Bob Dylan's opaque and divisive reputation creates an illusion of being alienated from his fellow musician, but not even this prolific songwriter is immune to fanning over certain artists he greatly admires. In one particular case, that admiration was mutual and led to an enduring, style-bending Dylan duet from 1969, "Girl from the North Country."

The duet was a long time coming, with Dylan referencing his dream collaboration years before it would come to be. But as they say, good things come to those who wait.

Folk and country music of the 1950s and '60s had more similarities than differences, so it's unsurprising that two superstars in either genre would attract one another's attention. Such was the case for Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, who began a correspondence with one another in the early 1960s. As Cash recalled in his 1997 autobiography, he was the first to write a letter.

"I took note of Bob Dylan as soon as the Bob Dylan album came out in early '62 and listened almost constantly to The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in '63. I had a portable record player I'd take along on the road, and I'd put on Freewheelin' backstage, then go out and do my show, then listen again as soon as I came off. After a while at that, I wrote Bob a letter telling him how much of a fan I was. He wrote back almost immediately, saying he'd been following my music since "I Walk The Line.""

"Mostly, it was about music," Cash continued. "What we ourselves were doing, what other people were doing, what I knew about so-and-so and he didn't and vice versa. He asked me about country people. I asked him about the circles he moved in. I still have all his letters."

Cash went on to describe a heartwarming moment between him, his partner, June Carter, Dylan, and Dylan's partner, Joan Baez. The group had just met each other at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964. "I don't have many memories of that event," Cash wrote, "but I do remember June and me and Bob and Joan Baez in my hotel room, so happy to meet each other that we were jumping on the bed like kids."

In the mid-1960s, the world was Bob Dylan's oyster. Dylan was transitioning from acoustic folkie to electric rock star at this time, but he still felt a connection to his Americana roots. Dylan told Music Business magazine he wanted to collaborate with Johnny Cash on the "Nashville sound" in 1965. However, Dylan shifted his focus toward his first electric album, Highway 61 Revisited instead.

Several years later, Dylan finally got the dream collaboration he always wanted. He and Cash recorded a duet version of "Girl from the North Country" for Dylan's 1969 country album, Nashville Skyline. The duet was notable for many reasons. Not only was this album Dylan's first foray into the country genre. But it also featured Dylan and Cash seemingly switching off vocal styles.

Whereas Cash delivered his lines in a rubato, almost speech-like way, Dylan adopted a lilting, melodic approach, unlike his previous records. It was as if either artist wanted to try on the other's technique for size while recording "Girl From the North Country," and the result was timeless. As Kris Kristofferson would later put it to Rolling Stone, "the Grand Ole Opry was never the same" after Cash escorted Dylan into the country scene.

Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images