The Life and Times of Bob Dylan

1
The Life and Times of Bob Dylan
2
Dont know how it all got started.

• Born Robert Zimmerman
• May 24, 1941
• Duluth, Minnesota
• Moves to Hibbing, at age 6

Video Clips Rock Around the ClockOzzie
HarrietHistory of Rock, Vol 4.
3
Timeline
RZ turns 10 starts playing piano
Zimmerman family moves to Hibbing, MN
RZ graduates registers for college
1945 1950
1955 1959
Kennans Long Telegram
Sputnik
U-2 Incident
The Berlin Airlift
Russian H bomb
USSR negates Yalta and Potsdam agreements. Cold
War begins.
N. Korea attacks
McCarthy arises
4
Talking New York City Blues

• Leaves for college
• In St. Paul /Minneapolis 1959
• Plays clubs in Dinkytown
• Drops out
• Hitchhikes to NYC, December, 1960

5
Music in 1961

• Running Bear
• Teen Angel
• Cathys Clown
• Ally Oop
• Polkadot Bikini

• Chain Gang
• Save the Last Dance for Me
• Stay
• Shop Around

6
Dont know how it all got started.

• Meets Woody Guthrie
• Plays coffeehouses
• At the same time as Roger McGuinn, Dave Von Ronk,
  Tiny Tim.

Woody Guthrie
7
Dont know how it all got started.

• A review gets him noticed. John Hammond signs
  Dylan for an album of folk songs

8
Bob Dylan
Sold all of 5000 copies originally
9
News topics - 1961

• Peace Corps
• Birth Control
• Soviets Orbit Earth
• TV a vast wasteland

• Bay of Pigs
• Freedom Riders attacked
• Berlin Wall Built
• First military troops sent to Viet Nam

10
Music in 1962

• The Twist
• Duke of Earl
• Hey Baby!
• Johnny Angel
• I Cant Stop Loving You

• Breaking Up is Hard to Do
• Locomotion!
• Shelia
• Sherry
• Puff the Magic Dragon

11
Times (They are a-changing!)
Kennedy defeats Nixon
October 15 The Cuban Missile Crisis
U-2 shot down over Russia
Space Race begins
1960 1961 1962
1963
Dylan hits NYC
August Confrontation in Berlinthe Wall
13 days in which the world held its breath.
April Bay of Pigs Invasion
Pres. Kennedy Assassinated
Dec Authorizes 16,000 for Saigon
12
Quoting Bob

• The news was all bad. It made me nervous. I
  liked old news. 24 hours news would have been
  hell.
• ---Chronicles, Vol. 1

13
Voice of a generation, 1962 - 1969

• Bob Dylan 2/1962
• The Freewheelin Bob Dylan 5/1963
• The Times They Are A-Changin 1/1964
• Another Side Of Bob Dylan 8/1964
• Bringing It All Back Home 3/1965
• Highway 61 Revisited 8/1965
• Blonde On Blonde 5/1966

14
The Freewheelin Bob Dylan
VideoBlowin in the Wind
15
The Times They Are A Changin
16
Another Side of Bob Dylan
17
Bringing It All Back Home
VideoSubterranean Homesick Blues
18
Highway 61 Revisited
19
Blonde on Blonde
20
News Flash!

• Bob Dylan is seriously injured in a motorcycle
  accident, July 26, 1966
• another James Dean?

21
No news at all

• Recuperates in Woodstock, NY with new wife, kids,
  new friends turns reclusive
• But the new friends are Robbie Robertson and
  Levon Helm. The results?
• Some of the most traded bootlegs ever.

22
Rebirth 1968 - 1970

• Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits released, 3/1967
• John Wesley Harding 1/1968
• Nashville Skyline 4/1969
• Self-Portrait 6/1970
• New Morning 11/1970

Video (w/ Johnny Cash)North Country Girl
23
Advice from Bob

• "stay in line. stay in line. people are afraid of
  someone who is not in step with them. it makes
  them look foolish t' themselves for being in
  step. it might even cross their mind that they
  themselves are in the wrong step.
• Revenge will set in. they will start thinking
  about how t' get rid of you."
• ---Advice for Geraldine on Her
  Miscellaneous Birthday

24
Timeline
1960 NYC 1962 1st Album 1963 Attends first
Civil Rights meeting meets Baez in Monterey and
sweeps the world 1964 Meets the Beatles 1965
Breaks with folkies marries Sara Lowndes 1966
Injury, rejuvenation
25
Missing in Action, 1970 - 1973

• Dylan, 1973
• Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, 1973
• Still, no major album from Dylan since New
  Morning, 4 years before.

26
Spotted!

• Id like to introduce a friend to us all Mr.
  Bob Dylan.
• The Concert for Bangladesh, 8/1/1971
• (Movie released 1972)

Video Clips (from the concert)
27
Timeline
1967 Begins country era 1973 Films Pat Garret
and Billy the Kid 1975 Blood on the Tracks, The
Basement Tapes both open to acclaim. Rolling
Thunder tour! (clip) 1976 Desire is released and
remains number 1 on the charts for 35
weeks. 1977 Divorce granted.
28
Timeline
1980 Grammy for Gotta Serve Somebody 1981
Shot of Love final gospel album 1985 New album,
plays Farm Aid with Petty, and Biograph
scores 1986 Petty and the Heartbreakers backing
band for new tour
29
Timeline
1988 The Traveling Wilburys Volume One, the
result of a collaboration of Dylan, George
Harrison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison
is released. Best Dylan work in years.
30
Timeline
1989 Oh Mercy is a great album. Undercut by the
fact Dylan and the Dead is not. Dylan begins
relentless touring schedule. 1991 Columbia
releases The Bootleg Series 1-3 to fan raves
also Lifetime Achievement award at the Grammys.
31
Timeline
1992 30th Anniversary Concert knocks em dead
in Madison Square Garden 1993 Performs at
Clinton Inaugural 1994 MTV Unplugged a big hit.
32
Timeline

• 1997 Nominated for, but does not win, Nobel
  Prize in Literature
• hospitalized with a potentially serious heart
  infection
• recovers, performs before the Pope in November,
  and accepts a Kennedy Center award

33
Timeline
1998 Time Out of Mind wins new generation of
listeners for Dylan 1998 Again nominated for
Nobel Prize in Literature, and again, does not
get it. 1999 Again, no go on Nobel Prize
34
Timeline
2000 Golden Globe award, and Oscar, for Times
Have Changed from the Wonder Boys movie.
Performs via satellite from down under!
35
Timeline
2001 Love and Theft debuts on September
11. 2000-2005 Bootleg Series continues. Live
1966, Live 1964, and Live 1975 have appeared
since. 2005 No Direction Home, Chronicles, Vol.
1 2006 Modern Times huge hit. And the Never
Ending Tour continues.
36
No, no, no, it aint me, babe

• Folkie 1961 -1965
• Electric 1965 - 1968
• Country 1969 - 1971
• Torch singer / Rolling Thunder 1972 - 1978
• Senior Statesman 1979 - 1989
• Lost Soul / Side Man 1990 - 1996
• River Boat Gambler / Never Ending Tour 1997 -
  2007

37
Dylan on Idols

• Woody Guthrie was my last idol
• He was the last idol
• Because he was the first idol
• I'd ever met
• That taught me
• Face t' face
• That men are men
• Shattering even himself
• As an idol
• An' that men have reasons for what they do
• An' what they say

38
Dylan on Idols

• Woody never made me fear
• And he didn't trample any hopes
• For he just carried the book of Man
• An' gave it t' me t' read for awhile
• An' from it I learned my greatest lesson
• You ask "how does it feel to be an idol?
• It'd be silly of me t' answer, wouldn't it . .?
• --- 11 Outlined Epitaphs

39
Dylan on the Sixties

• The Sixties, its like the Civil War days. But, I
  mean, youre talking to a person who owns the
  Sixties. Did I ever want to acquire them? No. But
  I own the Sixties whos going to argue with me?
  
• Ill giveem to you if you wantem. You can
  haveem
• --- Rolling Stone interview, 2006

40
May your song always be sung

• Dylan turned 65 in 2006
• He has published over 40 albums
• Created the boxed set market with the release of
  Biograph in 1986
• Has influenced countless musicians
• And has had hit records in 5 decades.

41
May your song always be sung

• And, as of 2006
• 5,000 different coverversions of songs by Bob
  Dylan.

42
May your song always be sung

• As someone once said,
• Time will tell
• who has fell
• And whos been left behind

43
May your song always be sung

• Questions
• Hype or Real Thing
• Was Dylan important?

44
May your song always be sung

• Questions
• And is Dylan still important?
• Why?