I have been a huge fan of Bob Dylan since I first saw a documentary of his in the summer of 2006 (I believe it was No Direction Home). I remember I was working the night shift at the WTIU station in Bloomington where they always had some great quality shows on PBS late at night. That was around the time of my college days where I was beginning to appreciate classic rock. I knew of the name Bob Dylan yet I didn't understand it until that night. I remember after watching that documentary I felt so inspired by this unique and iconic folk singer.
From that point on I came to admire Dylan's rebellious attitude and his desire to be free. It's quite pertinent when listening to his music that he brought about his own original style to folk music; a twangy yet beautiful voice. I can understand how most people might think it bad singing or perhaps sound like whining, yet I disagree. I think his vocal style is quite original, raw, harmonious, powerful, and so very heartfelt. It embodies the stories in his folk songs quite often about the sad injustices of society. Yet Dylans' genius is the ability to blend both the melodic with the melancholic to create very meaningful, beautiful, music.
To this day Bob Dylan remains one of my all time favorite musicians, (currently number 3 on my list behind the Beatles and Dave Matthews.) I even saw him live in concert in the summer of 2011, and visited his house in Duluth in 2016. I think Dylan is one of the most significant and prophetic people alive today. It seems almost each year I go into a bit of Bob Dylan appreciation phase, usually around the fall time. And I especially enjoy when I can discover some new songs of his.
One movie that always adds to the inspiration is I'm Not There, which provides various aspects of his life. The movie is a bit on the abstract side, but provides a great Dylan-esque backdrop and insight into his mind. This film makes me most intrigued by the early life of Bob Dylan, in the early 1960s, where his folk music was at it's purest state. I've often believed that Dylan's best music was his folk songs before he went electrical in the mid 1960s. He was only a teenager when he began writing and performing this groundbreaking music. And that's what I want to capture in this post. Is how did such a young kid become so experienced.
Dylan's Childhood
He was born into a Jewish family from the northern region of Duluth, Minnesota. His grandparents migrated from Lithuania in 1905 and his parents owned an appliance store in the community. His birth name was actually Robert Allen Zimmerman which he would later change to Bob Dylan, as a nod to the famous poet Dylan Thomas. Dylan's childhood seemed quite normal for a middle class kid in the north. He listened to all the rock'n'roll of the time enjoying Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly as well as country music and folk music. His utmost idol was the folk singer Woody Guthrie.
At the age of 10 Robert began writing poems and taught himself how to play the piano and the guitar. It became quite apparent at that point that he was extremely inspired by the music of the time and wanted to be a musician himself. In high school he formed several rock bands and even played at school functions. He performed covers of Little Richard and other famous rock songs. It was during this time that Dylan was searching for a musical identity of his own, which he would eventually find in college.
Dylan's College Years
It was in 1959, at the young age of 18 where Robert Allen Zimmerman began his transition into the famous folk singer we know today. He moved from Duluth to Minneapolis and enrolled in the University of Minnesota where he joined a Jewish fraternity. The new college atmosphere must have been the catalyst to setting Zimmerman free onto his destiny. It was at that point that he changed his name to Bob Dylan and declared himself fully committed to folk music.
"The thing about rock'n'roll was that for me anyway it wasn't enough. There were great catch phrases and driving pulse rhythms but the songs weren't serious or didn't reflect life in a realistic way. I knew that when I got into folk music it was more of a serious type of thing. The songs are filled with more despair, more sadness, more triumph, more faith in the supernatural, and much deeper feelings"
He stopped going to classes and began to perform at coffeehouses such as the Ten O'Clock Scholar and nightclubs. He became involved in the Dinkytown Folk Music scene, which was the cultural bar strip of the University. One of his classmates gave Dylan an auto-biography of the life of Woody Guthrie which consumed him and became his driving force. By this point Dylan had become more committed to his music then his studies. And after only a year as a student he dropped out of college to pursue his dream as a folk musician. He thus moved to New York City in 1960 and was on an obsessive quest to meet his idol Woody Guthrie and pave a career of his own.
Dylan's Rise in New York City
Bob Dylan was finally able to meet his idol, Woody Guthrie, in January of 1961 in a hospital where Guthrie was ill. At that point the two instantly developed a teacher-disciple dynamic in which Dylan often relates to that of Plato and Socrates. Dylan visited Guthrie frequently in the hospital sharing stories, wisdom, and even an original song he wrote called "Song to Woody". From then on Dylan was able to take on the New York City Folk scene with all the more confidence.
It was in Greenwich Village where the folk scene was most alive, and Bob Dylan quickly became one of the more popular performers. He befriended other folk singers of the area such as Rambling Jack Elliott, Dave Van Ronk, Fred Neil, and Odetta. He performed many covers yet also began writing and performing his own material during this time. In 1962 at the age of 20, Dylan released his first self-titled album. It consisted of covers of traditional folk and gospels songs as well as two original songs including his homage he wrote for Woody. Dylan hardly broke even with this first studio release however he pressed on and continued to write original songs.
A year later he released his 2nd studio album in 1963, The Freewheelin Bob Dylan, which brought him instant fame. The album consisted of original protest songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" which would become the anthem of the protest movement. Also one of my all time favorite Dylan songs, "Don't Think Twice it's Alright". At that point Dylan became the voice of his generation, a new counter-culture ideology that supported the Civil Rights Movement. This was essentially the beginning of the end of America's conformity age which became all the more dire following Kennedy's assassination. .
Leader of the Protest Movement
By 1963 Dylan found himself emerged in the political social upheavals of the time, most notably the Civil Rights Movement. As the musical voice of the protest movement Dylan embraced this role and partnered with notable protest singer (and later lover) Joan Baez. Together they performed during Martin Luther King's historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A few months later Dylan released his third studio album entitled, The Times They Are a Changin', which embodied the protest issues of racism, poverty, and social change. The songs "The Times They are a Changing" and "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol" became powerful messages to the public.
However by early 1964 Dylan suddenly found himself uncomfortable with his role as the voice of the protest movement. Perhaps it was the media attention that made him feel pessimistic about this role. He began to declare that he could not change society with a song and did not see himself as a leader in that regards. His 4th album, Another Side of Bob Dylan and 5th album, Bringing it all back Home, made it all the more clear that he wanted to distance himself from protest songs. I think ultimately he never changed and still cared about protest issues, he just simply did not want that kind of celebrity attention.
Dylan's transition to Rock
Most folk extremists will say Dylan's demise came when he made his abrupt transition to electric guitar. This became public at the Newport Folk Festival in July of 1965 where Dylan introduced his new electric rock'n'roll band and was received with boos from the audience. His 6th studio album, Highway 61 Revisited, was a new kind of Bob Dylan no longer with acoustic tracks yet all electric tracks. His hit single, "Like a Rollin' Stone" brought him all the more success and critical acclaim. While he lost support from the folk community he gained popularity in the rock scene, and this album is often regarded as one of the greatest rock albums of all time.
By June of 1966 Dylan released his 7th album, and third consecutive rock album, Blonde on Blonde. This was perhaps the pinnacle of his career where he stood along side the rock giants of the 1960s such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. However by this point too it became clear that Dylan was getting exhausted with this lifestyle constantly in the public's eye. Following a motorcycle crash in 1966 he resorted to more of a recluse lifestyle. He continued to release albums to this day, however none were quite as groundbreaking as his first 7.
I ultimately have come to understand Dylan as a very complex character, perhaps more regarded for his poetry than his musical entertainment. There is no question that he was a skilled musician through his vocals, guitar, harmonica, and piano playing but I believe it was his lyrics that brought him heightened acclaim. He was a writer and a philosopher, not a performer, and this became all the more clear when he turned from the protest movement. It's not because he wanted to stop being a rebel, quite on the contrary. It is because he did not want the fame and public attention that came with it. Although I prefer his early protest music, Dylan for me will always represent the total embodiment of what it means to be free.
To this day Bob Dylan remains one of my all time favorite musicians, (currently number 3 on my list behind the Beatles and Dave Matthews.) I even saw him live in concert in the summer of 2011, and visited his house in Duluth in 2016. I think Dylan is one of the most significant and prophetic people alive today. It seems almost each year I go into a bit of Bob Dylan appreciation phase, usually around the fall time. And I especially enjoy when I can discover some new songs of his.
One movie that always adds to the inspiration is I'm Not There, which provides various aspects of his life. The movie is a bit on the abstract side, but provides a great Dylan-esque backdrop and insight into his mind. This film makes me most intrigued by the early life of Bob Dylan, in the early 1960s, where his folk music was at it's purest state. I've often believed that Dylan's best music was his folk songs before he went electrical in the mid 1960s. He was only a teenager when he began writing and performing this groundbreaking music. And that's what I want to capture in this post. Is how did such a young kid become so experienced.
Dylan's Childhood
He was born into a Jewish family from the northern region of Duluth, Minnesota. His grandparents migrated from Lithuania in 1905 and his parents owned an appliance store in the community. His birth name was actually Robert Allen Zimmerman which he would later change to Bob Dylan, as a nod to the famous poet Dylan Thomas. Dylan's childhood seemed quite normal for a middle class kid in the north. He listened to all the rock'n'roll of the time enjoying Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly as well as country music and folk music. His utmost idol was the folk singer Woody Guthrie. At the age of 10 Robert began writing poems and taught himself how to play the piano and the guitar. It became quite apparent at that point that he was extremely inspired by the music of the time and wanted to be a musician himself. In high school he formed several rock bands and even played at school functions. He performed covers of Little Richard and other famous rock songs. It was during this time that Dylan was searching for a musical identity of his own, which he would eventually find in college.
Dylan's College Years
It was in 1959, at the young age of 18 where Robert Allen Zimmerman began his transition into the famous folk singer we know today. He moved from Duluth to Minneapolis and enrolled in the University of Minnesota where he joined a Jewish fraternity. The new college atmosphere must have been the catalyst to setting Zimmerman free onto his destiny. It was at that point that he changed his name to Bob Dylan and declared himself fully committed to folk music.
"The thing about rock'n'roll was that for me anyway it wasn't enough. There were great catch phrases and driving pulse rhythms but the songs weren't serious or didn't reflect life in a realistic way. I knew that when I got into folk music it was more of a serious type of thing. The songs are filled with more despair, more sadness, more triumph, more faith in the supernatural, and much deeper feelings"
-Bob Dylan
He stopped going to classes and began to perform at coffeehouses such as the Ten O'Clock Scholar and nightclubs. He became involved in the Dinkytown Folk Music scene, which was the cultural bar strip of the University. One of his classmates gave Dylan an auto-biography of the life of Woody Guthrie which consumed him and became his driving force. By this point Dylan had become more committed to his music then his studies. And after only a year as a student he dropped out of college to pursue his dream as a folk musician. He thus moved to New York City in 1960 and was on an obsessive quest to meet his idol Woody Guthrie and pave a career of his own.
Dylan's Rise in New York City
Bob Dylan was finally able to meet his idol, Woody Guthrie, in January of 1961 in a hospital where Guthrie was ill. At that point the two instantly developed a teacher-disciple dynamic in which Dylan often relates to that of Plato and Socrates. Dylan visited Guthrie frequently in the hospital sharing stories, wisdom, and even an original song he wrote called "Song to Woody". From then on Dylan was able to take on the New York City Folk scene with all the more confidence.
A year later he released his 2nd studio album in 1963, The Freewheelin Bob Dylan, which brought him instant fame. The album consisted of original protest songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" which would become the anthem of the protest movement. Also one of my all time favorite Dylan songs, "Don't Think Twice it's Alright". At that point Dylan became the voice of his generation, a new counter-culture ideology that supported the Civil Rights Movement. This was essentially the beginning of the end of America's conformity age which became all the more dire following Kennedy's assassination. .
Leader of the Protest Movement
By 1963 Dylan found himself emerged in the political social upheavals of the time, most notably the Civil Rights Movement. As the musical voice of the protest movement Dylan embraced this role and partnered with notable protest singer (and later lover) Joan Baez. Together they performed during Martin Luther King's historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A few months later Dylan released his third studio album entitled, The Times They Are a Changin', which embodied the protest issues of racism, poverty, and social change. The songs "The Times They are a Changing" and "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol" became powerful messages to the public.However by early 1964 Dylan suddenly found himself uncomfortable with his role as the voice of the protest movement. Perhaps it was the media attention that made him feel pessimistic about this role. He began to declare that he could not change society with a song and did not see himself as a leader in that regards. His 4th album, Another Side of Bob Dylan and 5th album, Bringing it all back Home, made it all the more clear that he wanted to distance himself from protest songs. I think ultimately he never changed and still cared about protest issues, he just simply did not want that kind of celebrity attention.
Dylan's transition to Rock
Most folk extremists will say Dylan's demise came when he made his abrupt transition to electric guitar. This became public at the Newport Folk Festival in July of 1965 where Dylan introduced his new electric rock'n'roll band and was received with boos from the audience. His 6th studio album, Highway 61 Revisited, was a new kind of Bob Dylan no longer with acoustic tracks yet all electric tracks. His hit single, "Like a Rollin' Stone" brought him all the more success and critical acclaim. While he lost support from the folk community he gained popularity in the rock scene, and this album is often regarded as one of the greatest rock albums of all time.By June of 1966 Dylan released his 7th album, and third consecutive rock album, Blonde on Blonde. This was perhaps the pinnacle of his career where he stood along side the rock giants of the 1960s such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. However by this point too it became clear that Dylan was getting exhausted with this lifestyle constantly in the public's eye. Following a motorcycle crash in 1966 he resorted to more of a recluse lifestyle. He continued to release albums to this day, however none were quite as groundbreaking as his first 7.
I ultimately have come to understand Dylan as a very complex character, perhaps more regarded for his poetry than his musical entertainment. There is no question that he was a skilled musician through his vocals, guitar, harmonica, and piano playing but I believe it was his lyrics that brought him heightened acclaim. He was a writer and a philosopher, not a performer, and this became all the more clear when he turned from the protest movement. It's not because he wanted to stop being a rebel, quite on the contrary. It is because he did not want the fame and public attention that came with it. Although I prefer his early protest music, Dylan for me will always represent the total embodiment of what it means to be free.
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