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'''Bob Dylan''' (1941 - ) is one of the towering figures of 20th century popular music. Born Robert Zimmerman in [[Duluth]], [[Minnesota]], he grew up in Hibbing and left to attend the [[University of Minnesota]] in [[Minneapolis]].  It was there that he developed a deep interest in [[folk music]], listening to the recordings of artists such as [[Odetta]] and [[Woody Guthrie]].  In 1961, he dropped out of college and headed to [[New York City]], where he became part of the burgeoning folk music scene in [[Greenwich Village]] and eventually landed a contract with [[Columbia Records]], for whom he still records today.

'''Bob Dylan''' (1941 - ) is one of the towering figures of 20th century popular music.  

 

Born Robert Zimmerman in [[Duluth]], [[Minnesota]], he grew up in Hibbing and left to attend the [[University of Minnesota]] in [[Minneapolis]].  It was there that he developed a deep interest in [[folk music]], listening to the recordings of artists such as [[Odetta]] and [[Woody Guthrie]].  In 1961, he dropped out of college and headed to [[New York City]], where he became part of the burgeoning folk music scene in [[Greenwich Village]] and eventually landed a contract with [[Columbia Records]], for whom he still records today.

His first four studio albums<ref>Bob Dylan (1962); The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963); The Times They Are a-Changin' (1964); and Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964)</ref> established Dylan as a major voice within the developing protest counterculture of the early Sixties. It was ''Bringing It All Back Home'' (1965), however, that propelled him to international fame and stardom. To howls of protest from his devoted "folkie" fans, Dylan "plugged in" for the first time and the album's glorious fusion of electric guitars, driving rock rhythms and his unique lyrical style<ref>By turns surreal, poetic, visionary and political.</ref> set a benchmark to which all other artists aspired. He arguably never scaled these heights again, especially in terms of producing an album of such consistent quality and musical completeness. His next three albums<ref>Highway 61 Revisited (1965); Blonde on Blonde (1966); and John Wesley Harding (1967)</ref> are rightly highly regarded, but after these his output became of increasingly variable quality and ''Blood On The Tracks'' (1975) is his last album from his classic period to be highly regarded by rock critics.

His first four studio albums<ref>Bob Dylan (1962); The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963); The Times They Are a-Changin' (1964); and Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964)</ref> established Dylan as a major voice within the developing protest counterculture of the early Sixties. It was ''Bringing It All Back Home'' (1965), however, that propelled him to international fame and stardom. To howls of protest from his devoted "folkie" fans, Dylan "plugged in" for the first time and the album's glorious fusion of electric guitars, driving rock rhythms and his unique lyrical style<ref>By turns surreal, poetic, visionary and political.</ref> set a benchmark to which all other artists aspired. He arguably never scaled these heights again, especially in terms of producing an album of such consistent quality and musical completeness. His next three albums<ref>Highway 61 Revisited (1965); Blonde on Blonde (1966); and John Wesley Harding (1967)</ref> are rightly highly regarded, but after these his output became of increasingly variable quality and ''Blood On The Tracks'' (1975) is his last album from his classic period to be highly regarded by rock critics.