Barry Goldberg, Keyboardist Who Performed with Bob Dylan at 1965 Newport Folk Festival, Dies at 83

Mar. 15, 2025

Barry Goldberg in 1997.Photo:Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Barry Goldberg, keyboardist who performed withBob Dylanat the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, has died. He was 83 years old.

Reps for Goldberg confirm to PEOPLE that he died on on Wednesday, Jan. 22, while in hospice following a non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis with his family at his side.

Goldberg was born on Dec. 25, 1941 in Chicago. He was the grandson ofU.S. Supreme Court JusticeArthur Goldberg.

In high school, Goldberg and guitarist Mike Bloomfield visited nightclubs in Chicago’s south side. Soon, artists such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy and Otis Rush would become mentors of Goldberg.

Barry Goldberg in 1997.Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Throughout his career, Goldberg’s performing, writing and producing credits extend to artists such asSteve Miller,the Ramones,Leonard Cohen,Stephen StillsandRod Stewart.

Beyond their performance at the Newport Folk Festival with Dylan, 83, in 1965, the pair would perform with Doug Sahm and The Band in Woodstock. Goldberg’s self-titled 1974 album was the only project Dylan produced for another musician. Goldberg would later return the favor, producing Dylan’s “People Get Ready” in 1990.

Barry Goldberg’s self-titled album cover.Blank Archives/Getty

Blank Archives/Getty

The 1965 Newport Folk Festival was the focal point of theDylan biopicA Complete Unknown. ActorJustin Levineportrays the keyboardist in the film, also starring Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning and Scoot McNairy.

Goldberg wrote about the festival night for the news siteForward, calling the experience a “wonderful dream,” a “nightmare” and then “a wonderful dream again.” He found himself at a party with Dylan and was introduced to him through a mutual friend, who suggested he play keyboard for him.

“The magic was definitely there that night, for all of us, as soon as the lights went on and we saw Dylan coming out, all in black, with that Stratocaster strapped on. That was a statement in itself, but it was also so much more,” he wrote. “You felt how important his presence was, and how important what he was doing was; you knew it had meaning.”

When Dylan performed with an electric guitar, which was a departure from his folk music and ultimately changed the pop music genre, the crowd was divided. Some booed, some cheered.

Barry Goldberg, Stephen Stills, Chris Layton, Kevin McCormick and Kenny Wayne Shepherd in 2016.Shutterstock / Sterling Munksgard

Shutterstock / Sterling Munksgard

“I had done my thing with Bob, and that was more than I could have ever hoped for, to go from not being able to play at the festival to taking this momentous jump into the musical unknown,” he concluded.

“I knew that some kind of force, some kind of fate, some kind of thing had come along and touched me, and I wasn’t going to f— with it.”

source: people.com