Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan : A True Music Icon

Last Updated on January 20, 2017 by Bharat Saini

Bob Dylan, whose real name is Robert Allen Zimmerman, the singer and the songwriter has been awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature and this has stunned the contemporary literary world as Dylan’s work is not in the traditional forms of novels, stories, and poetry, though he is a true music icon and a gifted writer and his writings have influenced entire generations of listeners and readers who connect with the emotion in each of his works. Dylan’s commercial success is due to his ability to connect with and voice angst of generations, growing up in the shadow of the atom bomb, that Dylan referenced with “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”, or great shifts in America and the postcolonial world, in “The Times They Are A-Changin”. And so it goes, to today’s nightmares about terrorism and the consequent state-sanctioned horrors on individual liberty and freedom of expression. According to the Swedish Academy, Dylan has been chosen, “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. He has been writing and singing about the downfallen, marginalised and, well, nobodies. Dylan is a true music icon and gifted writer; he is the first American to win the prize since Toni Morrison in 1993.

Bob Dylan : Personal Life

Birth Date :        May 24, 1941

Birth Place :      Duluth, Minnesota

Birth Name :      Robert Allen Zimmerman

Father :              Abraham Zimmerman, a furniture and appliance salesman

Mother :             Beatty (Stone) Zimmerman, a former model and housewife

Marriages :      Carol Dennis (1986-1992, divorced); Sara Lowndes (1965-1977, divorced)

Children :        With Carol Dennis: Desiree; with Sara Lowndes: Jesse, Jakob, Samuel, and Anna

Education :       Attended University of Minnesota, 1959-1960

Bob Dylan: Interesting Facts About the
Nobel Literature Laureate 2016

  • Bob Dylan’s former name was Robert Allen Zimmerman.
  • He is the first singer-songwriter to win a Nobel Prize.
  • First American to win Nobel literature prize since Toni Morrison (in 1993).
  • His songs “Blowin in the Wind” and “The Times They Are A-Changin” became anthems for the civil rights movements of the 1960s.
  • Only person who have won Grammy awards, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, Pulitzer Prize for contribution to music & a Nobel.
  • His work “Rainy Day Women 12 & 35” was recorded in one take.
  • His influence as a lyricist extends from Beatles to Springstein, Bono & Ed Sheeran. That makes him the most influencial lyricist of past 50 years.
  • He also co-wrote & directed a movie in 1978 namely, Renelado & Clara.

 

Dylan, the 75-year-old song writing legend began his music career in 1961, when he left his small town in Minnesota for the club and cafe scene of New York’s famed Greenwich Village. There he met John Hammond, the record producer who gave him a contract, in 1962, for his debut eponymous album,   “Bob Dylan”. His album was a reflection of the contemporary society that he lived in and commented on to, never shying away from the important issues like religion, politics, and social conditions. Dylan began his career as an acoustic singer-songwriter specialising in protest songs such as “Blowin’ In The Wind”. Dylan created controversy at the Newport, Rhode Island, folk festival in 1965 when he set aside his acoustic guitar and played an electric guitar, which made his hard-core music fans feel betrayed. He was dubbed “Judas” by traditionalist. In 1975, Dylan recorded “Blood On The Tracks”, probably his greatest studio album, “Little red bike/ I ain’t no monkey but I know what I like / I like the way you love me strong and slow,/ I’m takin’ you with me, honey baby,/ When I go.”  His other famous songs include “Subterranean Homesick Blues”, “Mr Tambourine Man”, Just Like A Woman”, “Lay, Lady Lay”, “Tangled Up in Blue” and “Maggie’s Farm”. Recognising the range of the state’s power, he said, “No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky”. He once told the Rolling Stone magazine, “I live in my dreams. I don’t really live in the actual world.”

  • Bharat Saini

    Education, travel, health and fitness, digital marketing, food, finance, and law blogger committed to delivering valuable insights, practical tips, and reliable guides across various fields. Aiming to make content accessible and trusted for readers of all backgrounds.

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