Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth Minnesota on the 24th May 1941. Inspired by a mix of country music and rock and roll, Bob Dylan was involved in several bands during his high school years. He attended the University of Minnesota in 1959 where he became interested in folk music; it was during performances at this time that he began calling himself Bob Dylan.
He left university after a year and moved to New York; it was there that he befriended his folk heroes; Woody Guthrie and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. This afforded him a number of gigs in Greenwich Village but it was when he played harmonica on Carolyn Hester’s third album that he attracted attention for himself and earned a contract with Columbia Records.
By 1962 he had recorded his first album for the label Bob Dylan although it made little impact at the time. His fortunes turned around after he appointed Albert Grossman as his manager, he toured the UK and made appearances both as an actor and performer on the BBC earning him a much enhanced reputation by the time his second album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan was released. Proving himself a skilled writer of protest songs, one of the album’s best known tracks was the classic Blowin’ in the Wind.
1963 saw Dylan practice what he preached by being actively involved in the civil rights movement and continuing to pen tracks such as The Times They Are a-Changin’. The summer of 1965 saw Bob Dylan court controversy when he headlined the Newport Folk Festival playing a full electric set which was met with boos by many who felt he was betraying his folk roots. Such reactions continued when the following year he famously played Manchester’s Free Trade Hall and a member of the audience cried “Judas”. Ironically this all occurred during what has been hailed as his classic period in which he released the trilogy of albums; Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. Among the tracks on the albums was Like a Rolling Stone a song held in such regard that it topped Rolling Stone Magazine’s poll to find the greatest song of all time. This was also the time that Dylan was married to Sara Lownds.
July 1966 saw a dramatic event in the life of the folk singer when he was involved in a motorbike crash. Although the extent of the injuries were shrouded in mystery he withdrew from public life recording his next album (John Wesley Harding) nineteen months later and not touring for eight years. After a decline in live appearances and unpredictable output Dylan signed to Asylum records in 1973 releasing the album Blood on the Tracks a year later.
The end of the decade saw Dylan become a born-again Christian and released a pair of gospel albums which were unpopular with a number of fans and musicians alike.
The 1980s saw a mix of quality in Dylan’s releases but he still performed at Live Aid in 1985 and was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame as well as playing with the Travelling Wilburys alongside the likes of George Harrison. Among Dylan’s nineties output was one of his best loved albums, Time Out of Mind and moved into the next decade winning an Oscar for his song Things Have Changed. 2006 saw the star form a growing reputation as a DJ with his syndicated program Theme Time Radio Hour as well as continuing his run of albums with Modern Times.
The singer continues to tour with his most recent release being the seasonal album Christmas in the Heart.
