Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan
Dylan in 2019
Background information
Birth name	Robert Allen Zimmerman
Born	(1941-05-24) May 24, 1941 Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter * painter * writer
Spouse(s)	Sara Lownds ​ ​ (m. 1965; div. 1977)​ * Carolyn Dennis ​ ​ (m. 1986; div. 1992)​
Website	bobdylan.com

Biography

Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota, is an iconic American singer-songwriter, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in 20th-century music and culture. Raised in Hibbing, Minnesota, Dylan was drawn to folk, blues, and rock 'n' roll from a young age. In 1961, he moved to New York City and quickly became a fixture in the Greenwich Village folk scene.

Dylan’s early work, including his landmark albums The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963) and The Times They Are a-Changin’ (1964), established him as the voice of a generation. His politically charged lyrics and poetic style made him a central figure in the 1960s counterculture and civil rights movement. Songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” became anthems of social change.

In 1965, Dylan shocked folk purists by going electric at the Newport Folk Festival, marking a bold shift toward rock with albums like Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. This period produced some of his most enduring songs, including “Like a Rolling Stone.”

Over the decades, Dylan has constantly reinvented himself, exploring genres like country, gospel, and blues, while maintaining his lyrical depth and enigmatic persona. His work has earned numerous accolades, including ten Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award. In 2016, he became the first songwriter to win the Nobel Prize in Literature for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”

Dylan remains a restless and prolific artist, still touring and releasing music well into his 80s. Revered for his innovation and authenticity, Bob Dylan’s impact on music, literature, and global culture is unparalleled, making him one of the most important artists in modern history.

Literature (likes)

44 Books Bob Dylan Digs (2018)

• The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club – Sonny Barger
• War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
• Naked Lunch - William S. Burroughs
• Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954‑63 – Taylor Branch
• Tropic of Cancer – Henry Miller
• Stories – Anton Chekhov
• On War – Carl von Clausewitz
• Victory – Joseph Conrad
• The Complete Poetry and Prose – John Donne
• The Anchor Anthology of French Poetry – Angel Flores
• Jerry Garcia: The Collected Artwork – Jerry Garcia
• Howl, Kaddish and Other Poems – Allen Ginsberg
• One Hundred Dollar Misunderstanding – Robert Gover
• The White Goddess – Robert Graves
• Ringolevio: A Life Played for Keeps – Emmett Grogan
• Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley – Peter Guralnick
• Bound for Glory – Woody Guthrie
• The Odyssey – Homer
• Mexico City Blues – Jack Kerouac
• On the Road – Jack Kerouac
• Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards – Al Kooper
• The Land Where the Blues Began – Alan Lomax
• Mister Jelly Roll: The Fortunes of Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Creole and “Inventor of Jazz” – Alan Lomax
• Girl from the North Country – Conor McPherson
• Moby Dick – Herman Melville
• Woody Guthrie: American Radical Patriot – Bill Nowlin
• Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta – Robert Palmer
• All Access: The Rock ’n’ Roll Photography of Ken Regan – Ken Regan
• All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque
• The Oxford Book of English Verse – Christopher Ricks (ed.)
• The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke – Rainer Maria Rilke
• A Season in Hell & The Drunken Boat – Arthur Rimbaud
• The Blues Line: A Collection of Blues Lyrics – Eric Sackheim
• Confessions of a Yakuza – Junichi Saga
• The American Songbag – Carl Sandburg
• The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg – Carl Sandburg
• Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues – Arnold Shaw
• The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
• The Dave Stewart Songbook: The Stories Behind the Songs – Dave Stewart
• Thucydides: The History of the Peloponnesian War – Thucydides
• Poems – Henry Timrod
• Michael Bloomfield: The Rise and Fall of an American Guitar Hero – Ed Ward
• The Conscience of the Folk Revival: The Writings of Israel “Izzy” Young – Scott Barrett
• Leaves of Grass – Walt Whitman