And then there was Bob Dylan. He's the top folk singer of the 1960s, bar none, and one of the most important figures in rock and roll history.(Even if he doesn't think so; did you see the recent "60 Minutes" segment on him?) Robert Zimmerman was born in Hibbing, Minnesota, in a town that was prejudiced toward Jewish people. And he was Jewish.
Growing up, he found great solace in music. He was a fan of both country and R & B, but also enjoyed rock and roll. He got into folk music when it reached the area. In 1959, he began to perform traditional folk music and bluegrass in coffeehouses around the University of Minnesota under the name Dillon and then finally, Dylan. In December 1960, he relocated to New York City and frequently visited the now ailing Woody Guthrie(his biggest influence) at a New Jersey state hospital.
In Greenwich Village, Dylan performed and began honing his craft of songwriting. By 1962, he was friends with several civil rights activists and had joined Broadside, co-founded by Pete Seeger, that encouraged young folksingers to write about current topics and events of the day. His second album, Freewheelin, (1963), featured "Blowin In The Wind" and "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall". Freewheelin's famous cover also features a pretty blonde. This was Suze Rotolo, who worked as secretary for the civil rights group, CORE, and was Dylan's girlfriend at the time. She was another great influence.
His next album, "The Times They Are A Changin" featured the title song, and "The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll". "Another Side Of Bob Dylan" (1964), featured "My Back Pages." "Pages" was actually a disclaimer, a protest against his protest songs! Dylan became an international star, and THE folk singer to emulate.
He was also socially active, giving benefit concerts and participating in causes. But he was never comfortable with the intense fame and even began to self-critize his work, and that of others. The folk music movement began to fall apart after the Kennedy assassination. Folk singers were becoming disillusioned, including Dylan. Ironically, he would inadvertently create a new musical genre; his greatest success was yet to come.
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