Bob
Dylan, known as the poet laureate of the rock era, was recently awarded with
the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first musician to win the award.
Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1941, Dylan got his first
guitar at the age of 14 and performed in rock’n’roll bands in high school. He
adopted the name Dylan after the poet Dylan Thomas, and performed folk music.
He moved to New York in 1961, and began performing in the clubs and cafés of
Greenwich Village. His first album, ‘Bob Dylan’, was released in 1962, and he
followed it up with a host of albums now regarded as masterpieces.
Many
musicians list Bob Dylan as one of their influences and his songs have been
covered by many more artistes. With a career spanning more than 50 years, the
artiste shows no signs of slowing down when it comes to writing and performing
his songs. His most recent album – his thirty-seventh studio album – was
‘Fallen Angels’, released by Columbia Records on May 20, 2016. The album
features covers of twelve classic American tunes chosen by Dylan himself. A
week back, Bob Dylan performed at the classic-rock festival Desert Trip in
California.
Musician and
songwriter Vince Costa says, “In 1967, Bob Dylan
and the band recorded more than a 100 songs living together in a house in
Woodstock, New York. These came to be called ‘The Basement Tapes’. Of all his
music, I was most inspired by this; in a way it marked a change in his style
from urban New York to more Americana folk. I loved the concept of intimate
recording in a home, so as a singer-songwriter, I decided to not use a studio
and followed Dylan's idea. Even if you are not directly influenced by Dylan,
some of your heroes are, so you're still listening to him. Awarding Dylan the
Nobel Prize for Literature in principle is an attempt to honour his life's work,
but in the process, it has divided the purists from the colloquial."
Noel
‘Nini’ De Souza of The Music Company trio says, “It is fantastic to hear that
Bob Dylan has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature as Dylan is more of a
poet, capable of sending a strong message across in a few words. Songs that
were written in 1960s, such as ‘Blowin' in the Wind’ and ‘The Times They Are
a-Changin’, became anthems for the American civil rights and anti-war
movements. But a war is always going on and hence those songs hold relevance
even today. We used to play a lot of Bob Dylan songs as a trio and a lot of
people requested these two songs. Earlier, Bob Dylan was misunderstood as a
rebel but he touched the pulse of the people and as music is a universal
language, its message has a greater impact than speeches.”