Bob Dylan has now reached the milestone of his 70th birthday. Born on May 24, 1941 in the scruffy town of Duluth, Minnesota, Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman) has gone on to spawn new musical genres (folk-rock and country-rock) and revolutionize songwriting. He first rose to fame in 1963 with his second album The Freewheelin ‘Bob Dylan, which featured such momentous songs as Blowin’ In The Wind, Masters Of War, and A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall. Inspired by characters like Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams, his lyrics on Freewheelin ‘were very political and led to Dylan being dubbed a protest singer by many. A wave of similarly styled songs soon hit the British charts and in October 1965 there was a scattering of protest songs on the national charts. Songs like Too many people by The Hollies that address the problem of overpopulation and It’s Good News Week by Hedgehoppers Anonymous, which address issues about nuclear war and birth control. However, his influence on protest songs was relatively short-lived compared to the impact of his lyrical styles.
In early 1964, Dylan released The Times They Are A-Changin ‘, which featured the work of a mature composer largely inspired by poets such as Keats and Rimbaud. It was more literate and evocative than his previous offerings and had a profound effect on popular music. In 1965 came Highway 61 Revisited and the release of the single Like A Rolling Stone, which is widely defended as one of the best singles in the history of popular music; breaking the barrier of traditional three-minute pop single, and of course we can’t forget about 1966’s groundbreaking Blonde on Blonde that cemented Dylan’s reputation as a genius of the time.
From the mid-1960s onwards there was a considerable shift from frivolous and superficial lyrics to more contemplative, introspective and poetic offerings and this was due in large part to the splendor of Dylan’s lyrics. His talent influenced a large number of artists, including the musical giants The Beatles, who, in 1965, released the most insightful Rubber Soul, which was lyrically more complex than their previous releases. John Lennon had even started to mimic Dylan’s casual delivery in songs like You Have to Hide Your Love and Yes It Is.
‘Vocally and poetically, Dylan was a huge influence’ Paul McCartney
As the years passed, Dylan’s lyrics became a bit more surreal and enigmatic, but they never lost their potent essence and such was his refusal to be typecast, Dylan constantly reinvented himself. Having breathed new life into the protest movement, revived folk music, reinvented the singer-songwriter genre, and sparked folk-rock, in the 1970s it helped to give rise to country-folk and in the 1980s and ninety. (although he failed from time to time), he still inspired and amazed his fans. In 1989 he was inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame and in 1990 Dylan was named Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Art et des Lettres, France’s highest cultural honor.
His records are still being sold by truck, he still inspires and moves people, and his concert tickets still sell like hotcakes. Happy birthday to a legend.
