bob dylan: voice of a generation

June 16, 2015

It was exactly 50 years ago today that Bob Dylan walked into Studio A at Columbia Records in New York and recorded "Like a Rolling Stone," which we have called the single greatest song of all time. The track was on store shelves just a month later, where it shot to Number Two on the Billboard Hot 100 (held back only by the Beatles' "Help!") and influenced an entire new generation of rock stars.

Bob Dylan, NYC, 1965 by Don Hunstein

Released in late August, 1965, Dylan’s landmark album “Highway 61 Revisited,” literally rocked the music world. In this June 1965 recording session, photographer Don Hunstein captures a contemplative Dylan sitting at the piano, very possibly working out the music and lyrics for one of his signature songs - “Like A Rolling Stone.”


This February, 1963 Don Hunstein image is a black and white variation of the photo used for the actual color cover of “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” album. This iconic image shows Bob & his girlfriend Suze Rotolo walking down a cold and slushy Greenwich Village street.

Bob Dylan

Voice of a generation

Bob Dylan poses for a portrait with his Gibson Acoustic guitar in September 1961, in New York City. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Bob Dylan performs at The Bitter End folk club in Greenwich Village in 1961, in New York City. Sigmund Goode/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images

Guthrie was a key influence on Dylan, who spent time playing personal and political songs in Greenwich Village clubs. He was soon discovered by producer John Hammond, who signed Dylan to Columbia Records in late 1961.

Bob Dylan, pictured here strumming his acoustic guitar and smoking a cigarette in 1961 in New York City.

Bob Dylan during sessions for his first album at Columbia Studios in New York City in November, 1961. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Dylan performs in 1961 at The Bitter End club in New York City. His first album, "Bob Dylan," debuted in 1962 and consisted mostly of old folk songs.

Bob Dylan plays guitar in New York City in 1962. John Cohen/Getty Images

Bob Dylan's girlfriend Suze Rotolo, January 1962. Joe Alper Photo Collection LLC

Bob Dylan & Suze Rotolo sharing a cold & funny moment during The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan February photo shoot, NYC, 1963. Photo by Don Hunstein

Among his early albums, "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" included the anthemic "Blowin' in the Wind," which folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary transformed into a major hit. Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, Joan Baez, Neil Young and many others would cover

Joan Baez and Bob Dylan during the March on Washington in 1963. Rowland Scherman/Getty Images

Photo Jim Marshall photograph of Bob Dylan rolling a tire down a Greenwich Village street in 1963

Bob Dylan, New York City, 1963 Cover photograph for the album The Times They Are a-Changin’ Barry Feinstein Photography.

Bob Dylan sits on a motorcycle in Woodstock, NY, in 1964. Douglas R. Gilbert/Redferns

Bob Dylan plays an electric guitar for the first time on stage at the Newport Folk Festival on July 25, 1965. Alice Ochs/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Dylan listens to recordings of his album "Highway 61 Revisited" in 1965. It contained "Like a Rolling Stone," which went to No. 2 on U.S. charts.

Musicians Bob Dylan, Donovan, and Mary Travers of Peter Paul and Mary backstage at the Newport Folk Festival in July 1965 in Newport, Rhode Island. (Photo by David Gahr/Getty Images)

Bob Dylan, LSD, Sheffield, England, 1966. Barry Feinstein Photography

Bob Dylan, Kids on street, Liverpool, 1966. Barry Feinstein Photography.

"Don't Look Back" begins with what's been called an early example of a music video, as Dylan holds up cue cards featuring the lyrics to "Subterranean Homesick Blues" while the song plays on the soundtrack. Beat icon Allen Ginsberg can be seen in the background. 1967

After recovering from a near-fatal 1966 motorcycle crash, Dylan regrouped, playing with a backing band soon to be known as the Band. Eschewing touring, they instead recorded dozens of songs in widely bootlegged sessions later known as "The Basement Tapes." They are shown performing Jan. 20, 1968, in New York City's Carnegie Hall.

Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash perform on "The Johnny Cash Show" on June 7, 1969. ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images.

Folk legend Pete Seeger was another singer who collaborated with Dylan in the early '60s. The prolific Dylan was beginning to be seen as the voice of a generation, with many of his songs supplying the soundtrack to the growing counter-culture.

George Harrison and Bob Dylan perform during the Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden, New York, on August 1, 1971. Bill Ray/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Coger McGuinn, Joni Mitchell, Richie Havens, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan perform the finale of The Rolling Thunder Revue in December, 1975. AP

Joan Baez and Bob Dylan perform during The Rolling Thunder Review tour on Nov. 4, 1975, in Providence, RI. AP.

Bob Dylan talking to Patti Smith in stairwell during party at Allen Ginsberg's House, 1975

Dylan performs with Robbie Robertson of The Band, right, and Van Morrison at The Band's farewell concert in 1976.

Bob Dylan sings and plays guitar on stage, wearing a top hat, during the Blackbushe Pop Festival, Hampshire, England, July 17, 1978. (Photo by Express Newspapers/Getty Images)

Bob Dylan performs on December 12, 1978, at the Omni in Atlanta, Ga. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Bob Dylan visits the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem on the day of his son's Bar Mitzvah on September 20th, 1983. AP Photo/Zavi

Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Santana, Mai 1984, Hamburg

Bono singing "Blowin in the wind" with Bob Dylan and Carlos Santana at Slane Ireland in 1984

In the '80s, Dylan experimented with gospel sounds, toured with the Grateful Dead, took part in USA for Africa and even collaborated with rapper Kurtis Blow. His albums met with mixed results. Pictured: Dylan performing with U2's Bono, in April 1987.

Ron Wood, Bob Dylan and Keith Richards perform during Live Aid on July 13, 1985, at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Paul Natkin/WireImage

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Dylan poses for a photo with David Bowie in 1985

Dylan performs with Tom Petty at Farm Aid in Chicago in 1985.

Tom Petty and Bob Dylan perform at Poplar Creek Music Theater in Chicago on July 22, 1986. Paul Natkin/WireImage.

In 1994, Dylan performed at the 25th anniversary of Woodstock in upstate New York. He had rejected an invitation to play at the original 1969 fest, choosing instead to appear at the Isle of Wight festival in England on Aug. 31, 1969.

Bob Dylan performs on "MTV Unplugged" at the Sony Music Studio in New York City on November 18, 1994. Frank Micelotta/Getty Images

Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen perform "Forever Young" together during the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on September 2, 1995, in Cleveland. Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Charlton Heston, Bob Dylan & Lauren Bacall applaud one another at The White House after the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony on December 7, 1997. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Dylan performed one of his best-known songs, "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" in front of Pope John Paul II in Bologna, Italy on Sept. 27, 1997, before an estimated crowd of 300,000

Bob Dylan holds his Grammy Award after winning in the Album of the Year Category at the 40th Grammy Awards in New York City on February 25, 1998. Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

While performing the song "Love Sick" at the 1998 Grammys, Dylan was interrupted by performance artist Michael Portnoy, with the words "Soy Bomb" painted on his chest.

Bob Dylan performs at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on February 27, 2002. Gary Hershorn/Reuters

In this Aug. 3, 2002 file photo, Bob Dylan plays an electric guitar the last time he performed at the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, R.I. On the night of July 25, 1965, Dylan strode onto a stage at the folk festival, plugged in an electric guitar and gave the music world a shock. Fifty years later, its considered one of the most important events in rock history, the high-voltage moment when Dylan broke from folk and helped show his fellow musicians the poetic possibilities of rock. (Newport Daily News/Dave Hansen via AP, File)

Dylan appears with actress Jessica Lange during a news conference for the movie "Masked and Anonymous" in 2003. Dylan co-wrote the movie and starred in it.

Bob Dylan performs at the Apollo Theater Foundation 70th Anniversary Benefit Celebration on March 28, 2004 at the Apollo Theater, in New York City. (Photo by Matthew Peyton/Getty Images)

Willie Nelson and Dylan performed together at Willie Nelson and Friends' "Outlaws and Angels" concert at the Wiltern in Los Angeles on May 5, 2004

Dylan poses for photos at the University of St. Andrews after he received an honorary degree at the Scottish school in 2004.

Bob Dylan Performs during the 37th AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Michael Douglas at Sony Pictures on June 11, 2009, in Culver City, Calif. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Bob Dylan performs onstage during The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on February 13, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Bob Dylan performs onstage during the 17th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards held at The Hollywood Palladium on January 12, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Bob Dylan is presented with a Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Barack Obama during an East Room event May 29, 2012 at the White House in Washington, DC. The Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, is presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Bob Dylan performs on stage during the 21st edition of the Vieilles Charrues music festival on July 22, 2012 in Carhaix-Plouguer, western France. Photo FRED TANNEAU/AFP/GettyImages

Dylan was honored at the MusiCares 2015 Person of the Year Gala on Feb. 6, 2015, where he delivered a lengthy speech about songwriting and musical inspiration.

Bob Dylan, former president Jimmy Carter, Neil Portnow

Former President Jimmy Carter introduces Bob Dylan as the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year with Neil Portnow, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, during the MusiCares concert at the Convention Center. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Bob Dylan 2015 MusiCares Person Of The Year. Photo by Michael Kovac

Bob Dylan, 1965 by Richard Avedon

Bob Dylan, Fumee black&white, Paris 1964 by Tony Frank

Bob Dylan by Bob Gruen

Bob Dylan by Jerry Schatzberg

Bob Dylan, 1962 by David Gahr

Bob Dylan, 1966 by Lisa Law

Bob Dylan (window) Los Angeles, 1999 by Danny Clinch

Bob Dylan, Los Angeles, 1966 by Lisa Law

Bob Dylan at the Secret Sound Studio 1976 by Lynn Goldsmith

Bob Dylan by Ken Regan

Bob Dylan with George Harrison by Henry Diltz

Bob Dylan, 1965 by Thompson

Bob Dylan, London, England, 1966 by Barry Feinstein

Bob Dylan by Jan Persson

Bob Dylan by William Claxton

Bob Dylan by Barry Feinstein

Bob Dylan, Aust Ferry, Aust, England, 1966 by Barry Feinstein

Bob Dylan, Aust Ferry, Aust, England, 1966 by Barry Feinstein

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Bob Dylan Fast Facts

Personal:

Birth date: May 24, 1941Birth place: Duluth, MinnesotaBirth name: Robert Allen ZimmermanFather: Abraham Zimmerman, a furniture and appliance salesmanMother: Beatty (Stone) Zimmerman, a former model and housewifeMarriages: Carol Dennis (1986-1992, divorced); Sara Lowndes (1965-1977, divorced)Children: with Carol Dennis: Desiree; with Sara Lowndes: Jesse, Jakob, Samuel, and AnnaEducation: Attended University of Minnesota, 1959-1960

Other Facts:

Winner of 10 Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year), one Golden Globe and oneAcademy Award.

Early musical influences included Hank Williams, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.

Known in his early career for playing the guitar and the harmonica, and for his distinctive vocal phrasing.

Many cities worldwide celebrate Dylan's birthday with Dylanfest or the Bob Dylan Birthday Bash.

Timeline:

1960-1961 - Drops out of college and goes to New York, hoping to meet his idol, Woody Guthrie, and begins performing in the folk scene in Greenwich Village.

1962 - His first album, "Bob Dylan," debuts. It consists mostly of old folk songs redone by Dylan.

1963 - His second album, called "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan," is released, containing original songs he had written, such as "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" and "Blowin' in the Wind."

1965 - Album "Bringing It All Back Home" is released, containing the songs "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Maggie's Farm." Later that year, Dylan is booed at the Newport Folk Festival when he performs with an electric guitar.1965 - Album "Highway 61 Revisited" is released. It contains "Like a Rolling Stone" which goes to No. 2 on U.S. charts.July 29, 1966 - Suffers a broken neck in a motorcycle accident.December 1967 - Album "John Wesley Harding" is released, containing the song "All Along the Watchtower."1971 - His book "Tarantula" is published.March 3, 1973 - Wins the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for "The Concert For Bangladesh." The award is shared with Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Klaus Voormann, Leon Russell, Ravi Shankar and Ringo Starr.

1973 - Dylan signs with Asylum after his contract with Columbia expires and releases two new albums, "Planet Waves" and "Before the Flood."1973 - Appears in the movie, "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid."1975 - Re-signs with Columbia and releases "Blood on the Tracks."1978 - Directs and stars in the film "Renaldo and Clara."1979 - Studies Christianity at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship school in California.1979-1981 - The next three album releases, "Slow Train Coming," "Saved," and "Shot of Love," reflect his new Christian beliefs.February 27, 1980 - Wins a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Gotta Serve Somebody."1980s - Tours with Tom Petty and the Grateful Dead.1988 - Is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Traveling Wilburys album "Volume 1" is released with Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and George Harrison.February 21, 1990 - Wins a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal - The Traveling Wilburys, for "Traveling Wilburys Volume One."May 1997 - Is hospitalized for a fungal infection called histoplasmosis.

1997 - Performs for Pope John Paul II in Bologna, Italy.

December 1997 - Receives the Kennedy Center honors which recognize a lifetime achievement in the performing arts, the first rock musician to do so.

February 28, 1998 - Wins three Grammy Awards: Best Contemporary Folk Album for "Time Out of Mind," Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Cold Irons Bound," and Album of the Year for "Time Out of Mind."

2001 - Wins a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song, for "Things Have Changed" from "Wonder Boys" (2000).

2003 - Writes and stars in the film "Masked and Anonymous."

October 2004 - "Chronicles: Volume One", Dylan's autobiography, is released.

April 28, 2006 - Kicks off the first Jazz Fest in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

May 3, 2006 - Dylan begins a weekly radio show on XM satellite radio, called the "Theme Time Radio Hour."

February 11, 2007 - Wins two Grammy Awards: Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for "Someday Baby" and Contemporary Folk/Americana Album for "Modern Times."

April 7, 2008 - Wins a Pulitzer Prize special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

February 9, 2010 - Performs "The Times, They are a Changing" at the White House in honor of Black History month, as part of the President's Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement.

January 2011 - Signs a six-book deal with Simon & Schuster.

April 2011 - Performs for the first time in Vietnam and mainland China.

May 29, 2012 - Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obamaduring a ceremony in the White House East Room.

September 11, 2012 - His 35th studio album, "Tempest," is released.

December 3, 2013 - The Paris prosecutor's office says Dylan is being investigated on suspicion of inciting hatred. He allegedly compared the conflict between Croatians and Serbs to the Nazis' persecution of Jews in an interview he did last year for the French edition of Rolling Stone.

February 3, 2015 - His 36th studio album, "Shadows in the Night," is released. Dylan gives away 50,000 copies to seniors who subscribe to AARP's magazine.

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