Bob Dylan
Date of birth
24th May, 1941
Occupation
Musician
Sex
Male
Height
1.71
Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman, 24.5.1941)
Bob Dylan is an American songwriter who rose to fame in the 1960s.
Net Worth: In 2013, Celebrity Net Worth claimed that Bob Dylan had a net worth of 180 million USD.
Childhood: Bob Dylan was born in Duluth, Minnesota and was later raised near Lake Superior. He has a Jewish heritage. Bob Dylan's first band was the Shadow Blasters, followed by The Golden Chords, who played cover versions of popular songs. In 1959, he played with Bobby Vee, hand-clapping and playing piano. That same year, he moved to the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Upon hearing Odetta, he traded in his electric guitar for an acoustic and his love of folk music, as opposed to rock 'n' roll, slowly grew. He began playing at coffee houses such as the 10 O'clock Scholar and became a part of the Dinkytown folk scene.
Career: In 1961, Bob Dylan moved to New York City, intending to visit his hero, Woody Guthrie, who was in hospital there. Eventually, his music was heard by John Hammond, who signed him to Columbia Records. Dylan's debut album was entitled Bob Dylan and was released in 1962. It featured folk and blues standard as well as two of his own songs. That year, he signed a management deal with Albert Grossman. The second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan was an introduction to his protest songs, featuring one of his most notorious songs, 'Blowin' In The Wind'. He soon became a prominent figure in the Greenwich Village folk movement. Artists including the Hollies, Manfred Mann and Sonny and Cher had hits with Dylan's songs in the 1960s. Bob Dylan often performed with Joan Baez at protest rallies and the pair were figureheads of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Dylan's next albums were the Times They Are A-Changin', followed by Another Side of Bob Dylan. In 1965, Dylan released Bringing It All Back Home, featuring something of a style shift, with songs such as 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'. Appearing at that year's Newport Folk Festival, he played his electric guitar, apparently alienating a huge section of the audience. Released in 1965, the single 'Like A Rolling Stone' reached number two in the US and number 4 in the UK. Shortly after, came Dylan's Highway '61 Revisited. The next year, Dylan travelled to Nashville and recorded Blonde On Blonde. His 1966 world tour culminated in the notorious gig at Manchester's Free Trade Hall, which saw one angry fan shout "Judas!" when Dylan played his electric guitar. In 1967, after a break following a motorcycle accident, Dylan released the album John Wesley Harding, which included 'All Along The Watchtower', famously covered by Jimi Hendrix. Dylan's 1969 release, Nashville Skyline was a country record, featuring Johnny Cash and the hit single 'Lay Lady Lay'. Dylan's life as the critical darling ended abruptly in the early 1970s, when Greil Marcus famously asked "What is this shit?" in a Rolling Stone review of Self Portrait. In 1972, Bob Dylan provided the soundtrack to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, including the song 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door', which has been covered by over 150 artists. The next year, he signed with Geffen and released Picture Waves with The Band. Following a marriage-break-up, Dylan released Blood On the Tracks in 1974, though it did not fare well with many critics, such as the NME's Nick Kent. In 1976, Dylan appeared at The Band's final performance, along with Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. The performance was released on the album the Last Waltz. In the late 1970's, Dylan became a born-again Christian and released two Christian gospel albums, Slow Train Coming and Saved. Though Dylan continued to release albums in the 1980s, much of it was overlooked, both commercially and critically. Of his more respected work of the era, 1983's Infidels stood out. In 1988, he was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, with a speech by Bruce Springsteen. His 1990 album Under the Red Sky was so poorly received that he did not make another album for seven years. It was not until 2001's Love and Theft that Dylan fell back into favour with his audience, with many applauding its wide range of styles, including jazz, swing and lounge ballads. In 2004, his autobiography Chronicles: Volume One reached number two on the New York Times bestseller list. In 2006, Bob Dylan's Modern Times album reached number one in the US charts. The same year, he began hosting a weekly radio show, entitled 'Theme Time Radio Hour'. The show was later broadcast by the BBC. In 2007, Todd Haynes wrote and directed the film I'm Not There, which was inspired by Dylan's life and music. A number of different actors played Dylan in the movie, most notably Cate Blanchett, but also Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Richard Gere. The same year, Dylan authorized the first ever official remix of one his songs. Mark Ronson had asked to remix 'Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine).' In July 2008, it was announced by CBS that they would release a long-awaited bootleg series, entitled Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989-2006.
Personal Life: In 1965, Bob Dylan married Sara Lownds. They had four children together: Jesse Byron, Anna Lea, Samuel Isaac Abraham and Jakob Luke. Bob also adopted Sara's daughter Maria Lownds. Bob and Sara divorced in 1977. Bob Dylan then married his backing singer, Carolyn Dennis in 1986. They had one daughter, Desiree Gabrielle Dennis-Dylan, in 1986. They divorced in 1992. This information was not revealed until the publication of his biography in 2001 by Howard Sounes. In 2009, Dylan moved to Malibu, California.
Bob Dylan Is Accused Of Sexual Abuse, But Fans Say The Facts Don’t Add Up
By Holly Mosley in Music / Festivals on 17 August 2021
Fans are doing their own investigation into Bob Dylan sex abuse claims.
It’s never easy to read about an iconic music hero being accused of something as heinous as sexual abuse, but there’s something about the new case being brought against Bob Dylan which is making fans reluctant to believe the accuser.
The 80-year-old is being accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl over a period of six weeks across April and May 1965 at his Chelsea Hotel apartment in New York. He would have been 24-years-old at the time and first emerging as the icon that he is.
Continue reading: Bob Dylan Is Accused Of Sexual Abuse, But Fans Say The Facts Don’t Add Up
Be Kind: Songs To Inspire Compassion In A World Of Conflict [Playlist]
By Holly Mosley in Music / Festivals on 12 August 2020
Looks like we need to learn basic humanity again.
It's amazing that we can live in a world that produces trending hashtags like #BeKind and #AllLivesMatter one minute, and then expresses outrage at an "invasion" of desperate migrants in dinghies the next. It's astounding that we are still fighting for equal rights for black people in 2020. And it's frankly incredible that everyday people are at each others throats about wearing face masks when people are still dying everyday from Covid-19.
It's time that we all took a look at ourselves and made the decision to be the best, most compassionate version of ourselves that we can be. Let our Be Kind playlist inspire you to be a friend to everyone.
1. You've Got A Friend In Me - Randy Newman
Continue reading: Be Kind: Songs To Inspire Compassion In A World Of Conflict [Playlist]
Kanye West Reaches Out On Twitter For Bob Dylan Collaboration
By Ed Biggs in Music / Festivals on 13 December 2018
We're not sure that's how it works, Kanye...
Kanye West has reached out on social media to none other than Bob Dylan, apparently in the hope of scoring a collaboration with the legendary songwriter.
Having spent most of the last few days feverishly tweeting about trees – inspired by a trip to a botanical garden in Miami in which he at one point said “landscaping is a conversation with God” – the 41 year old rapper suddenly decided on Wednesday evening (December 12th) to ask Dylan whether he’d like to work together on a project.
“Calling out to Bob Dylan - Let’s get together,” he wrote bluntly.
Continue reading: Kanye West Reaches Out On Twitter For Bob Dylan Collaboration
Music News Round-Up: Britney Spears' Vegas Residency; Bob Dylan Movie; Blossoms Homecoming Gig
By Ed Biggs in Music / Festivals on 20 October 2018
The latest music news rounded up, including a possible Nirvana reunion, and Blossom's huge Stockport gig next June.
Britney Spears ANNOUNCES NEW LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY
Britney Spears has announced details of a second Las Vegas residency, following the resounding success of her Piece Of Me run which lasted a staggering four years.
The move was announced on Thursday night (October 18th) that the 36 year old pop megastar will have a new residency, slated to begin in 2019 at the theater inside the new Park MGM Resort.
Continue reading: Music News Round-Up: Britney Spears' Vegas Residency; Bob Dylan Movie; Blossoms Homecoming Gig
From Love & Mercy To Sid & Nancy: 7 Best Musical Biopics Of All Time
By Holly Mosley in Movies / TV / Theatre on 08 September 2018
Some of the most explorative biopics ever made.
Here at Contactmusic, we can't get enough of a good musical biopic whether it's 'The Runaways', 'The Doors' or 'Nowhere Boy' - the list is endless. There are only a handful, however, that make for a truly evocative and memorable experience of some of the most influential artists in the world.
Here are our seven favourite musical biopics of all time:
The 76-year-old Nobel Prize winner expands his empire with a line of alcoholic beverages including a straight rye, a double barrel whiskey and a Tennessee bourbon. He originally wanted to call the line 'Bootleg' in honour of his album series, but Angel's Envy took it in a direction that incorporated their own theme with a musical edge.
Continue reading: Opening Heaven's Door: Bob Dylan Has A New Whiskey Range
Ezra Koenig Dedicates Show To Tom Petty
By Clive King in Music / Festivals on 09 October 2017
Ezra Koenig has dedicated his Beats 1 show 'Time Crisis' to late music legend Tom Petty, who passed away last week aged 66.
Ezra Koenig has dedicated a show to Tom Petty.
The Vampire Weekend frontman paid tribute to the late music legend, who passed away last week aged 66, by doing his Beats 1 show 'Time Crisis' in his honour, and revealed his favourite song is the star's well known hit 'Free Fallin''.
Speaking about the track, Ezra said: ''He's talking about life being in free fall, it's harsh.''
Continue reading: Ezra Koenig Dedicates Show To Tom Petty
Did Bob Dylan Plagiarise Part Of His Nobel Prize Lecture?
By Ed Biggs in Music / Festivals on 14 June 2017
An article by Slate magazine, prompted by a blog post, claims that Dylan plagiarised the section of his Nobel Prize lecture about 'Moby Dick'.
It took him the best of nine months to get round to doing it, but now it has been claimed that Bob Dylan plagiarised his Nobel Literature Prize lecture from SparkNotes, an online version of revision resource CliffNotes.
A report by Slate Magazine on Tuesday (June 13th) highlighted similarities between the SparkNotes entry on Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick and Dylan’s speech, in which the singer discussed the three books that had had the biggest impact on his writing and career.
Continue reading: Did Bob Dylan Plagiarise Part Of His Nobel Prize Lecture?
Bob Dylan's Nobel Literature Lecture Is Finally Here - And It's Epic
By Holly Williams in Music / Festivals on 06 June 2017
The Nobel Prize laureate describes the influences on his songwriting.
Bob Dylan is notoriously private, to such a point that he refused to attend the official Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm in favour of a private meeting during his tour stop. However, that hasn't stopped him being very public with his official acceptance speech.
The folk legend delivered a 27-minute lecture regarding his win of the Nobel Literature Prize, recording it in Los Angeles on Sunday (June 4th 2017) with piano accompaniment and uploading it online for the whole world to hear yesterday. Needless to say it was worth the long wait.
Continue reading: Bob Dylan's Nobel Literature Lecture Is Finally Here - And It's Epic
Bob Dylan - Triplicate Album Review
By David J. Lownds in Music Reviews on 01 April 2017
On his new album, Bob Dylan sings, “I’m weary all of the time”. If the more upbeat tracks were less energetic, that would be a good summary of all the content found on this horribly colossal overindulgence of a triple album. ‘Triplicate’ is, in the main, as tired as it is tiresome. Imagine your grandfather singing along to a slow ballad while drowsy. That is what Dylan sounds like for most of this set.
It’s not just the fact that his new contribution is a triple album of covers that may be unexpected to some. The jazzy, smooth kind of crooning on display here, a genre some may see as being dated by the time The Beatles were finished with touring and Blonde on Blonde came out, is almost as alien to most of Dylan’s adventures in sound as house music and hip-hop are, varied though the songwriter’s recording career has been. Many who heard his great take on ‘Melancholy Mood’, released in 2016, or the album that preceded it might have predicted something along these lines, but three discs’ worth of it? Really?
Continue reading: Bob Dylan - Triplicate Album Review
Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan performing on his last night of his world tour at the Royal Albert Hall - London, United Kingdom - Thursday 28th November 2013
Bob Dylan Friday 30th May 2008 at Sundance Film Festival Bob Dylan has produced a wine from Le Terrazze in a signed bottle and named after his 1974 album 'Planet Waves'