Dylan producer Bob Johnston dead at 83

Bob Johnston, a Columbia Records producer who worked with artists including Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, has died aged 83.

He was behind the desk for Dylan’s Blonde On Blonde album in 1966, and also oversaw Johnny Cash’s live records At Folsom Prison in 1968 and 1969’s At San Quentin.

One of Johnston’s friends confirmed the news of his death at a Nashville hospice to The Austin Chronicle: “Bob’s wife told me he passed away peacefully. The grand master waved his magical wand for the last time, then disappeared off into the night.”

Johnston was born in Texas in 1932 and before landing a job as in-house producer at Columbia Records, he wrote tracks for Elvis Presley and Bill Haley And His Comets.

He went on to work with a range of artists, including Leonard Cohen, Simon And Garfunkel, the Byrds, Pete Seeger, Jimmy Cliff, Marty Robbins and Willie Nelson.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.