Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan: An Influence for a Generation
“A person is a success if they get up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between dose what he wants to do” --words spoken by the singer/songwriter Bob Dylan. Being a man of success himself, yet a very humble and simple man, changed the way people view musical quality. Dylan was awarded with the number one song in the twentieth century with those lyrics from his masterpiece Like a Rolling Stone, by Rolling Stone Magazine. His poetic words were heard all across the world, inspiring all who heard his voice. Telling tales of political and civil injustice, Dylan’s words brought normal everyday life a new sense of hope through tough times in a person’s life. Discussed will be the early era of Dylan from his unique musical talents during his childhood which drove him to his writing pieces, himself as an inspirational and motivated leader of the 1960’s and how his powerful music makes him one of the most influential musicians of all time.
In the beginning, Bob Dylan was born Robert Allan Zimmerman on May 24th, 1941 in Duluth Minnesota (Heatly, 126). Dylan was raised in a middle-class family to his parents Abraham and Beatrice Zimmerman (Martin). His father owned Zimmerman Furniture & Appliance Company in the small town of Duluth, but the family was forced to move to the nearby town of Hibbing after he lost the business due to him becoming ill with polio in 1946 (Kooper). Dylan was raised in Hibbing, Minnesota from the age of seven and lived there for most of his childhood (Heatly, 126). Raised in a small town, Dylan was musically inclined and had a great significance in music at an incredibly young age which brought him to learn many various instruments at the same time. He took piano lessons when first moving to Hibbing, but became impatient with the teacher so decided to quit lessons and began to teach himself how to play piano, guitar and harmonica; without surprisingly knowing how to read music (Martin). With
“A person is a success if they get up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between dose what he wants to do” --words spoken by the singer/songwriter Bob Dylan. Being a man of success himself, yet a very humble and simple man, changed the way people view musical quality. Dylan was awarded with the number one song in the twentieth century with those lyrics from his masterpiece Like a Rolling Stone, by Rolling Stone Magazine. His poetic words were heard all across the world, inspiring all who heard his voice. Telling tales of political and civil injustice, Dylan’s words brought normal everyday life a new sense of hope through tough times in a person’s life. Discussed will be the early era of Dylan from his unique musical talents during his childhood which drove him to his writing pieces, himself as an inspirational and motivated leader of the 1960’s and how his powerful music makes him one of the most influential musicians of all time.
In the beginning, Bob Dylan was born Robert Allan Zimmerman on May 24th, 1941 in Duluth Minnesota (Heatly, 126). Dylan was raised in a middle-class family to his parents Abraham and Beatrice Zimmerman (Martin). His father owned Zimmerman Furniture & Appliance Company in the small town of Duluth, but the family was forced to move to the nearby town of Hibbing after he lost the business due to him becoming ill with polio in 1946 (Kooper). Dylan was raised in Hibbing, Minnesota from the age of seven and lived there for most of his childhood (Heatly, 126). Raised in a small town, Dylan was musically inclined and had a great significance in music at an incredibly young age which brought him to learn many various instruments at the same time. He took piano lessons when first moving to Hibbing, but became impatient with the teacher so decided to quit lessons and began to teach himself how to play piano, guitar and harmonica; without surprisingly knowing how to read music (Martin). With
Cited: Ayoub, Chuck. “Bob Dylan Biography.” Bob Dylan Biography. Bob Dylan Lyrics. 2010. Web. 25 June 2010 “Poe, Edgar Allan.” Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online. 2009. Web. 25 June 2010. Kamin, Jonathan. “Dylan, Bob.” Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online. 2009. Web. 25 June 2010. Kooper, Al. “Dylan, Bob.” Britannica Biographies. EBSCHOhost Online. 2009. Web. 25 June 2010. Martin, Pattricia. “Bob Dylan.” Bob Dylan. EBSCHOhost Online. 2009. Web. 25 June 2010. Rathbone, Mark Wenner S. Jan. “Bob Dylan.” Real Networks Inc. Rolling Stone Magazine. 2010. Web. 25 June 2010.