Right back at you from Bob.

I don't care for Bob Dylan except for 2 songs of his, neither of which done by him.

You Ain't Going Nowhere. Tom and his bandmates played this and everyone absolutely loved it. Great beat and music.

The second song was played at the end of a movie or tv show. So many shows have terrific music tracks. I think it might have been one of the Blacklist shows but I'm not sure. Both Tom and I looked at one another and said WoW. His duet with Clarence Paul

We've never, ever heard it on mainstream radio, but shortly after Tom died, I heard it several times in the following weeks on one local radio station. One other time I was making marinara sauce and 'talking' to Tom asking if I was doing it right. He loved making it. Boom! On the radio came 'Blowin' in the Wind'. I cranked it up, then burst into tears.

Whenever I hear this version, I consider it 'a sign'.

Jasdip...you like 2 more than I do. Just never saw the appeal to his music. But....Koodos to Bob for reaching 81.

Never liked him either...we called him "old mush mouth". Couldn't understand half of what he

was saying (singing?) But, I know a lot of people did, and I do wish him a Happy

80th Birthday.

Blowin’ In the Wind was played at my son’s funeral. It was one of the many songs he would play on his acoustic guitar.

The other song played was The Troggs ”Wild Thing”. He did a hilarious job of that one on his electric guitar.

I really like Bob Dylan, especially his lyrics.

Love this! A bunch of old guys just having a good time.

Siri has been told to delete Bob Dylan from any playlist she serves me. Reading him is lovely, listening excruciating.

Dylan has written wonderful songs - this one is one of my faves, but there are so many more...

Like him or not, there is no denying his impact on pop music and the many, many artist he's influenced.

carol, I like the Rod Stewart (sort of) version of that as well.

Like him or not, there is no denying his impact on pop music and the many, many artist he's influenced.

While he shunned it, winning the Nobel Prize for literature sorta makes the point.

I'll leave it to others to cite favorite Dylan songs. My personal take on him is that he may have been the most creative artist on the planet during the 20th century. Is that hype? I don't intend it so. A Nobel Prize winner for literature, well deserved. The novelty and genius of lyrics of songs like Positively 4th Street, My Back Pages, All Along The Watchtower, You Ain't Goin Nowhere, A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall, Blowin In The Wind, Blind Willie McTell, Rainy Day Woman, The Times They Are A'Changin, I Shall Be Released, Ballad of a Thin Man, and on and on, and haunting melodies to go with them, are almost other-worldly. The best artists of his era and younger artists since think so too.

Interesting insights related to his views of himself and his creative output can be gained by watching the now-famous extended interview he gave to Ed Bradley. You can find it with a search. While his friends describe him as a normal guy from a personality standpoint, some of his comments suggest that what's gone on in his head is other than normal. And in a good way. And my absolute favorite passage of his:

"I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
You'd know what a drag it is to see you"

Edit to add - I agree with Zalco's comment just above, hadn't read it while spending the 10 minutes or so to compose my thoughts for this contribution.

Roxol, Rod Stewart covered Dylan (very well I may add) numerous times...

eltonjohndenver, Bob Dylan is a master with words. 🙂

I saw him live a few times. Once a young exhuberant fan managed to get on stage , right beside him and Bob didn’t miss a beat. He just kept on singing while security handled it all.

Cool, calm and collected.

And he has a wicked sense of humour!

One of his more popular songs with great lyrics.

"carol, I like the Rod Stewart (sort of) version of that as well."

Agree!

Happy Birthday, Bob! I like this one of him with a few friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGEIMCWob3U

Elmer,

I like Dylan, he wrote many great songs and as I mentioned earlier, he's a major influence on pop music. But to say,

'he may have been the most creative artist on the planet during the 20th century'

is quite a stretch, especially if you consider the many great painters, photographers, film makers, musicians, writers etc...

Getting back to the music, here are some of my personal favorites....

Chinacatpeekin,

Hope you enjoy the show. Glad I inspired you to get the tickets :-)

elton, I don't think it's a stretch but of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I don't think anyone else has had a greater influence on other artists and music over this same period of decades. Do you think there are others to compare to him or whose lyrical content occasioned a high literature award.

chinacat, some of the most creative song composers have described the "it wasn't me, it just flowed through me from I don't know where" phenomenon. Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, too many others to name have described the same phenomenon. As contrasted with the 50s-60s Brill Building approach, which was go to work, spend 9 to 5 in the office, and compose songs, there are those who consider themselves to be conduits of a process they can't plan, schedule, or explain. More of that in the Ed Bradley interview where, among other things, he declined to be called a spokesman of social change and suggested that to him, "they're just songs" and "I can't do that anymore" when asked in the early 2000s.

I've seen him several times, all very memorable occasions for me.

This is my favorite Bob Dylan song:

His first engagement was playing guitar for Bobby Vee..

This is my second favorite song of his:

Saw Dylan a few years ago, wow. He doesn't like singing his old songs in their original form, so he does them entirely differently. Wouldn't have recognized them by the tune, only by catching a few words here and there. But an impressively staged and controlled show none-the-less. Here's a Dylan cover I enjoy. The villain of the piece lived across the river from where I used to live.

Hollywood gets into the Dylan trip...

Ah Mr. Zimmerman! He can not be discounted as one of the most creative musicians of the 20th century.

I vote "Positively Fourth Street". Taking a creative writing class in College I titled each paper from a different Dylan song. Did anyone else know the tale of how he would go into his grandsons preschool to sing with the students. Some of them went home and told parents about some weird old guy who visited the class.

Rho, had to add this, though it's not about Dylan. My son, now in his mid 50's, once called out to me when he was about 6 or so, "Hey, Mom! Did you you know Paul McCartney used to be in a band before Wings?

I did, son, indeed I did.

It's so hard to pick a favorite. I've been listening to Dylan since I was 5 years old so his music has been a constant theme throughout my life. I saw him once when he was playing with Tim Petty.

A recent issue (4/21) of Harper's has this wonderful article adding to the history & lore of Dylan.

https://harpers.org/archive/2021/05/the-silent-type-on-possibly-being-bob-dylans-son/

Ronnie Hawkins who died today singing a Bob Dylan tune. He mentored The Band.

Okay, he didn’t die while singing it 😳

This is him and he is singing a Bob Dylan tune.

Chinacatpeekin, I’ll post ”With God On Our Side” for you.

“So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
That if God's on our side
He'll stop the next war”