On This Day, Jan. 5, 1976: Bob Dylan releases his 17th studio album, ‘Desire’

On This Day Jan. 5, 1976…

Fifty years ago, Bob Dylan released his 17th studio album, Desire, which went to #1 on the Billboard chart, and remained there for five weeks.

The album, the follow up to 1975’s Blood on the Tracks, had Dylan backed by the musicians he used for his Rolling Thunder Revue tours, with Emmylou Harris and Ronee Blakley providing backup vocals.

Notable songs on the album include “Hurricane,” which he wrote about the murder case against boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, as well as “Isis” and “Sara,” the latter of which was written about his wife.

Many of the tunes on the album were co-written by Jacques Levy, and in 2020 Levy’s estate sued Dylan and Universal Music Group claiming they were entitled to compensation from the sale of Dylan’s catalog. Dylan’s lawyers claimed Levy was hired under a “work for hire” arrangement, and Dylan won the suit.

Desire went on to become one of Dylan’s best-selling studio albums, and has been certified double platinum by the RIAA.