NEW YORK — Bob Dylan says if he weren’t a musician, he would be a teacher.
The 73-year-old is on the cover of AARP magazine’s February/March issue. He says in an interview that “if I had to do it all over again, I’d be a schoolteacher.” He adds that he “probably” would have taught Roman history or theology.
Dylan will release “Shadows In the Night” on Feb. 3. The album features songs from the 1920s to the 1960s, including standards like “Autumn Leaves,” ”That Lucky Old Sun” and “Stay With Me.”
The songs also were recorded by Frank Sinatra. Dylan says he thinks Sinatra would “be amazed I did these songs with a five-piece band.”
Dylan is giving 50,000 readers of the magazine a free copy of his album.
In the interview, Dylan is asked if the Sinatra album was a risky undertaking, when asked: “These songs have fans who will say you can’t touch Frank’s version.”
Dylan replies:
Risky? Like walking across a field laced with land mines? Or working in a poison gas factory? There’s nothing risky about making records. Comparing me with Frank Sinatra? You must be joking. To be mentioned in the same breath as him must be some sort of high compliment. As far as touching him goes, nobody touches him. Not me or anyone else.
Read the full interview here.
AP
