On Dylan

Every nation produces an artist for the ages, one that defines not one era, but all epochs. Britain made Shakespeare, Greece birthed Homer, Italy created da Vinci; and America made Bob Dylan. From his origins in the North Country, to his wild world tour of 1966, from his seclusion of the early 70s, to his “rebirth” in the early 80s, and on to the Never Ending Tour of the past twenty years, Bob Dylan has facilitated some of the greatest artistic movements in American history. He has influenced this nation’s politics, popular opinion, artistic norms, and most importantly America’s top-notch artisan community. Although massive, his influence cannot be exaggerated; such as one fan put it, “Bob Dylan is as great an artist that America has ever produced” (Flanagan).

Born on May 21, 1941 as Robert Allen Zimmerman, to the parents of middle-class, Jewish parents, Zimmerman began playing guitar at the age of eleven, and by fourteen had taught himself harmonica and piano. His earliest experience with music was listening to the song “Drifin’ too Far From the Shore” (No Direction Home). Zimmerman later described the song’s atmosphere as if he “felt like I wasn’t even born to the right parents or something” (No Direction Home). Growing up in 1950s America, he formed a few bands with friends and even performed at his senior talent show—during which the curtain was pulled on him (No Direction Home). He attended the University of Minnesota on a scholarship in 1959. There, he discovered folk music, the acoustic guitar, and most importantly, Woody Guthrie. At the end of his freshman year, he dropped out and moved to New York City to pay homage to the ailing Guthrie at the local hospital. Upon arrival, Zimmerman began introducing himself as Bob Dylan—perhaps both in a rejection of his youthful days, and in honor of the poems of Dylan Thomas—and in 1962, legally changed his name thusly.

Jumping back to his arrival in the Big Apple, Dylan began performing in Greenwich Village the night he arrived. He very quickly made a name for himself in less than a year-and-a-half was signed to the world’s largest recording company: Columbia Records. He was signed by John Hammond—the famed discoverer of Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Pete Seeger, and Bruce Springsteen—and immediately stirred up a storm of controversy. Bob Dylan’s eponymous debut sold laughably little copies, and he became known at Columbia as “Hammond’s Folly” (No Direction Home). Yet, his new manager, Albert Grossman, was determined to make his second album a success.

It surely was. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan reached number twenty-two on the Billboard Top 200 and has sold over a million copies; in 2002, the National Library of Congress included it among the first fifty recordings placed in the registry (Library of Congress). The album contained some of the most important songs of the past century, especially “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.” Grossman gave “Blowin’” to the group he recently created, the group known as Peter, Paul, and Mary. Their rendition made the song a number one hit, and bolstered sales of Dylan’s album.

Dylan made a fortune by recording songs in the studio for his albums, but he made the majority of his money by recording demo versions at publishing studios whereby other musicians could record their own versions of his songs that he would get healthy royalties for (Escott). He would use publishing venues until he went electric in 1965.

In 1965, Bob Dylan—already a major star among the collegiate crowd at this point—shocked and angered his fans. His first four albums were folks albums, where he played alone on guitar and harmonica for the most part. Yet his fifth album, Bringing it All Back Home featured Dylan accompanied by an electric band for one half of the album. The album was the first collection of so-called “folk-rock” and also boasted the first rap song ever recorded, “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” This song was also accompanied by the first popular music video. This change in style affected his fans in a most serious fashion. His world tour of 1966 was plagued by angry, booing fans, with many running on stage trying to unplug the equipment, and culminated with his performance at Manchester where a fan proclaimed him Judas (No Direction Home).

After the 66 tour, Dylan was in a motorcycle accident. The details of the event are unknown, but its impact was profound. He did not tour again for eight years; his music took an extreme turn to the stripped-down, apocalyptically Biblically tinged songs in John Wesley Harding. The 1968 album was the creation of “country-rock” genre now spearheaded by artists like Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith and the Rascal Flatts.

Dylan seems to have made country-rock his style-of-choice during most of the 1970s, at least until the release of Desire—which I can only describe as gypsy rock. After Desire was released, his music took a remarkably religious turn. Again angering scores of fans, Dylan went on a whirlwind tour proclaiming the gospel to aging hippies and secular liberals.

Bob Dylan is one of those artists that dabble in several fields. Although primarily a musician and songwriter, he is also an extensive prose writer, painter, filmmaker, disk jockey, and actor. His talent has awarded him numerous honors including Grammy Awards, Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and a Pulitzer Prize. He has even been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. It is easy to look at one’s awards as little more than academic admiration, but Dylan runs far deeper than academia.

His emergence as a folk musician shows him one of a common man, not an elite member of society; his voice is characteristic of the blue-collar, everyman. His early topical music demonstrated a careful awareness of the injustices of America; and his performance at the March on Washington with Dr. King portrayed him as a seminal figure in the Civil Rights Movement (No Direction Home).

Today, many celebrities take up charitable arms for causes that need help, and this can all be traced back to Bob Dylan. His attitude towards the press is also an attitude adopted by many in the public eye since. He was, and is, known to turn the table and taunt the paparazzi, the interviewer, the fan; according to many, Dylan invented the rockstar.

His love songs have held a hypnotic sway over America and the world. His 1975 album Blood On the Tracks is one of the most beloved collections of music of all time, and it captures the fiery passion of his heart (Rolling Stone). His love songs are as timeless as the tales of Moses and Noah; even his newer ballads have proved classic. His 1997 song “Make You Feel my Love” was made into hit singles by Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, and Adele. The love tune “Tangled Up in Blue” is probably one of the greatest songs ever penned. His hit “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” is one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded music, over 1200 artists have recorded their own versions of the classic.

A classic is perhaps best defined as a piece that ages but neither wears nor collects dust; a classic gains a new meaning with each generation. Dylan’s music—as timeless as the Ninth and as deep as any novel by Dostoevsky or Joyce—does gain new meanings as the decades pass, and in some cases, the meanings are reinstated. The simple structure of his music makes it an attractive choice for upstart amateur musicians, and the weight of his lyrics gives the artist an amount of respect. In fact, Dylan has influenced musicians the world over; Jack White, lead singer of the band The White Stripes, spoke once of having three fathers: His dad, God, and Bob Dylan (Rolling Stone).

Dylan has not only influenced other musicians, he has influenced an entire generation—the largest generation of them all, the Baby Boomers. Proclaimed “Spokesman for his Generation” by the media, he was awarded the Thomas Paine Award by the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee and he also performed with Pete Seeger at a voters’ rally in Mississippi (No Direction Home). His most momentous performance in politics was on August 28, 1963 at Washington where he preceded Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

There he performed his songs “When the Ship Comes In” and “Only a Pawn in Their Game” where he derided those who rule and convince the poor majority to hate the poor minority and spoke of a coming turning of the tide soon to come. Dylan’s earliest tunes were political in their incantations, topical in subject, simple in structure, profound in repercussions. Beautiful songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Hard Rain,” and “The Times They are a-Changin’” acutely affected the lives of thousands of Americans. Two Americans incredibly influenced by Dylan happened to be Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton had Dylan perform at his inauguration, and Obama has stated that his album Blood On the Tracks is his favorite ever.

Aside from admiration and inspiration granted and given to fans, Dylan has brought injustice to the eyes of the American public, and in one case, helped set an innocent man free. A man named William Zantzinger killed a black servant lady, named Hattie Carroll, and was sentenced to only six months in prison; Dylan’s account of the tale in “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” brought widespread attention to the case. In 1976, Dylan released the song “Hurricane” which recounted the events surrounding the arrest and conviction of Rubin Carter, the boxer. And after two benefit concerts, one at Madison Square Garden, Carter used the money raised to fight for his freedom, which he surely won.

Even as recently as 2009, Dylan has taken up causes. In addition to his sweeping hit album, Together Through Life, he also released a few months later a Christmas album entitled Christmas in the Heart. All proceeds from the album went to feed hungry children in America.

Dylan, over the past five decades, has never failed—aside from a few missteps—to enlighten generations, capture the heart of life, and explain love as good as any Shakespeare. In fact, several schools in Indonesia have even replaced Shakespeare with Dylan; and that is testament to his talent. Bob Dylan has tapped into the American collective unconscious unlike any artist before or since, his songs have inspired, enthralled, and agitated as many people as there are birds in the sky. No recent artist can claim so many accomplishments, and it takes a good deal to keep up what he’s been keeping up, it’s no easy feat to “keep on keepin’ on.”




WORKS CITED


Flanagan, Bill. DYLAN. N.p.: Columbia Records, 2007. N. pag. Print.

Escott, Colin. The Witmark Demos. N.p.: Columbia Records, 2010. N. pag. Print.

Dylan, Bob, perf. No Direction Home. 2004. Sony Pictures, 2005. 2 Discs. DVD-ROM.

"500 Greatest Albums of All Time." Rolling Stone 2003: 1 par. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/blood-on-the-tracks-bob-dylan-19691231>.