Robert Allen Zimmerman; his father Abe worked for the Standard Oil Co. Six years later the family moved to Hibbing, often the coldest place in the US, where he taught himself piano and guitar and formed several high school rock bands. In 1959 he entered the University of Minnesota and began performing as Bob Dylan at clubs in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
The following year he went to New York, performed in Greenwich Village folk clubs, and spent much time in the hospital room of his hero Woody Guthrie. Late in 1961 Columbia signed him to a contract and the following year released his first album, containing two original songs. Next year "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" appeared, with all original songs including the 1960s anthem "Blowin' in the Wind." After several more important acoustic/folk albums, and tours with Joan Baez, he launched into a new electric/acoustic format with 1965's "Bringing It All Back Home" which, with The Byrds' cover of his "Mr Tambourine Man," launched folk-rock.
The documentary Dont Look Back (1967) was filmed at this time; he broke off his relationship with Baez and by the end of the year had married Sara Dylan
(born Sara Lowndes). Nearly killed in a motorcycle accident 29 July
1966, he withdrew for a time of introspection. After more hard rock
performances, his next albums were mostly country. With his career
wandering (and critics condemning the fact), Sam Peckinpah asked him to compose the score for, and appear in, his Pat Garrett y Billy el niño (1973) - more memorable as a soundtrack than a film. In 1974 he and The Band
went on tour, releasing his first #1 album, "Planet Waves".
It was
followed a year later by another first-place album, "Blood on the
Tracks". After several Rolling Thunder tours, the unsuccessful film Renaldo and Clara
(1978) and a divorce, he stunned the music world again by his release
of the fundamentalist Christrian album "Slow Train Coming," a cut from
which won him his first Grammy. Many tours and albums later, on the eve
of a European tour May 1997, he was stricken with histoplasmosis (a
possibly fatal infection of the heart sac); he recovered and appeared in
Bologna that September at the request of the Pope. In December he
received the Kennedy Center Award for artistic excellence.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
The following year he went to New York, performed in Greenwich Village folk clubs, and spent much time in the hospital room of his hero Woody Guthrie. Late in 1961 Columbia signed him to a contract and the following year released his first album, containing two original songs. Next year "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" appeared, with all original songs including the 1960s anthem "Blowin' in the Wind." After several more important acoustic/folk albums, and tours with Joan Baez, he launched into a new electric/acoustic format with 1965's "Bringing It All Back Home" which, with The Byrds' cover of his "Mr Tambourine Man," launched folk-rock.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
Spouse
| Carolyn Dennis | (4 June 1986 - 1992) (divorced) (1 child) |
| Sara Dylan | (22 November 1965 - 29 June 1977) (divorced) (4 children) |
Trade Mark
Distinctive voice
Depressing yet witty lyrics
Lyrics about important social issues
Harmonica
Curly hair
Lyrics inspired by real life events
Messy Black Hair
Often dresses entirely in Black
Often wears a stetson hat
Thin Moustache
His seemingly personal but often mysterious and nebulous lyrics
Low rasping voice. Read more »
(Gifs and photos: source_Tumblr and google)
