Bob Dylan Biography

Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, poet, and disc jockey who has influenced American culture for more than five decades.

Much of Dylan's best-known work stems from the 1960s when he became an unofficial historian of American turmoil and a reluctant figurehead. Several of his songs, like "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'," became anti-war and civil rights anthems, despite Dylan's refusal to remain actively involved in politics.

His later work demonstrates a persistent commitment to numerous American song traditions, ranging from folk and country/blues through gospel, rock and roll, and rockabilly, as well as English, Scottish, and Irish folk music, jazz, and swing. Dylan plays the guitar, piano, and harmonica in his performances. He's been touring steadily since the late 1980s on what's been nicknamed the "Never Ending Tour," backed by a rotating cast of musicians.

Although his performances and recordings have been important to his career, his songwriting is widely recognised as his greatest contribution. Songs like "Like a Rolling Stone," "Mr Tambourine Man," "You've Got To Serve Somebody," and many others cemented his reputation as the twentieth century's most influential singer-songwriter. "For having produced new lyrical interpretations within the great American song heritage," Dylan received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016.

(Image Will Be Updated Soon)

Bob Dylan Biography

• Bob Dylan Birth Date: May 24, 1941

• Place of Birth: Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.

• Dylan Age: 80 years old

• Bob Dylan Death Date: N.A. 

• Bob Dylan Genre:  Folk, blues, rock, gospel, country, traditional pop, vocal jazz

• Dylan Family:

• Spouses- Sara Dylan (m. 1965; div. 1977)​
  Carolyn Dennis ​(m. 1986; div. 1992)

• Children- 6, including Jesse and Jakob
  
  

Bob Dylan Early Years and Career

Origins and Musical Beginnings

Robert Allen Zimmerman was born in Duluth, Minnesota, on May 24, 1941, and grew up there as well as in adjacent Hibbing, Minnesota, west of Lake Superior. Abram Zimmerman and Beatrice "Beatty" Stone, his parents, were members of the small but close-knit Jewish community in the area.

Zimmerman grew up listening to the radio, first to the loud blues and country stations transmitting from Shreveport, Louisiana, and then to early rock & roll radio stations. Zimmerman formed many bands in high school, and his desire in his 1959 school yearbook was to "join Little Richard."

In September 1959, Zimmerman enrolled at the University of Minnesota. His early passion in rock and roll gave way to an interest in American folk music when he was there. He quickly became involved in Minneapolis' Dinkytown folk-music scene, socialising with local folk fans and identifying himself on stage as "Bob Dylan."

Move to New York and Record Deal

At the end of his freshman year, Dylan dropped out of college. He relocated to New York City in January 1961. He paid a visit to his ill musical idol Woody Guthrie and met Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Guthrie's old travelling companion, as well as a slew of other musicians involved in the New York folk-music scene.

From April through September 1961, Dylan performed at several venues in Greenwich Village, gaining notoriety thanks to a favourable review of a gig he performed at Gerde's Folk City in the New York Times by writer Robert Shelton. Later that year, producer John Hammond noticed Dylan and signed him to Columbia Records in October.

(Image Will Be Updated Soon)

Bob Dylan performing at St. Lawrence University in New York, 1963.

Dylan's first album, Bob Dylan (1962), featured a mix of familiar folk, blues, and gospel songs, as well as two of his own compositions. This record didn't do well in its first year, selling barely 5,000 copies. Dylan changed his name to Robert Dylan in August 1962 and signed a management deal with Albert Grossman, who remained Dylan's manager until 1970. Dylan had already established himself as a songwriter by the time his second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, was released in May 1963. "Blowin' in the Wind," his most recognised song at the time, was extensively covered and became a worldwide hit for Peter, Paul, and Mary.

Dylan quickly established himself as a leading figure in the Greenwich Village-based folk music scene. Despite the fact that his singing voice was untrained and had an uncommon edge, it had a distinct expressiveness that gave his songs a tragic and urgent tone. His most famous early songs, on the other hand, were first made popular by other performers' interpretations, which were more immediately appealing.

Protest and Another Side

Joan Baez became Dylan's biggest supporter and lover, inviting him on stage at her own shows and recording a number of his early songs. By 1963, Dylan and Baez had become renowned figures in the civil rights movement, performing together at events such as the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous "I have a dream" address.

(Image Will Be Updated Soon)

Dylan with Joan Baez during the Civil Rights March in Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963

The title song from Dylan's following album, The Times They Are a-Changin', cemented his image as a protest writer, expressing the spirit of what seemed to be an inescapable political and generational transition. The CD also included songs about the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, love songs like "Boots of Spanish Leather" and "One Too Many Mornings," and a messianic tune called "When the Ship Comes In." The renunciatory "Restless Farewell" was also a foreshadowing of things to come, suggesting a shift in Dylan's mood toward the sardonic.

Dylan felt misled and confined by the folk and protest groups by the end of 1963, particularly the latter, which saw him as its poet laureate and prophet. Another Side of Bob Dylan, his follow-up album, had a significantly lighter tone than its predecessor.

Going Electric

Dylan's physical appearance evolved dramatically in 1964 and 1965 as he transitioned from the folk scene to a more rock-oriented look, replacing his grungy jeans and work shirts with a Carnaby Street wardrobe. Bringing It All Back Home, released in March 1965, was his first album to incorporate electronic instruments. Its debut single, "Subterranean Homesick Blues," was heavily influenced by Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business," and was later given an early music video courtesy of D. A. Pennebaker's cinéma vérité documentary Don't Look Back, which chronicled Dylan's 1965 tour of England. The militant Weatherman organisation drew their name from a phrase in the song in 1969: "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing."

In the spring of 1965, Dylan embarked on a successful tour of England. However, while headlining at the Newport Folk Festival that summer, he sparked a significant uproar with his first public electric show, backed by a pickup group made of largely of members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Dylan was greeted with a combination of applause and jeers, and he abruptly exited the stage after only three songs. Outraged folk enthusiasts reportedly booed Dylan, believing he had betrayed the idiom and sold out to commercialism. Dylan reappeared soon after, singing two solo acoustic pieces, "Mr Tambourine Man" and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," the latter regarded by some to be an intended signal to his audience to leave him alone.

Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde

Dylan's most successful single, "Like a Rolling Stone," was released in July 1965 and reached number two in the United States and number four in the United Kingdom. With a length of almost six minutes, this song is largely recognised with changing perceptions of both the content and structure of the pop single. The song became a hippie anthem, and Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number one on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time in 2004.

Mike Bloomfield's blues guitar and Dylan's obvious and sometimes gleeful enjoyment of the grotesque flavoured Dylan's next album, Highway 61 Revisited, which featured surreal litanies of the grotesque, flavoured by Mike Bloomfield's blues guitar and Dylan's obvious and sometimes gleeful enjoyment of the grotesque.

Dylan was booked for two U.S. gigs in support of the album, so he set about putting together a band. Mike Bloomfield refused to leave the Butterfield Band, and neither Al Kooper nor Harvey Brooks from Dylan's studio staff wanted to tour with him, so Dylan hired Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm's band, The Hawks, to be his tour band. On the road, Dylan and the Hawks found increasingly sympathetic crowds, but in the studio, they struggled. For a long time, producer Bob Johnston tried to persuade Dylan to record in Nashville, and in February 1966, Dylan, Robertson, and Kooper recorded the Nashville sessions that resulted in the album Blonde on Blonde (1966).

Many critics regard Dylan's mid-'60s trilogy of albums—Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blonde on Blonde—as one of the twentieth century's great cultural triumphs.

Dylan married Sara Lownds on November 22, 1965.

The Woodstock Years

Dylan returned to New York after his European tour, but the political, psychological, and professional demands on him continued to mount. His publisher, Macmillan, demanded a final copy of the poem/novel Tarantula after ABC Television had given an advance for TV production. Meanwhile, Albert Grossman, the manager, had already planned a summer and fall concert tour.

On July 29, 1966, while riding his Triumph 500 motorcycle near his house in Woodstock, New York, the brakes on his motorcycle locked, breaking many vertebrae in his neck and forcing him to withdraw from the public. In 1967, he began recording music with the Hawks at his home and in the "Big Pink" basement of the Hawks' nearby home.

Dylan returned to Nashville in October and November 1967 to record what would become the John Wesley Harding album. Only Nashville musicians Charlie McCoy on bass, Kenny Buttrey on drums, and Pete Drake on steel guitar accompanied him. Dylan's first album since the motorcycle accident was a reflective collection of shorter songs set in a landscape that took inspiration from both the American West and the Bible. The song's sparse structure and music signified a break not only from Dylan's previous work but also from the 1960s psychedelic fervour. It includes the ominous "All Along the Watchtower," which had lyrics based on Isaiah (21:5–9). Later versions of the song were recorded by Jimi Hendrix, whose famed version Dylan himself regarded as canonical.

Nashville Skyline

Nashville Skyline (1969), Dylan's next album, featured more instrumental support from Nashville musicians, including a prominent appearance by Pete Drake on steel guitar and a new, unusually mellow-voiced Dylan. There was also a duet with Johnny Cash on the album, as well as the hit single "Lay Lady Lay," which peaked at number five on the US pop charts.

Critics complained in the early 1970s that Bob Dylan's release/production was inconsistent in quality. Self Portrait, a double LP with only a few original songs, garnered mixed reviews. Dylan released the New Morning LP later that year, which was hailed as a return to form by some. It peaked at number seven in the United States, giving Bob Dylan his sixth number one in the United Kingdom.

"If Not for You," a song from the album, peaked at number 25 on the US pop charts and spent three weeks at the top of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. With the devotional song "Father of Night," the album also hinted at spiritual things to come.

Dylan recorded "Watching The River Flow" and a new version of "When I Paint My Masterpiece" in March 1971. Dylan's lone album released in 1971 or 1972 was Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II, which featured a number of re-workings of previously unreleased Basement Tapes tunes like "I Shall Be Released" and "You Ain't Going Nowhere."

Return to Performing

After his contract with Columbia Records expired in 1973, Dylan signed with David Geffen's Asylum label. With The Band, he recorded Planet Waves. The album includes two renditions of "Forever Young," one of Dylan's most well-known songs, written for one of his children.

Dylan and The Band embarked on a high-profile, coast-to-coast tour of North America in January 1974. Bill Graham, the tour's promoter, stated he received more ticket purchase requests than any other artist's previous tour. Before the Flood, a live double album from the tour was released on Asylum.

Dylan and his wife became publicly split after the tour. He quickly returned to Columbia Records, and Blood on the Tracks was reissued in early 1975. Dylan, along with Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, and Neil Young, performed at The Band's "farewell" concert in November 1976. The Last Waltz, Martin Scorsese's acclaimed film about the event, was released in 1978 and featured nearly half of Dylan's set.

Street Legal, Dylan's 1978 album, was one of his most intricate and cohesive lyrically. However, it was marred by a terrible sound mix until it was remastered and released on CD nearly a quarter-century later.

The 1980s: Broadening Out

Dylan briefly resumed touring in the fall of 1980, bringing back several of his most hit 1960s tunes. The next spring, Dylan released Shot of Love, which continued in a Christian vein but also included his first secular works in over two years.

Dylan proceeded to extend the themes of his songwriting in the late 1980s, abandoning his openly religious themes. From the critically acclaimed Infidels in 1983 to the critically panned Down in the Groove in 1988, Dylan's recorded work was of varying quality. ‘Infidels’ is remarkable for its return to a passionate but less dogmatic spirituality, as well as its superb production values, which include Mick Taylor's guitar work.

In 1985, Dylan contributed vocals to the track "We Are the World," which raised money for Africa's famine relief. He performed at the conclusion of the Live Aid concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia on July 13, 1985. On Kurtis Blow's Kingdom Blow album in 1986, he began his debut into the field of rap music, which some of his chanted poetry ballads and talking blues numbers helped to influence. Dylan toured extensively with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers in 1986 and Spring 1987, sharing vocals with Petty on several songs each night.

The 1990s: Not Dark Yet

Under the Red Sky (1990) marked the start of Dylan's 1990s, a clear departure from the sombre Oh Mercy. The album was dedicated to "Gabby Goo Goo," Dylan's four-year-old daughter, and featured several deceptively simple songs, such as "Under the Red Sky," which some interpret as an allegory betraying a deep sense of disillusionment, as Dylan declares at the end of his fairy-tale lyric that "the man in the moon went home and the river went dry."

George Harrison, Slash from Guns N' Roses, David Crosby, Bruce Hornsby, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Elton John were among the album's sidemen. Despite the strong lineup, the album garnered negative reviews and did not sell well.

In December 1997, U.S. President Bill Clinton presented Dylan with a Kennedy Center Honor in the East Room of the White House, saying, "He probably had more impact on people of my generation than any other creative artist."

2000 and Beyond: Things Have Changed

Dylan earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and an Academy Award for Best Song in 2000 for his song "Things Have Changed," which he wrote for the film Wonder Boys.

Love and Theft, which was self-produced under the pseudonym Jack Frost and released on September 11, 2001, has been hailed as one of Dylan's best recent albums.

Modern Times was released on August 29, 2005. Despite some coarsening of Dylan's voice, most reviewers praised the album, and many referred to it as the third and final piece of a successful trilogy that included Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft.

Dylan's disc jockey career began on May 3, 2006, when he began hosting Theme Time Radio Hour, a weekly radio show on XM Satellite Radio.

Todd Haynes' film I'm Not There, written and directed by him, was released in August 2007, with the slogan "inspired by Bob Dylan's music and many lives."

On October 1, Columbia Records released Dylan, a three-disc retrospective album that spans his whole career.

Simon & Schuster revealed in April 2008 that Dylan was working on the second volume of his planned three-part autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One.

For the entirety of the 1990s and 2000s, Dylan's "Never Ending Tour," which began on June 7, 1988, has played around 100 dates per year. In 2010, about 2300 performances were recorded.