Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the boxer who was the subject of Bob Dylan's iconic 1975 song "Hurricane", has died following a battle with prostate cancer,USA Today reports. He was 76.
In 1967, three white people were shot by two black men in Paterson, New Jersey. Carter and his friend John Artis were brought to the hospital bedside of one of the dying men, who did not I.D. the two men. Ultimately, Carter and Artis were convicted by an all-white jury based on testimony from criminal Alfred Bello, who later recanted his story. Carter was sentenced to life in prison.
In 1975, Carter sent Dylan a copy of his autobiographyThe Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender to #45472. According toRolling Stone, Dylan visited Carter in prison within a month of receiving the book. Dylan told an interviewer at the time:
"The first time I saw him, I left knowing one thing ... I realized that the man's philosophy and my philosophy were running down the same road, and you don't meet too many people like that."
He andproducer Jacques Levy co-wrote "Hurricane", which was performed during his Rolling Thunder Revue tour and appeared on his albumDesire. In the 1970s, it was a rare protest song from Dylan, and it's one that helped bring Carter's story into the public eye.
On December 7, 1975, the Revue performed at Carter's New Jersey prison. Dylan also hosted two major benefit concerts for Carter's legal fund, which featured performances from Stevie Wonder, Isaac Hayes,Santana, Richie Havens, the Band's Rick Danko, and others.
In 1976, following Bello's recantation, the initial convictions were overturned; Carter and Artis were given another trial. They were convicted again and imprisoned for eight more years before a Newark district court judge overturned the conviction.
Of course, the story is better told by Dylan:
