Dylan, Bob
Born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24th 1941, Minnesota, USA
Biography
Bob Dylan, taking his name from the poet Thomas Dylan, made his way to New York in 1961. Already having played in a rock and roll band called the Golden chords at high school, and having performed as a folk singer, Dylan made a strong presence on the New York scene. After only four months in New York, Dylan supported Johnny Lee Hooker and began to receive glowing reviews. It was on the basis of one of these reviews that Dylan was signed by Columbia records in the autumn of 1961.
His debut album titled Bob Dylan was released in 1962. It consisted of folk and blues material, although much of the content was not original work by Dylan. His follow up album Freewheelin’, released in 1963 was a showcase for Dylan’s original song writing. His songs spoke of political protest, and matched with his unique vocals, they captured the minds and hearts of the American folk community. Dylan had begun to open gigs for Joan Baez, with whom he would have an on-off personal involvement over the years.
1964 saw the release of The Times They Are A Changin’, another of Dylan’s folk albums that explored some of the deeper, darker issues of life and humanity. Still dubbed as his protest period, Dylan’s lyrics were poetical, literal and full of potential political meaning for his fans.
Dylan’s music became progressively more blues and rock influenced. He also had an influence on the pop scene of the day, as bands such as The Byrds and The Turtles had huge hits with Dylan’s compositions. The Byrds with Mr Tambourine Man, and the turtles with It Aint Me Babe.
In 1965 Dylan married Sara Lowndes. Shortly after, he was involved in a motorcycle accident and spent much of his time at home with his wife, with whom he raised four children. He also recorded in seclusion with his touring band, the Band. His music continued to influence those in the music scene of the time. Jimi Hendrix covered Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower. Dylan was also said to have introduced the Beatles to pot for the first time.
Dylan releases more albums, his most successful being New Morning in 1970, seen as his comeback album. The next few years see Dylan moving into other artistic realms. Tarantula, his book of prose and poetry is published in 1971 and in 1972 he writes music for and acts in the movie Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid. A collection of his lyrics and sketches is published in 1973 under the title of Writings and Drawings.
In 1974, Dylan releases new music and starts his first tour since 1966. In 1975 he tours with an entourage including Joan Baez amongst others. During this period, Dylan’s marriage comes to an end and Dylan struggles to cope with the divorce. Both private people, Bob and Sara have not spoken about the ending of their marriage, although reports suggest Sara found Dylan’s fame and his fans difficult to deal with, and Dylan struggled to reconcile touring with family life.
Dylan becomes committed to Christianity and this is reflected in his music, primarily in the late 1970s. From this time onwards Dylan tours to a great extent, performing almost endlessly, still performing to this day. He has received several nominations for the Nobel Prize in literature. In 2001 Dylan won an Oscar for the best song with Things Have Changed, written for the movie Wonder Boys.
Discography
Bob Dylan's music - albums
Bob Dylan's discography is truly vast if you consider all albums, including live and comilation albums, singles and music from his time with 'The Band'. He's also appeared and collaborated with other artists such as Johnny cash, Eric Clapton and warren Zevon to name a few. We've listed Dylan's studio albums for you below.
1962 Bob Dylan
1963 The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
1964 The Times They Are A-Changin'
1964 Another Side of Bob Dylan
1965 Bringing It All Back Home
1965 Highway 61 Revisited
1966 Blonde on Blonde
1967 John Wesley Harding
1969 Nashville Skyline
1970 Self Portrait
1970 New Morning
1973 Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
1973 Dylan
1974 Planet Waves
1975 Blood on the Tracks
1975 The Basement Tapes
1976 Desire
1978 Street Legal
1979 Slow Train Coming
1980 Saved
1981 Shot of Love
1983 Infidels
1985 Empire Burlesque
1986 Knocked Out Loaded
1988 Down in the Groove
1989 Oh Mercy
1990 Under the Red Sky
1992 Good as I Been to You
1993 World Gone Wrong
1997 Time Out of Mind
2001 Love and Theft
2003 Masked and Anonymous
Quotes by Bob Dylan
"Chaos is a friend of mine," Bob Dylan
"I started smoking at 11 years old an' only stopped once to catch my breath." Bob Dylan
"I consider myself a poet first and a musician second. I live like a poet and I'll die like a poet." Bob Dylan
"Being noticed can be a burden. Jesus got himself crucified because he got himself noticed. So I disappear a lot." Bob Dylan
"Morality has nothing in common with politics." bob Dylan
From 'No Direction Home' A Martin Scorcese documtentary charting Dylan's life and influence. Bob Dylan
(After being told there is someone outside claiming they are going to shoot him)
"Hey man... I don't mind being shot, I just don't dig being told about it. " Bob Dylan
"She was wicked looking -- shiny black hair that hung down over the curve of slender hips, drooping lashes, partly raised, no Raggedy Ann doll. The sight of her made me high. All that and then there was her voice. A voice that drove out bad spirits. It was like she'd come down from another planet." - About Joan Baez
Quotes about Bob Dylan
"I love Bob Dylan, I really do. I love his early work, I love the first time he plugged in electrically, I love his Christian albums, I love his other albums." Johnny Cash
