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Permalink Reply by Stepeanut on Sunday

For the record, here is the full document that is being sold at auction:

https://propstoreauction.com/lot-details/index/catalog/498/lot/1948...

I concur that the signatures are most likely by the same hand and, therefore, not authentic.

Quite aside from the signatures, the document raises multiple red flags for me:

— The Band were not known by that name in December 1965.  They were still The Hawks.  The Band moniker started as a nickname by local residents of Woodstock, NY, in 1967.

— The Band would not be listed as individual performers on a Bob Dylan contract at this stage in their career.  They were essentially faceless backing musicians.  Dylan’s contracts during this period listed him alone.

— Bob Dylan was never with Creative Management Associates (CMA).  His booking agent in the 1960s was International Talent Associates (ITA), who merged with General Artists Corporation (GAC) in 1964.

— Bob Dylan formed a touring production company in the mid-sixties called Ashes and Sand.  Their name appeared on contracts, press adverts, and even ticket stubs during this period.  It is notable by its absence from this document.

— Tickets for Dylan’s 12 February 1966 concert in Norfolk, VA bear the names of Super Attraction Inc. and Ashes & Sand.  Again, there is no mention of either company in the document.

— The address and phone number on the document is that of GAC-ITA, not CMA.  CMA was based at 9255 Sunset Boulevard.

— The CMA logo on the document does not appear on a legitimate CMA contract that I have seen from 1966.  The earliest use I can find for that logo dates to 1967.

— The document was supposedly signed on 4 December 1965.  Dylan was playing a concert in Berkeley, CA on this date.  I find it doubtful that a local promoter from Virginia would fly across the country, in 1965, to obtain an artist’s signature, but then not approve the document until seven weeks later.  The lead time for the signing of the contract is also unusually long for the period.

— The contract is stamped, "Approved Jan 23." 23 January 1966 was a Sunday. Not impossible they would be working that day, but unlikely.

I could go on, but there’s enough here to throw serious doubt on the authenticity of the document.

For the record, here is a legitimate Bob Dylan contract from 1965:

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