At the beginning, it was just a gig, he toldRolling Stonein 2013.
Bob said, You want to play with me tonight?
I wasnt a folkie or knew how serious those people were.
Barry Goldberg, 1997Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
We started doing our thing, playing that song [Like a Rolling Stone].
At the end, there were boos but also cheers.
They felt betrayed by him.
His death was announced by his friend and publicist, Bob Merlis.
(Goldberg himself wasnt portrayed in the scene.)
But it was just one of many times that Goldberg made his impact on rock history.
4 hit in 1966.
(Bruce Springsteen later covered that song at the 1979 No Nukes concerts at Madison Square Garden.)
He left a massive imprint.
He was there and did it all.
You could make a movie of his life.
But Goldberg quickly swept up in blues thanks to his local radio.
And it just flipped me out, all the reverb and harmonica.
I said, Oh my God, this is supernatural music.
It cast a spell.
I couldnt talk to any of my buddies in school about it: The blues, what is that?
They were into rock.
Michael said to me, You should come down with me and play with me, Goldberg toldRS.
I thought this was amazing, such a bold move.
No one ever crossed those lines in Chicago.
It was dangerous, put it that way.
But Michael borrowed his mothers car and we went to a club called Silvios.
We wanted to learn so bad from the masters.
We walked in and it was like that scene inAnimal House: Wait until Otis see us!
Howlin Wolf saw us in the club and a hush came over.
It was really freaky.
There we were, these little white guys.
We were freaks: What do these kids want?
What are they doing here?
But Wolf invited us up and we did Killing Floor, and that was it for me.
The Flag didnt last long, but Goldbergs career continued on various fronts.
It gave rock more feeling and soul.
It added more depth and feeling, more realness to the music.
Whatever hardships you come from in your family background, the blues is your therapy.
