Where did Bob Dylan come from? The grandchild of Jewish/Russian immigrants, Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman, on May 24,1941, in Duluth Minnesota. His father worked for the Standard Oil Company. Dylan began to write poems at the age of ten, and taught himself how to play the piano and the guitar. His youth and teen years were spent in Hibbing, Minnesota and eventually attended the University of Minnesota.
Upon leaving Hibbing, Dylan began to evolve into the artist we know today. In the fall of 1959, Dylan moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota to attend the university. Minneapolis was a major change for Dylan; however, he welcomed every aspects of the big city. He began to dissect rock and roll to its roots, listening to country, rock and folk. Dylan's biggest influences at the time were Hank William's, Robert Johnson and the infamous Woody Guthrie. Dylan's music flourished but his schoolwork did not, which eventually led to him dropping out. Upon dropping out from school Dylan had one goal and one goal only, New York City.
Dylan had two goals when he moved to New York. First, He wanted to expose himself in the Greenwich Village's music scene and ultimately meet his mentor Woody Guthrie. He accomplished both of his goals by becoming Guthrie's personal musician while Woody was in the hospital and at the same time he amazed the musicians he played with. His talent soon became known throughout the New York music scene. His notoriety as a musician oozing with talent resulted in Dylan's first contract with Columbia records in the fall of 1961. His first album " See that My Grave is Kept Clean " did not resemble the work that he would eventually create. His first album did not showcase his talent; however, the album to come " Freewheelin' Bob Dylan", showcased Dylan's talent. The album contained the famous song "Blowin' in the Wind". This album placed Dylan in the mainstream of Rock&Roll forever.
While becoming a music icon of the 1960's and 70's he and his music reached millions of people throughout the world. How did Bob Dylan's music impact society of the decades of sixties? In my opinion due to the state of political unrest in the United States during the 1960's millions of people needed outlets to escape their thoughts and feelings of the Vietnam War. Some people turned to drugs and some turned to music to escape the thought of the war. This escape that people were looking for resulted in certain musicians flourishing. Musicians began to write about and perform music that soothed the soul . Bob Dylan was one of the most influential musicians of the time for numerous reasons. The music that he wrote and performed enhanced the children of the sixties because his music let them escape. For instance, "Blowin' in the Wind" metaphorically defined life as continually changing and Quote, "everything is just Blowin' in the wind". Bob Dylan's demeanor and appearance during the sixties was another reason why he was so popular. The long side-burns and bushy hair connected with the hippies of the time. They viewed Bob Dylan as one of them; therefore, they supported the music that he wrote and performed. "At the time Bob Dylan was bigger than life itself", this was a quote out of Rolling Stone.
Some interesting facts that I stumbled across while researching Bob Dylan on the internet resulted in one article titled " Bob Dylan Protests Sixties Label", This article states that Bob Dylan may very well be the most misunderstood performer of the last Thirty years. In an interview published in " London Times" magazine, Dylan states that he never connected with the sixties, does not consider himself political, and does not believe he was ever a protest singer. The fifty-six year-old Dylan admits that he always had more love for the 50's than the 60's. On the other hand, I came across another article titled, " Dylan Goes Papal' that describes Dylan's encounter with the pope. The article states, aging hippies around the world thought they were having a really bad trip, but it turned out Bob Dylan really was singing for the Pope. Crazy as it sounds, legendary musician Dylan, performed for Pope John Paul II at a religious retreat.
Bob Dylan was and will always be one of the most influential musical artists of our time. The little kid from northern Minnesota shook this town up, Quote Minnesota Times newspaper. His long side- burns and bushy hair will always define who Bob Dylan was and will always be , a tambourine man blowing in the wind.