The Peter Stone Brown Archive YouTube channel recently posted this restored clip, "Bob Dylan goes Motown." It features two songs that Dylan performed for the Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute that was recorded live at the Kennedy Center and aired on NBC on January 20, 1986. The Washington Post explains that this was the first official celebration of the national holiday:
The concert, featuring Wonder, Ross, Murphy, Hines, Dylan, Debbie Allen, Amy Grant, the Pointer Sisters, Judith Jamison, the Alvin Ailey Dancers, Peter, Paul and Mary and others, will cap a week of King tributes and the first official celebration of the new national holiday in King's memory.
It will also mark the resolution of a highly personal five-year campaign by Wonder to help establish that holiday.
In the clip from the show, Bob Dylan first sings "I Shall Be Released," with Stevie Wonder's band and the Queens of Rhythm. In the second performance, "Blowin' in the Wind," he's joined on stage by folk legends Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers (Peter, Paul, and Mary), along with Stevie Wonder. According to the Washington Post, that was the first time they had all sung that classic 1960s anthem together. Dylan does a terrific job on both songs, but for me the real standout is Stevie Wonder. Enjoy! And to learn more about how the concert came together, read the rest of the Washington Post piece here.