Bob Dylan and His Influence on the 1960s

Laura Ramirez AP US History Mr. Roberts Period 1 6/1/13

Bob Dylan was a leading protest and topical singer/songwriter of the 1960s. With his innocent face and throaty singing, he captivated audiences right from the start. He began as a folk singer in his debut album, Bob Dylan, which sold a poor amount of 5,000 copies during the first year. The first record label Bob Dylan signed with, Columbia Records, threatened John Hammond of breaking the contract because of the first albums poor record sales. Hammond insisted that Bob Dylan was an amazing songwriter and that the second album would be a success. John wasnt wrong in sticking out his neck for Dylan even if he was considered, prior to Bob Dylans success, Hammonds Folly. The public throughout the sixties carried Dylan as a leading figure of the civil movement existing at the time. Dylan wrote of current events and of events that happened in the past. The Ballad of Hollis Brown speaks of the struggles of a South Dakota farmer and The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll speaks of the injustice in the court of law towards colored people. Although Dylan refused to admit to the press and even to the people close to him about his position as a protest singer, he seemed to have an ear for a generation, and that same ear translated the worries of a generation into songs against racism, war, and political foolery. Bob Dylan, prior to his moniker, Robert Allen Zimmerman, was born, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota and lived there with his parents Abraham and Beatty Zimmerman, until the age of six. Later, the Zimmermans moved to Hibbing, Minnesota, where Bob began to write poetry at the age of eleven. In Hibbing he discovered the music of Hank Williams, a country/folk singer who became Dylans first idol. Hank was just one of many recording artists whose music inspired Dylan to write and sing the way he did. John Hammond, Bob Dylans first producer, described his singing, Bobby popped every p, hissed every s, and

habitually wandered off mike. Other members of the list of early influences included: Woody Guthrie for his folk style, Little Richard for his contemporary persona, Elvis Presley for his rock and roll, and James Dean for his rebellious character. These early influences would induct him into his musical career as a very unique and compelling character. Some of his influences came from literature. In his autobiography he admits that the Dylan came from the poet Dylan Thomas. Dylan used other names prior to the name he chose in his first gig at the 10 oclock scholar. In his high school bands in Hibbing he used the name Elston Gunn, but obviously stuck with Dylan. Bob was also influenced by the Beat generation poets. These writers were from the counterculture of the 50s and 60s and one writer Allen Ginsberg became a major influence to Bobs future writing. Allen Ginsberg met Bob Dylan in the late part of 1963; Allen also became a mentor and lifelong friend of Dylan. Hibbing at the time was not the ideal town for people who thought differently, so Dylan found his escape in a village named Dinkytown where things were evidently more liberal than in Hibbing. Dinkytown had a bourgeoning folk scene at the time and Dinky is also where Dylan first began to sing and play as a solo performer in coffee houses particularly Caf Wha? and the 10 OClock Scholar. At the 10 OClock scholar he slowly began to raise a crowd and was later discovered in that same coffee house. After performing pocket change gigs Bob Dylan would ask around for a place to stay and most times he found a decent home. When Bob Dylan went on the road to pursue his musical career, he stayed in the homes of many. One of those many was the home of the Rotolos, were he met the daughter of the Mrs. Rotoloa communist and equal rights activist. The daughters name was Suze

Rotolo, she would later become Dylans girlfriend until 1964 when it was discovered Dylan had been in an affair with Joan Baeznotwithstanding she influenced Dylan to become more politically involved. His second albums cover, Freewheelin Bob Dylan, is him walking arm-in-arm with Suze and is said to symbolize the freedom and thrill of the 1960s folk revival. Suze introduced Dylan to avant-garde poetry and art. She helped Dylan sharpen the political activism in his songs. In the second album more of Dylans own songwriting appears, rather than the lyrics of other folk artists of the past. Biographers attribute the new protest songs in Dylans album to the presence of Suzes ideas of freedom and equality. Freewheelins protest songs, like Blowin In The Wind a song that described war as a tiresome objective and Masters of War a song about politicians hiding behind desks while soldiers went to fight their wars, became major contributions toDylanss fame in the protest movement. Biographers also consider Suze the muse of Dylans more romantic songs: Dont Think Twice, Its All Right and Girl From The North Country to name a few. His second album sparked his leading role in the movement for peace, equality and change themes that revolved around several of his following albums. The Times They Are A-Changin, Another Side of Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home, released in 1964 and 1965, became the last albums were he performed the folk genre purely. Folk purists at the Newport Folk Festival of 1965, witnessed during the second half of Dylans performance an electric change in his style, audience members booed and some walked out of the concert, the audience expected folk music, and purists were not happy with the electric change. This was the first change Dylans audience witnessed of the many musical style changes that would reoccur throughout his career.

The legend of Bob Dylan is hard to describe without mixing myth with fact. During the 60s if you asked him for an autobiographical statement of who he is and what he was trying to say through his songs, most likely he would spew a perplexing picture of nonsense. Bob Dylan as an upcoming singer in the late fifties and early sixties would always sell stories about himself in the most incredulous manner. People who he met had no option but to believe what he said or go along with it even if they knew it was just story telling. They mostly went along with his stories because he hardly shared his personal life even as a kid in school, so they had no information to confirm his stories for legitimacy. Once, when asked a personal question on why he stopped playing the piano and was now playing the guitar he would answer very coolly I met this guy Woody Guthrie in a hospital in New Jersey and I started playing guitar. Yet this was before he had met one of his greatest early musical influences. Bob Dylan was known to take ideas from everyone and everywhere, some ideas taken in a very outright manner, but he didnt seem to mind the criticism; it was known folk singers borrowed from each other. His elusive lyrics and character contributed to his public appeal in America and abroad. The year of 1964 is said to be Bob Dylans final working year in political activity. Some say he stepped out of the political scene for fear of being assassinated like JFK but Bob denies this and says his reactions to the assassination were overplayed. His, 1965 albums create a dramatic divide from his previous singular folk style. Genres like rock and roll, folk rock, rock, are presented in his new style. As his political activity declined, so does his contribution to the civil and protest movement. His earlier work compensates for the lack of political activity in the second half of the sixties and keeps him influential even though he wasnt taking sides on any movement, mostly his songs like Maggies Farm

speak of his separation from the protest folk movement. His motorcycle accident of 1966, where he allegedly broke several vertebrae in his neck, pushed him away from folk performances even further. Dylans accident and recovery rendered him unable to perform for seventeen months, although he did still write songs. As time progressed his songs became more poetic and surreal, his music style changed until he wasnt Bob Dylan the folk singer of the protest movement but another Bob entirely and with the new Bob Dylan came rock not folk. His songs still influence many activist of today and present nostalgia of the 1960s for the older generations. There hasnt been a songwriter since Bob Dylan to have created as much political movement as he did at the same scale. His ability to reach into the heart of the problems facing America during the sixties gave his lyrics the power to display to America, the need of change.

WORKS CITED Blanton, Amy. "Bob Dylan: Impact on the American Society on the 1960s." Www.unc.edu. N.p., 10 Apr. 2001. Web. 2 June 2013. "Bob Dylan Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 03 June 2013. Brown, Emma. "Suze Rotolo, 67; Bob Dylan's Muse Helped Symbolize 1960s Folk Revival." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 04 Mar. 2011. Web. 03 June 2013. Reitan, Cheryl. "What Made Dylan Dylan?: Hibbing and Dinkytown in the American Journey." Mnartists.org. N.p., 19 Mar. 2007. Web. 03 June 2013. Scaduto, Anthony. Bob Dylan. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1972. Print. Wenner, Jann S. "100 Greatest Singers: Bob Dylan | Rolling Stone." Rollingstone.com. Jann S. Wenner, n.d. Web. 03 June 2013.