Happy Birthday Bob Dylan!

70 years to this day in a small town in the state of Minnesota a poet was born. Robert Allen Zimmerman was his name however he would soon take the name of another poet, Dylan Thomas and so the myth we now know as Bob Dylan was born.
At age 20, inspired by the songs of Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams and other notable folk singers, Dylan relocated to New York in January of 1961. By October of the same year Dylan was signed to Columbia Records, home to some of the biggest stars of the time.

With songs such as Blowin' in the Wind, The Times They Are A-Changing and With God On Our Side becoming synonymous with the US Civil Rights and Anti-War movements, Dylan soon became a figurehead of social unrest and  the 'Voice of a Generation.'


The times they are a-changin from Tony Fox on Vimeo.

In Chimes of Freedom, Dylan speaks of "the poet and the painter far behind their rightful time", most would argue that he could be describing himself. By the mid-Sixties, Bob Dylan was revolutionizing mainstream music. In 1965 he released the six-minute long single Like a Rolling Stone as well as Subterranean Homesick Blues, famous for its innovative music video.

It's no surprise then that a man who (almost) single-handedly changed popular music has muscians lining up to pay tribute to him. Already the subject of countless songs (David Bowie's Song for Bob Dylan), films (I'm Not There), documentaries and so on, almost every form of media has payed tribute to him this week. Win Butler of Arcade Fire brilliantly put it, "Once I was exposed to his music it made the radio a lot harder to listen to."

So i suppose it could be tempting to wish Bob Dylan be remembered as eternally young. Surely that would be a waste of time for a man who wears age so well though? So instead all we will say is Happy Birthday Bob! We love you!