biography
| name: |
Dylan, Bob
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| |
pseudonym of Robert Zimmerman
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pronunciation:
[dilan]
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1941– )
|
| biography:
| Folk and rock songwriter and singer, born in Duluth, Minnesota, USA. He imitated Little Richard on piano at high school dances, changed his name, and dropped out of college to perform folk and country songs at local coffee houses. (Over the years he gave various explanations of the origin of his last name; one was that originally it was ‘Dillon’ after the popular television Western lawman, and only later did its spelling change to reflect his admiration for the Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas.) In 1960 he moved to New York and began visiting legendary folksinger Woody Guthrie in the hospital. He was soon playing his own and Guthrie's songs on guitar in small folk clubs, where he met Joan Baez who helped advance his career. He achieved a huge following with the albums Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963), with its hit ‘Blowin' In The Wind’ and Times They Are A-Changin' (1964), which established him as the premier folk balladeer of his generation, as well as its voice for social protest. Influenced by the Beatles, he released the album Highway 61 Revisited (1965) backed by a full rock band, which included the hits ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ and ‘Like a Rolling Stone’. A prolific songwriter and gifted lyricist, he went on to write many great folk-rock songs of the 1970s and 1980s and to sell many gold albums in rock, country, and even gospel styles. In 1985 he sang at benefit concerts for African famine relief and in 1986 toured Japan, Australia, and the USA with rock star Tom Petty. He continued to make occasional appearances at benefits and special concerts. |
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