One of my favourite tracks of 1965 was Can you please crawl out your window? by The Vacels. Later released and, I believe, written by Bob Dylan. What is the story behind this forgotten gem?

As far as I know, Dylan recorded it with what became The Band, was angered by the underwhelmed response of Phil Ochs and let the cover version get the first release. But that's possibly muddled in my memory. It ended up as a B side for Dylan, didn't it/

I love the song (Phil Ochs was a close friend and named The Weathermen for me).
Dylan's version is far better than The Vacels now I've heard both.

There's a terrific story here about one of the seminal Dylan songs and lyrics ("You've got a lot of nerve to say you are my friend" - magic - written BEFORE Positively 4th St?) with one of the classic titles. Was it the start of the "electric" era which culminated in Blonde on Blonde? Did he scrap it because of Phil's comments? I do hope there's Internet in Heaven (doubt it; invention of Lucifer) and that Phil is reading this!

According to the liner notes to the "Highway 61 Revisited Again"-Bootleg, Dylan recorded the song at the sessions for "Highway 61 Revisited" between June 15 and August 2, 1965.

On the bootleg there are two version of "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window":

The one (duration 3:35) which also appears on CD 2 of the "Biograph" box set, and a longer (4:06) one.