Bob Dylan

Robert Allen Zimmerman changed his name to Bob Dylan. He was born on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota. He is a musician, writer, and artist. He writes music and sings his own songs. He is a very powerful figure in popular music and is a culture setter. He started in the 1960s and was a reluctant figure of social unrest. His early song Blowin' in the Wind and The Times They are a-Changin are anthems for anti-war and civil rights movements.
Dylan's six minute Like a Rolling Stone altered popular music in 1965. He used electric instruments which were highly unusual during the 1960s. Dylan performs with guitar, keyboards and harmonica. He usually is backed by a different lineup of musicians and has toured since the late 1980s on his Never Ending Tour. He considers his greatest contribution to the music scene as his songwriting.
Dylan has published three books of paintings and drawings and his work has been exhibited in art galleries around the world. He has sold more than 100 million records and receive many awards including the Golden Globe, Grammy, and an Academy Award. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. He won a special citation in 2008 from the Pulitzer Prize jury. He has also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
Dylan's second album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963 included protest songs inspired by Woody Guthrie and influenced by Pete Seeger. A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall marked a new direction in songwriting. It blended social consciousness with images.
Dylan's third album The Times They Are a-Changin reflected a cynical Bob Dylan. His song Only a Pawn in Their Game was about the murder of civil right worker Medger Evers and The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll sang about the death of black maid Hattie Carroll at the hands of a white socialite. Ballad of Hollis Brown and North Country Blues sings about despair in the farming and mining communities.
Dylan began to be a bit disenchanted by all the social intricacies he was involved and in 1964 her recorded Another Side of Bob Dylan which is a lighter song. Spanish Harlem Incident and To Ramona are romantic love songs and Black Crow Blues and I Don't Believe fall into the rock and roll genre.
Dylan's Never Ending Tour began in 1988 and has continued through the 2000s. By May 2013 Dylan had played more than 2,500 shows. His performances are unpredictable and critical opinion is divided. In 2014 Dylan will tour Japan and continue on with the world.
In 1965 Sara Lownds and Bob Dylan were married and they had four children. They divorced in 1977. In 1986 Dylan married his backup singer Carolyn Dennis. They had one child and divorced in1992.