Bob Dylan

American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter who rose to prominence in the 1960s and is considered one of the greatest songwriters in history. His influential rock albums and politically charged lyrics made him a major figure in popular culture, while he has continued to evolve and reinvent himself over his 60-year career.

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About the Bob Dylan

Bob Dylanis an American singer-songwriter. Often considered to be one of the greatest songwriters in history, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his 60-year career. He rose to prominence in the 1960s, when songs such as “The Times They Are a-Changin'”became anthems for the civil rights and antiwar movements. Initially modeling his style on Woody Guthrie’s folk songs, Robert Johnson’s blues and what he called the “architectural forms” of Hank Williams’s country songs, Dylan added increasingly sophisticated lyrical techniques to the folk music of the early 1960s, infusing it “with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry”. His lyrics incorporated political, social and philosophical influences, defying pop music conventions and appealing to the burgeoning counterculture.

Dylan was born and raised in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Following his self-titled debut album of traditional folk songs in 1962, he made his breakthrough with The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylanexpanded commercial and creative boundaries in popular music.

In July 1966, a motorcycle accident led to Dylan’s withdrawal from touring. During this period, he recorded a large body of songs with members of the Band, who had previously backed him on tour. These recordings were later released as The Basement Tapes in 1975. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dylan explored country music and rural themes on John Wesley Hardingand New Morningmarked the beginning of a career renaissance. He has released five critically acclaimed albums of original material since, most recently Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020). He also recorded a trilogy of albums covering the Great American Songbook, especially songs sung by Frank Sinatra, and an album smoothing his early rock material into a mellower Americana sensibility, Shadow Kingdom (2023). Dylan has toured continuously since the late 1980s on what has become known as the Never Ending Tour.

Since 1994, Dylan has published nine books of paintings and drawings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. He has sold more than 125 million records, making him one of the best-selling musicians ever. He has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, ten Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award. Dylan has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2008, the Pulitzer Prize Board awarded him a special citation for “his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.” In 2016, Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, often considered one of the greatest songwriters in history. He has had a major influence on popular culture over his 60-year career.

Bob Dylan explored various genres, including folk, rock, country, and gospel music. He started out modeling his style on Woody Guthrie’s folk songs and Robert Johnson’s blues, but later incorporated more sophisticated lyrical techniques and expanded into rock and other styles.

Some of Bob Dylan’s most famous songs include ‘The Times They Are a-Changin”, ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’, ‘A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall’, and ‘Like a Rolling Stone’. These songs became anthems for the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s.

Bob Dylan was born on May 24, 1941, in St. Louis County, Minnesota.

Bob Dylan has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, ten Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award. He has also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize citation for his ‘profound impact on popular music and American culture’, and in 2016, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

53 Quotes by Bob Dylan

  1. 1.

    A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  2. 2.

    Don’t matter how much money you got, there’s only two kinds of people: there’s saved people and there’s lost people.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  3. 3.

    This land is your land and this land is my land, sure, but the world is run by those that never listen to music anyway.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  4. 4.

    What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  5. 5.

    Just because you like my stuff doesn’t mean I owe you anything.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  6. 6.

    There is nothing so stable as change.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  7. 7.

    All this talk about equality. The only thing people really have in common is that they are all going to die.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  8. 8.

    I don’t think the human mind can comprehend the past and the future. They are both just illusions that can manipulate you into thinking theres some kind of change.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  9. 9.

    In the dime stores and bus stations, people talk of situations, read books, repeat quotations, draw conclusions on the wall.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  10. 10.

    In ceremonies of the horsemen, even the pawn must hold a grudge.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  11. 11.

    I am against nature. I don’t dig nature at all. I think nature is very unnatural. I think the truly natural things are dreams, which nature can’t touch with decay.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  12. 12.

    I say there’re no depressed words just depressed minds.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  13. 13.

    Basically you have to suppress your own ambitions in order to be who you need to be.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  14. 14.

    A mistake is to commit a misunderstanding.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  15. 15.

    What good are fans? You can’t eat applause for breakfast. You can’t sleep with it.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  16. 16.

    If I wasn’t Bob Dylan, I’d probably think that Bob Dylan has a lot of answers myself.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  17. 17.

    At times in my life the only place I have been happy is when I am on stage.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  18. 18.

    Being noticed can be a burden. Jesus got himself crucified because he got himself noticed. So I disappear a lot.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  19. 19.

    I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  20. 20.

    I’ll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  21. 21.

    But even the President of the United States sometimes must have to stand naked.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  22. 22.

    Take care of all your memories. For you cannot relive them.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  23. 23.

    He not busy being born is busy dying.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  24. 24.

    All I can do is be me, whoever that is.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  25. 25.

    I define nothing. Not beauty, not patriotism. I take each thing as it is, without prior rules about what it should be.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  26. 26.

    People seldom do what they believe in. They do what is convenient, then repent.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  27. 27.

    I consider myself a poet first and a musician second. I live like a poet and I’ll die like a poet.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  28. 28.

    Colleges are like old-age homes, except for the fact that more people die in colleges.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  29. 29.

    Being on tour is like being in limbo. It’s like going from nowhere to nowhere.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  30. 30.

    All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  31. 31.

    I’ve never written a political song. Songs can’t save the world. I’ve gone through all that.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  32. 32.

    People today are still living off the table scraps of the sixties. They are still being passed around – the music and the ideas.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  33. 33.

    A lot of people can’t stand touring but to me it’s like breathing. I do it because I’m driven to do it.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  34. 34.

    Chaos is a friend of mine.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  35. 35.

    I have dined with kings, I’ve been offered wings. And I’ve never been too impressed.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  36. 36.

    A song is anything that can walk by itself.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  37. 37.

    A person is a success if they get up in the morning and gets to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  38. 38.

    I think a poet is anybody who wouldn’t call himself a poet.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  39. 39.

    No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  40. 40.

    Democracy don’t rule the world, You’d better get that in your head; This world is ruled by violence, But I guess that’s better left unsaid.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  41. 41.

    The radio makes hideous sounds.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  42. 42.

    I accept chaos, I’m not sure whether it accepts me.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  43. 43.

    I’m just glad to be feeling better. I really thought I’d be seeing Elvis soon.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  44. 44.

    Money doesn’t talk, it swears.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  45. 45.

    When you cease to exist, then who will you blame?

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  46. 46.

    A poem is a naked person… Some people say that I am a poet.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  47. 47.

    Yesterday’s just a memory, tomorrow is never what it’s supposed to be.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  48. 48.

    Well, the future for me is already a thing of the past.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  49. 49.

    I’m speaking for all of us. I’m the spokesman for a generation.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  50. 50.

    A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  51. 51.

    To live outside the law, you must be honest.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  52. 52.

    You learn from a conglomeration of the incredible past – whatever experience gotten in any way whatsoever.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

  53. 53.

    I like America, just as everybody else does. I love America, I gotta say that. But America will be judged.

    Bob Dylan

    American singer-songwriter (born 1941)