In university, I audited a course on Dylan taught by an aging hippie prof who was convinced the songwriter combined the best qualities of Christ, Mozart and Dylan Thomas, the poet who inspired Robert Zimmerman to adopt the last name Dylan. Of course, he’s famous for not being able to sing, and his melodies only got their due — and their highest ranking on the Billboard song charts — when others sang them. But, in the end, the hippie prof was right: words are what distinguish Dylan.
Without Dylan, it’s fair to assume we would have been deprived of bardish singer-songwriters like Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell and Ron Sexsmith. In recognition of Dylan’s myriad accomplishments, including the opening of a major retrospective at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland today, here are 65 quotes by and about the man as he officially reaches retirement age. Bob was born in Duluth, Minn.
, the eldest son of Abe and Beatty Zimmerman, a Jewish appliance salesman and a homemaker. As a teen, Bob admired James Dean in dated bad girls and played in bad rock bands. “I was born very far from where I’m supposed to be so, really, I’m on my way home.
” —Dylan, 2005 “If it’s quiet, I will sing.” —Dylan, age four, responding to a request that he perform Accentuate the Positive at an aunt’s wedding reception, 1945 “Bob fell off his motorcycle at a railroad junction because he didn’t like to wait for anything or anybody, and when one train passed, he took off into the junction, barely missing another hidden train.” —High-school friend LeRoy Hoikalla, 2001 “The music that was popular when I was growing up was How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?
and that wasn’t our reality. We were expecting an atomic explosion, and everything to disappear in a black cloud.” —Dylan, 2004 “He was a very naughty boy, but he was so sweet.
” —Echo Star Helstrom, Dylan’s first girlfriend, 2001 “Robert Zimmerman: Ambition in life: to join Little Richard. Bob Dylan, pictured on a program for his first New York City concert, presented by the Folklore Center at Carnegie Chapter Hall in 1961. In university, I audited a course on Dylan taught by an aging hippie prof who was convinced the songwriter combined the best qualities of Christ, Mozart and Dylan Thomas, the poet who inspired Robert Zimmerman to adopt the last name Dylan.
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