Dylan onstage at New York’s Bitter End, 1961 | Sigmund Goode/Getty
Written by Emma Weaver
Bob Dylan is one of the most well known and highly regarded musicians. He has revolutionized popular music and our overall culture in such a beautiful, artistic manner. Not only is he a sensational singer-songwriter, but he is a phenomenal painter and writer as well. His work has served as inspiration for all aspiring artists and, really, all individuals. Dylan has been involved in the Civil Rights Movements, the anti-war movement, and has provided a substantial base for political activism and involvement. He transformed into a voice of a generation and not only encompassed an American folk style, but also mastered popular music. His involvement and association with the counterculture alongside his incredible talent allowed for him to enter the world full force with a little something extra, something most popular music artists didn’t possess. Incorporating political, social, literary, and philosophical notions in his art, Dylan amplified and personalized music, and especially musical genres. While he was known for folk music, as his nasal, yet smooth voice and the harmonica harmonized, Dylan was able to incorporate various slivers of other styles into his music. Whether adding a dash of rock ’n roll, or a dash of pop, Bob Dylan pioneered a new way in which music was regarded and listened to. His force was immediately recognized and his influence and importance is still heavily appreciated and listened to today.
His lyrics are some of the first musical lyrics to be regarded as literature and have been cited as modes of influence by individuals such as Jimmy Carter. Dylan enlarged the range of music and its vocabulary, while providing something new for each song, album, and performance. He managed to challenge and surprise the listeners, establishing a non-linear trajectory of his musical and artistic career. There was a sense of consistency, as his voice bled through each lyric alongside the drums or guitar or harmonica. He is one of the most respected and influential American musician rock ‘n’ roll has ever seen.
Photo by Stanley Bielecki/Getty
In 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota, Robert Allen Zimmerman was born. Throughout his adolescent, he took up the guitar and harmonica and even formed a band, The Golden Chords, in high school. After enrolling in the arts college at the University of Minnesota, Robert Allen Zimmerman began performing at coffee shops under the name of Bob Dylan. By 1962, he had changed his name legally to Bob Dylan and the rest is history! Bob Dylan moved from Minnesota to New York and continued to perform. He was the opening act for John Lee Hooker and was even reviewed by The New York Times, which alerted John Hammond of Bob Dylan and his talent, leading to his eventual signing with Columbia Records in 1962. Then came his debut album, Bob Dylan. Featuring songs such as “Man of Constant Sorrow”, “Talkin’ New York”, and “Song to Woody”, this album only contained two originals, “Talkin’ New York” and “Song to Woody”. Dylan’s resonant, caustic lyrical charm and talent was deeply regarded as soon as the album was released. His original lyrics were only seen in two songs, but these two songs stood out and strongly portrayed the mind and substance of Dylan.
Here are some of the lyrics:
“I’m a-leavin’ tomorrow, but I could leave today/ Somewhere down the road someday/ The very last thing that I’d want to do/Is to say I’ve been hittin’ some hard travelin’ too.”
– “Song to Woody”
“Well, I got a harmonica job, begun to play/ Blowin’ my lungs out for a dollar a day/ I blowed inside out and upside down/ The man there said he loved m’ sound/ He was ravin’ about how he loved m’ sound/ Dollar a day’s worth.”
– “Talkin’ New York”
By 1965, he had already released many albums, including The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin’, Bringing It All Back Home, Another Side Of Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited, and other live concert albums. In The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (my favorite album of his), Bob Dylan writes songs ranging from heartbreak and love to social commentary and protest. This album received a lot of attention for its focus on civil rights and the nuclear holocaust, for it was released in 1963. The album cover shows him and his girlfriend, Suze Rotolo, walking on the New York streets. Suze “was into this equality-freedom thing long before I was,” according to Dylan. Both Suze and her parents introduced Bob Dylan to new world views and stances in political activism. Through this album, Joan Baez—an already established “protest” singer—invited Dylan on tour and recorded his songs. A year later, in 1963, they became romantically involved. The Times They Are a-Changin’, his album released in 1964, consisted of a freeing amalgamation of both personal and protest.
In 1965 his album, With Bringing It All Back Home, introduced a new style to his music: rock ’n roll. Dylan’s songs were still centered around the harmonious harmonica and guitar, but began to include a heavier feel to them. Highway 61 Revisited additionally incorporated a medley of folk and rock, especially in his song “Like A Rolling Stone”. This song was his first major hit, and probably his most popular song to this day. Some of his other incredibly popular songs are “Hurricane”, “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, “Mr. Tambourine Man”, “Shelter from the Storm”, and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”.
The intensity of Dylan’s performances revolutionized rock, folk, and all the other genres he
mastered and pioneered. His lyrics were quoted and debated, his messages were analyzed and considered, his voice was desired, and his overall presence was sought-after. After a horrible motorcycle crash, Dylan layed low and under the radar for about two years, but in 1967, he made his public re-entry with John Wesley Harding, which featured songs such as “All Along the Watchtower” (later covered by Jimi Hendrix), “Dear Landlord”, and “The Wicked Messenger”. In May of 1969, he released Nashville Skyline with two of his most famous songs, “Lay Lady Lay” and “Girl From the North Country”, featuring Johnny Cash.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g77wH68dFC8
Bob Dylan continued to make records well into the ‘80s, ‘90s, and 2000s and continued to make music that aligned itself with his more well known style, but he also played around more with musical obscurities. Some of his songs, such as “Born in Time” from Under the Red Sky, “Clean Cut Kid” from Empire Burlesque, or “Beyond the Horizon” from Modern Times, display the spectrum of which Bob Dylan artistically and creatively belonged to. Whether it was his inevitable aging and the growing culture and world in which he lived in, or his experimental, curious nature, a lot of his later music contributed various new sounds to his name. He ranged from experimenting with new instruments, various vocal ranges, or genres. Bob Dylan was always able to provide something refreshing and inspirational. His lyrical brilliance never faltered and his artistry always radiated. The very way in which Bob Dylan wielded language was what made him who he is today. He is so much more than a musician; he is a literary mastermind; an artist of all trades; a legendary man. While he originally got in his start in the 1960s, he is still current—he is still a constant force in the music world.
In 2016, Dylan received the Noble Prize in Literature, but he has also received a Pulitzer Prize and the 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom. He received the Noble Prize “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. He created this momentous force in which people were affected in a more serious way, than most musicians of his time. He allowed for his audience to overcome a new world that was rapidly changing and affecting day to day life—he brought new meaning and impact into the world. He brought a new, and highly needed, sense of vitality and identity not only for music, but for people. He dove head first into this personalized, idiosyncratic lifestyle that most people learned to not take for granted. You were, and still can, able to identify with each poetic rendering, echoing from Dylan’s dense, raucous voice. His voice isn’t pretty, but that’s what makes him Bob Dylan. He isn’t capturing the beauty within the world and the utter joy radiating within all people; he is capturing the authenticity of life and his voice captures the true nature in which the world breeds. It’s a venomous substance that delivers an authoritative, introspective vision that caters to all, in all ways.
EMMA WEAVER | KXSU Music Reporter