Bob Dylan – Biography of a Legend
Bob Dylan is a cult musician. He turned conventional pop music into literature. He's interpreted the current world from a perspective that amazes and moves people. You can even say he's a living legend.
Bob Dylan is one of the most influential musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries. He also embodies the most controversial Nobel Prize in Literature in history. His music is poetry, and his poetry is music. Thus, it broke many pop culture barriers around the world. This is why many people consider him an icon of pop counterculture.
Bob Dylan strongly entrusted one of his many biographers the task of clarifying that he didn’t take his name from the poet Dylan Thomas, as many believed. According to him, he was inspired by a character in a cowboy series named Matt Dillon.
“Not once have I ever had the time to ask myself “are my songs literature?” So, I do thank the Swedish academy, both for taking the time to consider that very question and ultimately, for providing such a wonderful answer.”
Bob Dylan’s music is complex and interesting. It’s rooted in rhythms as dissimilar as rock, folk, country, blues, and jazz. But his lyrics are the most fascinating part. With them, he explored social, political, literary, philosophical, and spiritual themes. This is what gave him a unique personality in the world of music and merited the Nobel Prize he received.
Bob Dylan, a simple boy
Bob Dylan was born in Duluth (Minnesota, United States), on May 24, 1941. His real name is Robert Allen Zimmerman. He comes from a Jewish family of Ukrainian descent on his father’s side and Lithuanian on his mother’s side. He also has some Turkish roots.
Dylan lived in his hometown until he was six years old. At that age, his father contracted polio and the family had to move to his mother’s hometown, Hibbing. This was a place that seemed to be lost in time.
His father had an electrical goods store where he had his first job as a sweeper. In Hibbing, he also attended high school and had his first girlfriends, Gloria and Encho. They inspired his first verses and poems. In addition, he also learned music and formed his first band in this town.
A substantial change
Dylan had a brief stay at the University of Minnesota. He left his studies at the end of his freshman year and went to New York. There, he found the true nation in which he lived. His first performances took place at Café Wha? There, he interpreted songs by Woody Guthrie, his idol. Deep down, Guthrie inspired him to make that uncertain trip with his work.
Bob Dylan learned a lot during that time, although he didn’t succeed in the strictest sense of the word. He was like a sponge. He watched, analyzed, and concluded. Also, he wanted to know everything and wanted to delve into every rhythm and nurture his formation. He was also a great reader who “devoured” the Greeks, Kant, Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, Ginsberg, Shelley, Poe, and William Burroughs, among others.
Dylan then met John Hammond, a talent scout with a clinical eye. This scout contacted him along with Albert Grossman, a manager who idolized the talented 20-year-old. During the next four years, they created great works and Dylan achieved fame.
A unique artist
In 1965, Bob Dylan was widely recognized. “Like a Rolling Stone” was the best song of the 20th century according to several American publications from that year. Dylan created an unmistakable identity in the nine albums he produced during that decade. There still isn’t anyone like him.
This singer completely revolutionized conventional pop music. His lyrics were authentic poems and his music was an exquisite combination of sounds. In fact, he even had the luxury of addressing religious issues and obtaining unsuspected success with them. He attained what few people do: a captive audience that continues to follow him after many decades. He’s still an active and relevant musician.
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 was highly controversial. It was the first time it went to a pop musician. Nevertheless, most consider it’s a well-deserved prize. In this regard, Leonard Cohen expressed what many think but few dare to say:
“I’m going to say something about giving Dylan the Nobel Prize. For me, it’s like pinning a medal on Mount Everest for being the highest mountain. Dylan is so great the prize is just a memento, a rather obvious one.”