Bob Dylan Great American Singer

Bob Dylan Great American Singer

Who was Bob Dylan? What are they works in their society

Bob Dylan is an American singer and songwriter. He is believed to have revolutionized folk and pop music. Bob Dylan was originally named Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, on 24th may, 1941. He was brought up in a Jewish community.

He got his first guitar in 1955, at the age of fourteen. Bob Dylan attended the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, in 1959. Bob would be performing folk and country music at local cafes in Minneapolis. He named himself “Bob Dylan” during this time, inspired by the main character from a popular Western television series Gunsmoke. He quit college in 1960 and went on to pursue music.

Early Life

In the January of 1961, Dylan shifted to New York. His idol, Woody Guthrie, a legendary folk singer, was hospitalized there. He would visit him in the hospital regularly. Bob Dylan visit ‘Song to Woody’ during this time. In 1961, Robert Shelton reviewed one of Bob Dylan’s live shows in The New York Times.

Columbia Records signed him after the review. In the march of 1962, Bob Dylan’s self-titled first album was released but it did not do well. His second album ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’ was released in the May of 1963 and was a big hit. The songs “Blowin’in the wind” and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” were a part of this album.

His third album ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ became an instant hit and marked Dylan as the songwriter for the ‘60s protest movement. He was romantically involved with Joan Baez, who was an important figure in the movement, during this time. Dylan also wrote songs for her.

Her famous song “Love is Just a Four-Letter Word” was writer by Bob Dylan. The folk trio, Peter, Paul and Mary, came up with their version of Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” in 1963. It acquired the second position in Billboard Pop Singles Chart.

Professional Context

In the 1960s, Dylan was also involved with the Civil Rights Movement. His songs were politically charged and addressed social issues. His singes “Lie a Rolling Stone” was released in 1965. In instantly became number two on the UK Charts. The release of his folk-rock and electric album ‘Bringing it All Back Home’ in jaunt 1965 created a major backlash amongst his folk music fans. His album ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ was also released in 1965.

He began his tour with the band (initially, the Hawks) in 1966. The same year, he got into a motorcycle accident in Woodstock in July and Returned home to recuperate. For the next two years, Dylan disappeared from the industry. His next album,’ Nashville Skyline’ combined country music with rock.

Tarantula, a book written by Dylan was published in 1971. Dylan started his career in acting in 1973, with pat Garret and Billy the Kid’ directed by Sam Peckinpah. Dylan was also the music director for this movie. His hit song, “Knocking’ on Heaven’s Door”, was created for the movie.

Legacy of Bob

In 1974, another book called Writings and Drawing contains his lyrics and poetry was published. Dylan’s 1974 album, ‘Planet Waves’ topped the charts and became his first number one album. The album he released in the 1980s included ‘Infidels’, Biography’, Knocked Out Loaded’ and ‘Oh Mercy’. In 2004, his book Chronicles: Volume One was published by Simon & Schuster.

It was supposedly meant to be a three-book memoir on Bob Dylan. Ion a 2005 documentary called No Direction Home: Bob Dylan directed by martin Scorsese, Dylan gave his first full interview in twenty years. Dylan received his first Grammy for the single “Gotta Serve Somebody” from the album ‘Slow Train Coming’ in 1980.

Great Achievements of Bob Dylan

In 1982, he became part of the songwriters Hal of Fame. In 1988, he was honored in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He became the first rock star to receive Kennedy Center Honors, in the year 1997. His 1997 album, ‘The out of Mind’ won him three Grammy Awards.

In 2000, he won an Academy Awards for “Things Have Changed”. In the May of 2012, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature. It was the first time a musician had been honored with this prize.

Bob Dylan and Sara Lowndes got married in 1965. They had four children together and got divorced in 1977. He got married again, in 1986, to singer Carolyn Dennis. They had a daughter the same year, after which they got divorced in 1992.