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(b. 1941) |
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Bob
Dylan (b.
1941) Bob
Dylan hit the music scene in the early
1960s, and his unique style and
thought-provoking lyrics caught the
attention of music fans and music
critics. Dylan is as best known for
re-inventing himself and his musical
style as he is for his performances.
Dylan significantly influenced many
popular musicians of the 1960s and
beyond, including the Beatles,
the Rolling
Stones,
and many others. At one point, his fame
and influence became so great, he was
popularly referred to as "The Voice of
a Generation." He first gained
attention through his creative
reinvention of folk music, citing the
influences of folk greats Woody Guthrie
and Pete Seeger. Many of his folk fans
showed open revulsion at the Newport
Jazz Festival in 1965, when Dylan and
his band "plugged in," and played an
electric set, rather than the
traditional folkie acoustic music he
was known for at the time. Robert
Allen Zimmerman was born in northern
Minnesota's Mesabi Iron Range, into a
Jewish family. His father was a
shopkeeper, and young Bob Zimmerman
grew up in a typical upper-Midwestern
middle-class household of the 1940s and
1950s. He learned to play the guitar,
and tried emulating some of the musical
stars of the 1950s, such as Little
Richard and Elvis Presley. After going
off to the University of Minnesota, he
fell more and more into the local music
scene, and was known for bringing his
guitar to parties and events, sitting
in a corner, and playing. (Other famous
musicians, from Paul McCartney, to
Billy Joel, have recounted the positive
effect that playing music at teen and
young adult gatherings on their ability
to meet girls). Zimmerman began using
the name "Bob Dylan," after the the
late Irish poet, Dylan Thomas. After he
discovered folk music, and especially
the music of folk legend Woody Guthrie,
Dylan eventually dropped out of college
and made his way to New York City, to
try his hand as a musician and to meet
his idol, Woody Guthrie. Arriving in
New York in 1960,he visited often with
Guthrie, who was dying of a hereditary
disease, and became known in the folk
scene in the city. In
New York's Greenich Village, famous for
beat music and the folk scene, Dylan
worked any gig he could find in jazz
and folk clubs. Sometimes he played for
pay, sometimes he or a girl he worked
with would literally pass the hat among
the audience asking for money as he
played. Dylan worked his way into the
folkie social scene, becoming friends
with numerous folk and beat artists who
had influence in that music
genre. The
first significant song written by Bob
Dylan ,"Song to Woody," is a
tribute to Dylan's idol, Woody Guthrie.
The song was released on Dylan's
eponymous (self-titled) debut album,
Bob Dylan in 1962. The song
shows Dylan's adoration of folk legend
Woody Guthrie. This song is based on a
Guthrie song, "1913 Massacre".
The song also makes references to folk
and blues icons Cisco Houston and
Leadbelly, whose music Dylan
appreciated, played, and
imitated. In
the fall of 1961, after one of his
performances received a rave review in
The New York Times, Dylan signed a
recording contract with the legendary
talent scout John H. Hammond, of
Columbia Records. Released early in
1962, Bob Dylan contained only two
original songs, but showcased Dylan's
gravelly-voiced singing style in a
number of traditional folk songs and
covers of blues songs. Dylan
received a rave review of one of his
club performances in The New York Times
in the autumn of 1961, and was soon
signed to a recording contract with
Columbia Records. He recorded and
released his first album, the
self-titled Bob Dylan, in on
March 19, 1962. Dylan was only 20 years
old. The record album contained only
two original Dylan songs, "Song to
Woody," and "Talkin' New York,"
but it showcased Dylan's
gravelly-voiced singing style on a
number of traditional folk songs and
covers of blues songs. In
1964, Dylan met the Beatles in New
York, and offered them some marijuana,
which the British pop stars had never
used before. Dylan and the Beatles
later said, "We just laughed all
night." Bob
Dylan's 47th album, Christmas In The
Heart, was released on October 13,
2009. All royalties form this album go
to the charity Feeding
America,
guaranteeing more than four million
meals that will be provided to more
than 1.4 million people in need in the
United States during the 2009-2010
holiday season. Bob Dylan is also
donating all of his future U.S.
royalties from this album to
Feeding
America
in perpetuity. Songs performed by Dylan
on this new album include, “Here
Comes Santa Claus,” “Winter
Wonderland,” “Little Drummer
Boy” and “Must Be
Santa.” Dylan's
2009 Fall Concert Tour kicked off on
October 4, 2009 with a
two-hour show at the intimate (1,300)
Moore
Theater
in Seattle, Washington. In October, 2016,
Bob Dylan won a Nobel Prize for
Literature. Dylan's
major musical influences include: Hank
Williams, Muddy Waters, Ferdinand
'Jelly Roll' Morton, Leadbelly, Mance
Lipscomb, Big Joe Williams and Woody
Guthrie. Video
from "The Other Side of the Mirror" by
Murray Lerner, Bob Dylan at the Newport
Folk Festival early 1960s "The
History Guy" is a Registered Trademark. Contact
the webmaster |
Family
and Personal Information Abram
Zimmerman
--Father Beatrice
"Beatty" Stone
Zimmerman--Mother Sara
Lownds (b. October 28, 1939
)--1st
Wife; married to Dylan from
November 22, 1965 to June 1977.
Mother of Jesse, Anna, Samuel,
and Jakob Dylan. Carolyn
Dennis (b. 1954
)--2nd
Wife; married to Dylan from June
, 1986 to October, 1992. Mother
of Desiree Gabrielle
Dennis-Dylan. Children Jesse
Byron
Dylan-
son
(b.
Jan. 6, 1966) Anna
Lea Dylan
-
daughter Samuel
Isaac Abraham
Dylan-
son Jakob
Luke
Dylan-
son
(b.
Dec. 9, 1969) Desiree
Gabrielle Dennis-Dylan
-
(b. January 31, 1986)
Education: 1959:
Attended the University of
Minnesota (dropped out after
six months) Religion: Converted
to Christianity Began
Following Orthodox
Judaism Aliases,
Psuedonyms, and
Nicknames: Jack
Frost (alias used as a music
producer) Lucky
Wilbury/Boo Wilbury
The
Voice of Protest
The
Voice of a Generation
The
Bard Books
By Bob Dylan Books
About Bob Dylan
Bob
Dylan's Bands The
Shadow Blasters (High School
Band) The
Golden Chords (High School
Band) The
Band The
Grateful Dead Tom
Petty and the
Heartbreakers The
Traveling Wilburys (Roy Orbison,
George Harrison, Tom Petty, and
Musicians
and Bands who Dylan has toured
and recorded with: Joan
Baez The
Band- Mark
Knopfler Johnny
Cash The
Grateful Dead Tom
Petty and the
Heartbreakers The
Traveling Wilburys (Roy Orbison,
George Harrison, Tom Petty, and
David
Hidalgo (accordionist for Los
Lobos) Links
and Resources on Bob Dylan Bob
Dylan--Official
Website of Bob Dylan Bob
Dylan
Biography-bio.com Ballad
of a Thin
Man
-session and concert dates and
set lists Bob's
a terrific father, says Dylan's
secret
wife--Telegraph.co.uk,
April 13, 2001 Reviews
of Bob Dylan Bob
Dylan’s “Christmas in
the Heart”: Fricke’s
First
Listen
-Rolling Stone, Oct. 04,
2009 Site
Map--revision
in progress Bob
Dylan Discography: Bob
Dylan,
1962 Christmas
In The
Heart Books
By Bob Dylan Books
About Bob Dylan
|
,
2009