From http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bio.asp?oid=184&cf=184
Bob Dylan Biography
DISCOGRAPHY
Love and Theft
2001
Live 1961 - 2000
2001
Live 1966: The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert- The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4
1998
Time Out of Mind
1997
(etc. etc.)
Hailed by Life magazine as one of the 100 most important Americans of the 20th century, folk-rock singer-songwriter Bob Dylan not only revolutionized popular music by incorporating poetry into his compositions, he also helped create a more inclusive and progressive social consciousness in American culture.
With his emphasis on personal narratives, Dylan moved folk and rock in a new, more introspective direction, proving along the way that the two previously separate genres could take inspiration from each other. Dylan also popularized the idea of the sensitive singer-songwriter, paving the way for countless coffeehouse imitators (most of whom cover his material), and through his unique voice and phrasing proved that one did not have to be a singer to be a powerful vocalist. Along the way he has penned numerous hits, both for himself and for other artists, and rallied a generation with protest songs like "Blowin' in the Wind." Hit singles like "Rainy Day Women No. 12 & 35," "Like a Rolling Stone," "All Along the Watchtower," "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," "Lay Lady Lay" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" have made Dylan not only a great folk musician, but a great rock musician, and have been covered by literally hundreds of artists including the Byrds, Jimi Hendrix, Rod Stewart, Bob Marley, Eric Clapton, Guns 'N' Roses and Ministry.
Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minn., and grew up in the small town of Hibbing, Minn., the son of a hardware store owner. While still in high school he began to play guitar and harmonica, playing in a teen band called the Golden Chords. In 1959 Dylan went on to the University of Minnesota, where he spent more time playing folk music in local coffeehouses than studying; after one year he dropped out and hitchhiked to New York City. Having already taken the stage name Bob Dylan (Dylan from the poet Dylan Thomas) the young singer-songwriter became a staple on the Greenwich Village coffeehouse scene. Dylan had been inspired early on by the music of Woody Guthrie, and visited him in the hospital where he was terminally ill; his relationship with Guthrie only enhanced his stature on the local folk scene. By late 1961, Dylan had his first record contract, with Columbia.
Dylan's debut album, Bob Dylan, was released in early 1962 and contained mostly covers of traditional folk tunes. However his second release, 1963's Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, contained many self-penned protest tunes such as "Blowin' in the Wind," establishing Dylan as a political figure, one of the most popular folk musicians and a songwriter in his own right. 1964's The Times They Are A-Changin' continued to build his reputation as a protest singer, but Another Side of Bob Dylan showed off his introspective side as well. 1965's Bring It All Back Home became his first platinum album, featuring a mixture of acoustic and electric songs that surprised some folk fans. After a spring U.K. tour recorded in the documentary film Don't Look Back, Dylan shocked the folk world during the summer of 1965 when he "plugged in" at the Newport Folk Festival, causing die-hard folkies to accuse him of "selling out" to rock.
With his records selling briskly, numerous popular bands covering his songs and scores of articles in the press, it was no surprise when his autumn 1965 blues- and -rock-oriented Highway 61 Revisited became Dylan's biggest album yet, reaching the Top 10 based on the No. 2 hit single "Like a Rolling Stone," further demonstrating Dylan's growing allegiance to the pop world. The next spring Dylan released his famed breakthrough double album Blonde On Blonde, considered one of the classic records of the decade. With Top 10 hits like "Rainy Day Women No. 12 & 35" and "Positively 4th Street," the sprawling album was a commercial as well as an artistic success. Despite his often enigmatic lyrics and unusual, down-to-earth persona, Bob Dylan was now a bona fide rock star. Unfortunately in July 1966 he was badly injured in an upstate New York motorcycle accident and was forced to spend nearly two years in recuperation, temporarily sidetracking his career. Dylan spent much of this time with his family, though he and his backup group, the Band, recorded some more adventurous material at this time, which was not meant to be released. Nonetheless the new songs made it into the hands of tape traders -- allegedly the first major instance of unreleased recordings being bootlegged - and was widely circulated among fans, culminating in its official release in 1975 as The Basement Tapes.
When Bob Dylan returned in 1967 with John Wesley Harding his style had become more spiritual, perhaps a result of his brush with death, or perhaps a manifestation of the "Age of Aquarius." In either case its slower, country-tinged songs surprised fans but made the album a No. 2 hit. Expanding upon his country influences, Dylan returned in 1969 with Nashville Skyline, recorded in Nashville with country session musicians and featuring a duet with Johnny Cash. Despite this unusual, even pioneering move, the album was a hit thanks to the Top 10 single "Lay Lady Lay." However, 1970's Self Portrait (a double album) and New Morning were not as well-received, sparking speculation that Dylan was washed up. Dylan went into seclusion.
In 1971 Dylan published the book Tarantula and made a rare public performance at the Concert For Bangladesh, considered the model for all future benefit concerts; his contribution to the accompanying compilation allowed him to share the record's Grammy for Album of the Year. The following year Dylan made his acting debut in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, also recording the film's soundtrack, which featured the hit single "Knockin' On Heaven's Door." In 1973 Dylan officially left Columbia and moved to Asylum Records; in retaliation Columbia released an embarrassing outtake collections called Dylan. Nonetheless Dylan made a comeback, releasing 1974's No. 1 Planet Waves and embarking on a massive world tour captured on the live album Before the Flood.
Returning to Columbia, Dylan completed his comeback with 1975's Blood on the Tracks, another No. 1 hit which won him a Grammy for Artist of the Year. The accompanying "Rolling Thunder" tour, which featured Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Arlo Guthrie and Allen Ginsberg, among others, was a huge success. During the epic package tour a new studio album called Desire was released, also reaching No. 1, and a live album, Hard Rain, was recorded; additionally many of the concerts were filmed for future use, eventually surfacing in the 1978 film Renaldo and Clara. After another tour and a lounge-like 1978 album called Street Legal, Dylan announced his conversion to Christianity. His newfound faith was highlighted on 1979's Slow Train Coming, a No. 3 hit that sold over a million copies; 1980's Saved and 1981's Shot Of Love also dealt with religious themes. Dylan began performing only his new, Christian material, upsetting many long term fans.
By 1982 Dylan had re-embraced Judaism via the Lubavitch Chabad movement, publicly marking his spiritual rebirth with a pilgrimage to Israel. His next album, 1983's Infidels, produced by Mark Knopfler, returned to secular material and received good reviews. During much of the decade Dylan remained on the road with groups such as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and the Grateful Dead. In 1988 Dylan joined the Traveling Wilburys, a supergroup composed of Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and ex-ELO member Jeff Lynne, recording two albums with the ensemble. Meanwhile his 1989 album Oh Mercy received excellent reviews, sparking hopes of a comeback that were dashed with 1990's Under the Red Sky. Also during this period numerous compilations and boxed sets of outtakes, rarities and live material appeared.
During the 1990s Dylan continued to tour regularly, also working on painting in his spare time. 1992's Good As I Been To You and 1993's World Gone Wrong found him returning to hardcore folk music, winning a Grammy along the way. 1997's Time Out of Mind, produced by Daniel Lanois, was similarly well-received, winning Grammy Awards in the Best Contemporary Folk Album, Album Of The Year and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance categories.
In 2000, Dylan contributed the song "Things Have Changed" to the soundtrack for the film Wonder Boys, which netted him both a Golden Globe and an Oscar the following year for Best Original Song. His latest album, Love and Theft, was released in 2001.
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Play f**king loud!!!!
Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
Bob Dylan performs at the Newport Folk Festival on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2002, in Newport, R.I. Dylan last played Newport in July 1965, when he appeared onstage with an electric guitar for the first time, smashing barriers between folk and rock, and was booed by folk-music purists. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
River Jordan's deep and wide,
Hallelujah.
Milk and honey on the other side,
Hallelujah.
River Jordan's chilly and cold,
Hallelujah.
Chills the body, but warms the soul,
Hallelujah.
This song has something to do with Micheal Jordan ....not sure what
I had forgotten about this song. Thanks.