express his strong personal faith, or stress the importance of Christian teachings...

, and six songs had appeared on his second, Saved

Saved (album)

Saved is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 20th studio album, released by Columbia Records in June 1980.Saved was the second album of Dylan's "Christian trilogy," following his conversion to born-again Christianity. It expanded on themes explored on its predecessor, Slow Train Coming, with gospel...

. There are none taken from his third and last album from this period, Shot of Love

Shot of Love

Shot of Love is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 21st studio album, released by Columbia Records in August 1981.It is generally considered to be Dylan's last of a trilogy of overtly religious, Christian albums. Also, it was his first since becoming born-again to focus on secular themes, from...

. Dylan himself performs on the album in a duet with Mavis Staples

Mavis Staples

Mavis Staples is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family's band.-Biography:...

 of "Gonna Change My Way of Thinking," which Dylan completely re-wrote and prefaced by some humorous banter between the two.

The Gotta Serve Somebody CD was Grammy nominated for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album and also Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals for the Bob Dylan and Mavis Staples duet.

The companion documentary DVD on Image Entertainment premieres 1980 archival footage of Bob Dylan performing "When He Returns" and features interviews with Dylan musicians: Jim Keltner

Jim Keltner

James Lee "Jim" Keltner is an American drummer known primarily for his session work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists...

, Spooner Oldham

Spooner Oldham

Dewey Lindon "Spooner" Oldham is an American songwriter and session musician. An organist, he recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and at FAME Studios on such hit R&B songs as "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge, "Mustang Sally" by Wilson Pickett and "I Never Loved a Man" by Aretha...

, Regina McCrary, Fred Tackett

Fred Tackett

Fred Tackett, an American native of Arkansas, is an accomplished songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Originally a session player on guitar, mandolin, and trumpet, he is best known for his longevity as a member of the band Little Feat....

, Terry Young, Mona Lisa Young and producer Jerry Wexler

Jerry Wexler

Gerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...

.

The documentary DVD won Gold Medal for Excellence Audience Choice for Best Music Documentary at Park City Film Music Festival.

Track listing

All songs by Bob Dylan, except "Saved," written by Bob Dylan and Tim Drummond.
"When You Gonna Wake Up" additional lyrics by Lee Williams.

1. "Gotta Serve Somebody
   Gotta Serve Somebody
   "Gotta Serve Somebody" is a song by Bob Dylan from his 1979 studio album Slow Train Coming. It won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Male in 1980. The song was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It stands as Dylan's last hit single, peaking at #24...
   
   " - Shirley Caesar
   Shirley Caesar
   Shirley Ann Caesar is an American Gospel music singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned six decades...
   
   - 5:48
2. "When You Gonna Wake Up" - Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC's - 4:43
3. "I Believe In You" - Dottie Peoples
   Dottie Peoples
   Dottie Peoples is an American gospel singer.Born Dorthy Peoples in Dayton, Ohio, Peoples began singing at an early age. After completing high school, she toured with gospel pioneer Dorothy Norwood, a member of The Caravans...
   
    - 5:25
4. "Are You Ready" - The Fairfield Four
   The Fairfield Four
   The Fairfield Four is a gospel group that has existed for over 80 years. They started as a trio in Nashville, Tennessee's Fairfield Baptist Church in 1921. They were designated as National Heritage Fellows in 1989 by the National Endowment for the Arts. The group won the 1998 Grammy for Best...
   
   - 2:34
5. "Solid Rock" - Sounds of Blackness
   Sounds of Blackness
   Sounds of Blackness is a Grammy Award-winning vocal and instrumental ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota who perform music from several genres music including gospel, R&B, soul, and jazz. The group scored several hits on the Billboard R&B chart and Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play...
   
    - 4:23
6. "Saving Grace" - Aaron Neville
   Aaron Neville
   Aaron Neville is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He has had four top-20 hits in the United States along with four platinum-certified albums...
   
    - 4:41
7. "What Can I Do For You?" - Helen Baylor
   Helen Baylor
   Helen Baylor is an American gospel singer.Baylor was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and raised in Los Angeles, where she first performed as a secular nightclub act. She opened for Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and B.B. King while still in her teens, and performed in the musical Hair...
   
    - 4:54
8. "Pressing On" - Chicago Mass Choir
   Chicago Mass Choir
   The Chicago Mass Choir is an American gospel choir from Chicago, Illinois.The ensemble was founded in 1988 by James C. Chambers, who was also the founder of the Ecclesiastes Community Choir. Their debut album was issued in 1991; that year they were named Best New Artist at the Gospel Music...
   
    - 6:06
9. "Saved" - The Mighty Clouds of Joy - 4:43
10. "When He Returns" - The Rance Allen Group
    The Rance Allen Group
    The Rance Allen Group is a gospel music group formed in Monroe, Michigan, and based in Toledo, Ohio. The group's incorporation of rock and soul into traditional gospel music prefigures the crossover success of such artists as Amy Grant, Andrae Crouch, and The Winans.The Rance Allen Group was formed...
    
     - 5:53
11. "Gonna Change My Way of Thinking" - Bob Dylan & Mavis Staples
    Mavis Staples
    Mavis Staples is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family's band.-Biography:...
    
    - 5:17

Executive Producer Jeffrey Gaskill

Produced by Joel Moss