Bob Dylan turns 80 on May 14, 2021, and in honor of this anniversary, I've decided to listen to every Dylan album I can get my hands on (I have about 25 on CD and vinyl; the rest I'll listen to via Amazon Music Unlimited); watch every documentary and feature I can get access to ("Don't Look Back," "I'm Not There," "No Direction Home," "Rolling Thunder Revue"), and read -- or re-read -- as much as I can ("POSITIVELY 4th Street," "Chronicles, Volume One," "Another Side of Bob Dylan: A Personal History on the Road and off the Tracks," "Why Dylan Matters"). Dylan is the true king of rock and pop (roll over Elvis, tell Michael the news) both in his music, his influence on pop culture ... and his staying power. What set me off was reading Nat Hentoff's New Yorker article "The Crackin', Shakin', Breakin' Sounds" from Oct. 24, 1964 (anthologized in "The 60s: The Story of a Decade") in which he followed Dylan as he recorded his fourth album. Dylan is a true American mythmaker, and it really comes out in this article -- you just don't know what's true and what's made up. By the way, other 80th birthdays this year: Ringo Starr, Tom Jones, Al Pacino, Neil Diamond, Dionne Warwick, Nancy Sinatra, Martin Sheen, Raquel Welch, Nick Nolte, James Brolin, Faye Dunaway, Joan Baez, Herbie Hancock, Sam Waterston, and Bill Medley.
Letter From LA: Dylan and the Dreamin' Blues
Letter From LA: Dylan and the Dreamin' Blues
Letter From LA: Dylan and the Dreamin' Blues
Bob Dylan turns 80 on May 14, 2021, and in honor of this anniversary, I've decided to listen to every Dylan album I can get my hands on (I have about 25 on CD and vinyl; the rest I'll listen to via Amazon Music Unlimited); watch every documentary and feature I can get access to ("Don't Look Back," "I'm Not There," "No Direction Home," "Rolling Thunder Revue"), and read -- or re-read -- as much as I can ("POSITIVELY 4th Street," "Chronicles, Volume One," "Another Side of Bob Dylan: A Personal History on the Road and off the Tracks," "Why Dylan Matters"). Dylan is the true king of rock and pop (roll over Elvis, tell Michael the news) both in his music, his influence on pop culture ... and his staying power. What set me off was reading Nat Hentoff's New Yorker article "The Crackin', Shakin', Breakin' Sounds" from Oct. 24, 1964 (anthologized in "The 60s: The Story of a Decade") in which he followed Dylan as he recorded his fourth album. Dylan is a true American mythmaker, and it really comes out in this article -- you just don't know what's true and what's made up. By the way, other 80th birthdays this year: Ringo Starr, Tom Jones, Al Pacino, Neil Diamond, Dionne Warwick, Nancy Sinatra, Martin Sheen, Raquel Welch, Nick Nolte, James Brolin, Faye Dunaway, Joan Baez, Herbie Hancock, Sam Waterston, and Bill Medley.