Bob Dylan
American singer-songwriter (born 1941)
Bob Dylan: songs, reinvention and literature
From Minnesota to Greenwich Village
Raised in Hibbing, Minnesota, Bob Dylan played in bands before turning toward folk and blues. He moved to New York in 1961 and performed in Greenwich Village clubs and cafés. Producer John Hammond signed him, and his first album appeared in 1962.
A changing sound in the 1960s
Dylan did not stay within a single folk style. Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited appeared in 1965, followed by Blonde on Blonde in 1966. His writing brought social conflict, politics, religion and love into songs that could be both direct and elusive.
A long career beyond records
Blood on the Tracks arrived in 1975; later albums included Time Out of Mind in 1997. Dylan also wrote prose, published Chronicles in 2004 and worked as a visual artist. In 2016 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his contribution to American song.