Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Dylan at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and
Freedom
Background information
Birth name
Robert Allen Zimmerman
Also known
as
Elston Gunn[1] Blind Boy
Grunt, Lucky Wilbury/Boo
Wilbury, Elmer Johnson,
Sergei Petrov, Jack Frost,
Jack Fate, Willow Scarlet,
Robert Milkwood Thomas
Born
May 24, 1941 (1941-05-24)
Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.
Genre(s)
Folk, Rock, Country, Blues
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, author,
poet, screenwriter, disc
jockey
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar, harmonica,
keyboards, piano, bass
Years active
1958–present
Label(s)
Columbia, Asylum, SONY
BMG
Associated
acts
The Band, Traveling Wilburys,
Grateful Dead, Tom Petty &
the Heartbreakers
Website
www.bobdylan.com
Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmer-
man on May 24, 1941) is an American
singer-songwriter, author, poet and painter
who has been a major figure in popular music
for five decades. Much of Dylan’s most celeb-
rated work dates from the 1960s, when he
became an informal chronicler and a reluct-
ant figurehead of American unrest. A number
of his songs, such as "Blowin’ in the Wind"
and "The Times They Are a-Changin’", be-
came anthems of both the civil rights move-
ments[2] and of the opposition to the Vietnam
War.[3]
After a lifetime of writing, recording, and
performing, Dylan’s latest record—his 33rd
studio album—Together Through Life was re-
leased on April 28, 2009.[4][5] The album
reached the number one spot on both the
Billboard 200 chart of top selling albums,[6]
and the UK album charts[7] in its first week
of release.
Dylan’s early lyrics incorporated political,
social, philosophical, and literary influences,
defying existing pop music conventions and
appealing widely to the counterculture. While
expanding and personalizing musical styles,
he has explored many traditions of American
song, from folk, blues and country to gospel,
rock and roll and rockabilly to English, Scot-
tish and Irish folk music, and even jazz and
swing.[8] Dylan performs with the guitar, pi-
ano and harmonica. Backed by a changing
line-up of m