May 24, 1941, 80 years ago: Robert Allen Zimmerman is born in Duluth, Minnesota, and grows up in Hibbing, Minnesota, also the birthplace of baseball legend Roger Maris, and the hometown of basketball legend Kevin McHale.
Bob Dylan, his character, was born in Minneapolis sometime in September 1959 in Minneapolis. Ah, but he was so much older then. He’s younger than that now.
He hasn't always been a good guy. He hasn't always been a great artist, either. Like anybody else -- Satchmo, Sinatra, Elvis, the Beatles, Jacko, etc. -- he's had some clunkers. In the end, it doesn't matter a damn.
Top 10 Bob Dylan Songs
These are in chronological order, by date of recording. What Bob recorded from July 9, 1962 to March 10, 1966 stands up with just about anybody's entire output, ever. It makes us forget that what he did after that, especially from late 1967 to 1975, would be enough to make most songwriters a legend.
Honorable Mention: "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," November 14, 1962; "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," December 6, 1962; "Masters of War," April 24, 1963; "With God On Our Side," August 7, 1963; "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," January 15, 1965; "Highway 61 Revisited," August 2, 1965; "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" (a.k.a. "When You're Lost In the Rain In Juarez"), August 2, 1965; 8. "Just Like a Woman," March 8, 1966; "Rainy Day Women No. 12 & 35" (a.k.a. "Everybody Must Get Stoned"), March 10, 1966; "All Along the Watchtower," November 9, 1967; "Lay Lady Lay," February 14, 1969; "Forever Young," November 1, 1973; "Jokerman," April 14, 1983.
1. "Blowin' in the Wind," July 9, 1962.
2. "When the Ship Comes In," October 23, 1963.
3. "The Times, They Are a-Changin'," October 24, 1963.
4. "My Back Pages," a.k.a. "I Was So Much Older Then," June 9, 1964.
5. "Subterranean Homesick Blues," a.k.a. "Johnny's In the Basement," January 14, 1965.
6. "Like a Rolling Stone," June 16, 1965.
7. "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again," February 17, 1966.
8. "I Shall Be Released," September 24, 1971.
9. "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," February 1, 1973.
10. "Tangled Up In Blue," December 30, 1974.
I am aware that Bob wrote "Catfish," about Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees pitcher Jim Hunter. It's good. It's not one of his Top 10. It's not even one of his Top 50. That's how good he is.
Honorable Mention: "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," November 14, 1962; "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," December 6, 1962; "Masters of War," April 24, 1963; "With God On Our Side," August 7, 1963; "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," January 15, 1965; "Highway 61 Revisited," August 2, 1965; "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" (a.k.a. "When You're Lost In the Rain In Juarez"), August 2, 1965; 8. "Just Like a Woman," March 8, 1966; "Rainy Day Women No. 12 & 35" (a.k.a. "Everybody Must Get Stoned"), March 10, 1966; "All Along the Watchtower," November 9, 1967; "Lay Lady Lay," February 14, 1969; "Forever Young," November 1, 1973; "Jokerman," April 14, 1983.
And, of course, a lot of Bob's songs, especially his early ones, were covered, and done better, by other performers:
* "Blowin' in the Wind" was a hit in 1963 for Peter, Paul & Mary, and in 1966 for Stevie Wonder. Stevie sang it at the 30th Anniversary tribute concert that Columbia Records held for Bob at Madison Square Garden on October 16, 1992 -- or, as Neil Young called it, "Bobfest."
* "When the Ship Comes In" was a song he sang publicly even before recording it, at the March On Washington, August 28, 1963. The best version is by The Clancy Brothers, Irish accents and all, and they sang it at the Garden concert.
* "My Back Pages" was a hit for The Byrds in 1965, as was "Mr. Tambourine Man." On the former, The Byrds cut the 3rd and 4th of the 6 verses. At the Garden concert, after Byrds lead singer Roger McGuinn sang "Mr. Tambourine Man,""My Back Pages" was sung by, in order on the verses: McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Dylan himself, and George Harrison.
* "I Shall Be Released" was recorded by The Band 4 years before Bob recorded it himself. They sang it together at The Band's farewell concert at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, on Thanksgiving Night, November 25, 1976. It was filmed for Martin Scorcese's film The Last Waltz. Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders sang it at the Garden concert.
Dylan is one of those performers where, if you get 25 people together and ask them what their favorite song of his is, you could get 25 different answers. That's how far he has reached -- even if every distance is not near.