David Hersk built a recording studio in his parents basement in the mid-fifties, which became Gaity Records. David’s friend Derik Olson tells a story David never told publicly, but shared with him at lunch one day:

In 1959 a group of folkies from Dinkytown came into his basement studio to record a few tracks. Among them was Bob Zimmerman. Bob sat down at the piano that David had in the studio. After banging away loudly for a few minutes, David asked him to stop, because he just wasn’t making anything that sounded good to David’s ears. David doesn’t remember who the group was, or what they recorded. So that’s the story of the almost first time Bob Dylan ever recorded in a studio. If that disc had been made, with Bob on it, it would be worth tens of thousands of dollars, I’m sure. David didn’t want me to write about that story on my blog, for fear of backlash from Bob. I assured him that I was sure Bob wouldn’t care, or have any legal recourse even if he did. But David asked me to not share the story, so I didn’t. Now that he is gone, I feel people should know about this little tidbit of MN music history.

Thanks for sharing, Derik.  Read more about Gaity Here.  David passed away on July 19, 2016.