Happy Birthday Bob Dylan!

Among the first music this, then skinny little teenager, ever laid down his hard earned money and/or allowance for was the Bob Dylan album, Highway 61 Revisited. The very first time I heard him, I recognized something that I sensed as genius in that folk rock troubadour. His music and poetry influenced my profoundly. To quote a tacky line from an overrated movie, "You had me at hello." 

I was smitten! Been a fan ever since, even the 'Born Again' phase. In fact, I am a fervent believer in the 'Born Again' phase. At the time I never dreamed I'd ever get the opportunity to hear him perform live but I have actually seen him three times. In reality I'd much more prefer listening to the recorded music privately, not because I'm an audiophile purist but because I don't like being in an 'audience'. One time, for example, at Madison Square Garden where Tom Petty was opening for Mr. Dylan, the libation laden crowd of low-informed college aged attendees were rude, disrespectful and loud. May I quote a loud, soused Cretan sitting near me, "Who the F<&k is this f<&k#@g old guy? F<&k! Wees f<&k#@g paid ta hear somebody whos can f<&k#@g sing, bring out Tom f<&k#@g Petty. Petty, Petty Petty. #@%!!."

Bob Dylan (pron.: /ˈdɪlən/; born Robert Allen Zimmerman (Hebrew name שבתאי זיסל בן אברהם [Shabtai Zisl ben Avraham]); May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota)...Dylan has both amplified and personalized musical genres. His recording career, spanning fifty years, has explored many of the traditions in American song—from folk, blues, and country to gospel, rock and roll, and rockabilly to English, Scottish, and Irish folk music, embracing even jazz and swing...Since 1994, Dylan has published three books of drawings and paintings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. As a songwriter and musician, Dylan has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and received numerous awards over the years including Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Awards; he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2008 awarded him a special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." In May 2000, Dylan was awarded the Polar Music Prize. In May 2012, Dylan received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. -- Wikipedia

Suze Rotolo, Bob Dylan’s girlfriend from the early ’60s who appears on the album cover for The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, died on February 24 at the age of 67. The cause was lung cancer.
Rotolo, an artist and social activist, dated Dylan for four years. Dylan wrote some of his most enduring songs, including “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” “Boots of Spanish Leather,” “Ballad In Plain D” and “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” about their relationship. “Meeting her was like stepping into the tales of 1,001 Arabian Nights,” Dylan wrote in his book Chronicles. “She had a smile that could light up a street full of people and was extremely lively, had a particular type of voluptuousness — A Rodin sculpture come to life. She reminded me of a Libertine hero. She was just my type.”

Happy Birthday Bob!