Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is known to some as “The Voice of Protest”
or “The Peace Poet”, but I think a more fitting nickname would have to be “The
Voice of a Generation” (which is what he was also referred to as). He was much more than just “the voice of
protest” in a time of turmoil in the United States; although he was anti-war
and was involved actively in the Civil Rights Movement, he also had a HUGE
influence on the music then and the music today.
So let me tell you a little bit about this influential guy.....
Bob
Dylan was born in 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota (which is 20 minutes from my hometown…WHOOP)
as Robert Allen Zimmerman. He grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota and throughout his
days there began to play music and construct the dream of becoming a famous
Rock ‘n Roll star. It wasn’t until he attended the University of Minnesota, for
a short stint, that he took the name Bob Dylan; his one year he spent at the
University of Minnesota was spent performing folk and country style music in
cafes and coffeehouses. He then moved to New York in 1960 where he often played
his harmonica and guitar regularly at coffeehouses and folk cafes in Greenwich
Village; he was also able to meet his idol Woody Guthrie before his death (who
was Dylan’s greatest influence throughout his early works). After writing and
performing “Song to Woody” he was given a recording contract with Columbia
Records. Bob Dylan was not immediately popular, but in 1963 the album The
Freewheelin' Bob Dylan was
released and “marked Dylan's emergence as one of the most original and
poetic voices in the history of American popular music;” which included songs "Blowin'
in the Wind”, for which he is most known for, and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna
Fall."
Dylan’s next album The Times They Are A-Changin' established
him as a songwriter of the 1960’s protest movement; this album included songs focused on anti-war and civil rights
movements. A few songs included in this album were: "Only A
Pawn In Their Game" which was about the murder of civil rights worker
Medgar Evers and "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” which was about
the death of a black hotel barmaid by a white socialite.
It was at this point of his career (needless to say) did he become famous/referred to as the “unofficial spokesperson” for the anti-war and the Civil Rights Movement. He performed at many peace rallies including at the 1963 March on Washington, where he performed “Only a Pawn in Their Game” and “When the Ship Comes In” with Joan Baez, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech.
However, by the end of 1963 he felt that he
was constraining himself to folk and the protest movement with his music. His
next album Another Side of Bob Dylan
had a lighter mood than his previous album and in the following years his style
evolved from folk to folk-rock pop-music. Towards the end of the 1970’s he was
giving Rock ‘n Roll bands permission to use his music in their debut albums;
bands like The Byrds were included in this list.
Today, he continues to tour not just the U.S., but the world. Bob Dylan has also been nominated each year since 1996 for the Nobel Peace Prize, and although he has never won he has continued to be close in the running for this prestigious prize; illustrating just how influential this man was and continues to be in society.
"Blowin' in the Wind"
"Times They are A-Changin'"
It was at this point of his career (needless to say) did he become famous/referred to as the “unofficial spokesperson” for the anti-war and the Civil Rights Movement. He performed at many peace rallies including at the 1963 March on Washington, where he performed “Only a Pawn in Their Game” and “When the Ship Comes In” with Joan Baez, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech.
1963 March on Washington performance
Today, he continues to tour not just the U.S., but the world. Bob Dylan has also been nominated each year since 1996 for the Nobel Peace Prize, and although he has never won he has continued to be close in the running for this prestigious prize; illustrating just how influential this man was and continues to be in society.
Bob
Dylan’s music during the upheaval of the 1960’s gave people a sense of peace
even though there seemed none to be found.
Stan Karber is quoted saying “We listened to anything that spoke of peace. We called him
[Bob Dylan] the peace poet.” There is no doubt that his music
also pioneered
a few different styles of pop songwriting, “from confessional singer/songwriter
to winding, hallucinatory, stream-of-consciousness narratives.” As a vocalist,
he transformed the way people thought a singer should sound; no longer did a
vocalist need to have a “conventionally” good voice in order to perform and
become popular. He also sparked multiple genres of pop music, including
electrified folk rock and country rock. His music and influences have
transcended through several generations and have since become classics of the Rock
‘n Roll and folk genres.
Works Cited:
Works Cited:
Kristen, Susanne, Popular Music and Society vol. 32, no. 2 (May 2009), p. 229-248.
Larsen, Ditlev, Dylan at Play, Cambridge Scholars: 2011, p. 7-11.
"Bob Dylan Biography." Bio. True Story. A&E Networks Digital. Web. 11 Nov 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/bob-dylan-9283052>
Larsen, Ditlev, Dylan at Play, Cambridge Scholars: 2011, p. 7-11.
"Bob Dylan Biography." Bio. True Story. A&E Networks Digital. Web. 11 Nov 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/bob-dylan-9283052>
"Bob Dylan Biography." LyricsFreak. Wikipedia. Web. 11
Nov 2012. <http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob dylan/biography.html>
"March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom." Wikipedia.
Wikipedia, 1108 2012. Web. 11 Nov 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_on_Washington_for_Jobs_and_Freedom
“The Time They Are a-Changin'." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 1608
2012. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times_They_Are_a-Changin'>.
"Bob Dylan- Music Biography." AllMusic. Rovi. Web. 11
Nov 2012. <http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bob-dylan-mn0000066915>.
N.d.
WikipediaWeb. 13 Nov 2012.
<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Joan_Baez_Bob_Dylan_crop.jpg/250px-Joan_Baez_Bob_Dylan_crop.jpg>.
Film. 13 Nov 2012. <youtube.com>.
Film. 13 Nov 2012. <youtube.com>.
