Bob Dylan

The Minnesota-born songwriter who took folk songs into rock and roll in 1965, kept touring for decades, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016.

Origin: Duluth, Minnesota, United States
Years active: 1957-present
Genres: folk, folk rock, blues, rock, gospel, country, traditional pop
Labels: Columbia, Asylum
Also known as: Robert Allen Zimmerman

From Duluth to Greenwich Village

Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, on 24 May 1941, and had his name legally changed to Robert Dylan in 1962. He moved to New York City in 1961 and recorded his first album on 20 and 22 November of that year. Bob Dylan came out in March 1962 and did not chart in the United States. Mitch Miller said it sold about 2,500 copies there.

The next record changed that. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963) held Blowin' in the Wind and A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall, and Peter, Paul and Mary took the first to number two on the Hot 100. The Times They Are a-Changin' followed in February 1964. His third album, it included the title song, With God on Our Side and The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, and reached 20 in the US.

Going electric

In January 1965 Dylan recorded Bringing It All Back Home in three days, with a full electric band on the second. It was about half electric and half acoustic, and it held Mr. Tambourine Man. In June he cut Like a Rolling Stone, and on 25 July he played three songs with an electric band at the Newport Folk Festival to a mix of cheers and boos. Highway 61 Revisited appeared on 30 August.

Blonde on Blonde (1966), a double album made in New York and Nashville, was the peak of that run. On the world tour that year he played an acoustic half and an electric half with the musicians who became the Band. At Manchester's Free Trade Hall on 17 May a heckler shouted "Judas". That night was released in 1998 as the Royal Albert Hall concert, named for the wrong hall. On 29 July 1966 a motorcycle crash near Woodstock ended the touring, and he made few appearances for almost eight years.

Woodstock and the return

In summer 1967 he recorded informally with members of the Band in Woodstock and then in the basement of the house called Big Pink; The Basement Tapes was released in 1975 and the full sessions in 2014. In between came John Wesley Harding (December 1967), cut in Nashville with a small band, and home to All Along the Watchtower.

He toured again in 1974 with the Band, his first tour in seven years. The next year brought Blood on the Tracks, which reached number one in the United States and held Tangled Up in Blue. Desire arrived in January 1976 and also topped the US chart. Its songs included Hurricane, Isis, Joey and Sara, with violin from Scarlet Rivera and vocals from Emmylou Harris. Most of it was written with Jacques Levy.

The Never Ending Tour and after

On 7 June 1988 he opened the Never Ending Tour at the Concord Pavilion in California, and he has kept performing ever since. By one fan count the tour has passed 3,400 shows, and more than 4,000 of his setlists have been logged. All Along the Watchtower leads its play counts, followed by Highway 61 Revisited and Like a Rolling Stone.

Time Out of Mind, made with producer Daniel Lanois, appeared in September 1997 and won Album of the Year at the 1998 Grammys. Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde are in the Grammy Hall of Fame, as are Bringing It All Back Home and Blood on the Tracks. In 2016 the Nobel Prize in Literature went to him for creating new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition. Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020) went to number two in the United States and number one in more than ten countries, including the UK.

Records

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan 1963 · Columbia
The album that carried Blowin' in the Wind and A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall, and made Dylan's name.
The Times They Are a-Changin' 1964 · Columbia
His third album and the first of only original songs, built around the title song, With God on Our Side and The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll.
Bringing It All Back Home 1965 · Columbia
Half electric, half acoustic, made in three days in January 1965, with Subterranean Homesick Blues and Mr. Tambourine Man.
Highway 61 Revisited 1965 · Columbia
Opens with Like a Rolling Stone and closes with the eleven-minute Desolation Row.
Blonde on Blonde 1966 · Columbia
A double album cut in New York and Nashville, ending with the 11-minute Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands.
John Wesley Harding 1967 · Columbia
A short record cut in Nashville with a small band, and the source of All Along the Watchtower.
Blood on the Tracks 1975 · Columbia
Stripped-down songs recorded in New York, with half redone in Minneapolis over the Christmas week.
The Basement Tapes 1975 · compilation · Columbia
The informal 1967 sessions with the Band, released in 1975 and in full in 2014.
Desire 1976 · Columbia
Co-written with Jacques Levy and cut with the Rolling Thunder musicians, opening with Hurricane and closing with Sara.
Time Out of Mind 1997 · Columbia
A dark, low-lit record with Daniel Lanois that won Album of the Year at the 1998 Grammys.
The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert 1998 · live · Columbia/Legacy
The Manchester night of the Judas heckle: a solo acoustic disc, then an electric disc with the Hawks.
Rough and Rowdy Ways 2020 · Columbia
His first album of original songs since Tempest, ending with the nearly 17-minute Murder Most Foul.

Songs

Like a Rolling Stone Highway 61 Revisited · 1965
A long piece of prose shaped into four verses and a chorus, cut in June 1965 with Al Kooper's improvised organ.
Blowin' in the Wind The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan · 1963
Written in 1962 and recorded in July of that year, then a hit for Peter, Paul and Mary.
Mr. Tambourine Man Bringing It All Back Home · 1965
Begun after Mardi Gras in New Orleans, cut on 15 January 1965, and a number one for the Byrds.
A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan · 1963
Begun in Greenwich Village in summer 1962 on the pattern of the ballad Lord Randall, and cut in a single take.
Tangled Up in Blue Blood on the Tracks · 1975
Written in summer 1974 after painting lessons with Norman Raeben, and recorded twice, in New York and Minneapolis.
All Along the Watchtower John Wesley Harding · 1967
Recorded in Nashville on 6 November 1967, and made over by Jimi Hendrix a year later.

The Band, The Byrds, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Where to go next

Official

The Official Bob Dylan Site Tour dates, news, albums and songs with lyrics.
Official songs pages Lyrics for each song.
Official albums pages The album listing.
Bob Dylan Center The Tulsa archive and its exhibitions.

Reference

Nobel Prize 2016 press release The Academy's announcement and citation.
Nobel lecture Dylan's Nobel lecture.
The Dylan Review An open-access scholarly journal of Dylan studies.

Discography and data

MusicBrainz The discography and relationships.

Interviews

Revisiting Time Out of Mind Engineer Mark Howard on making the album.

Live performance archives

setlist.fm 4,154 setlists, with play counts for every song.
Never Ending Tour 1988 The first leg of the tour that began in June 1988.

Fan sites and communities

Expecting Rain Long-running fan news and forum, with link roundups and tour counts.
Bob Links Online since 1995, with setlists, reviews, discography and tape-trading information.
Bread Crumb Sins Giulio Molfese's site of interviews, articles and a FAQ.

Sources

Bob Dylan, Wikipedia
Bob Dylan (album), Wikipedia
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016, Nobel Prize
Never Ending Tour 1988, Wikipedia
Rough and Rowdy Ways, Wikipedia
Bob Dylan statistics, setlist.fm
The Times They Are A-Changin', SecondHandSongs