Biography
American musician, songwriter and poet, called the Robert Burns of the pop
revolution, and the most influential figure in the history of rock outside of
Elvis Presley with over 36 albums and 300 songs. Dylan's iconoclastic work
earned him the unofficial title of The Voice of the '60s, through "Blowin' in
the Wind," "A Hard Rain Gonna Fall," "It Ain't Me Babe," "Mr. Tambourine Man,"
"Don't think Twice, it's All Right," and other now-classics.
Everything he did after this period in the early '60s was compared to those works.
Gravel-voiced and long-haired, he hit New York City in 1961, and after
rave reviews on the New York coffee house circuit, signed a three-year contract
with Witmark & Sons to publish his songs. He was 20 when his first album was
released in March of 1962. His commercial breakthrough came in the summer of
1963 when the Peter Paul and Mary trio recorded "Blowin' in the Wind."
The trio's high profile and the song's commercial success pushed Dylan's
second album, "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" into the top 25 on the charts.
Described as shy and defensive, hyped up, careless of his health, a bit scared
by fame, immaterialist, but shrewd about money, a professional absorbed by his
craft, he nonetheless remained an elusive figure. World famous by the time he
was 21, he had not only celebrity but intellectual fame. With unrestrained
energy, he moved from one genre to another; folk, blues, country, spirituals,
but he soon discovered that you can be famous for only one thing at a time.
He gained notoriety chiefly for his civil-rights and anti-war material, and
that's what people wanted to hear from him.
During the early '60s, Dylan produced 237 songs in three years.
His music reflects his anger, humor, and occasionally, hope.
A recurring theme is the dangers and foibles of navigating without a moral
compass, the determination of the Civil Rights Movement, and the fear of a
child growing up in the shadow of the atomic bomb.
Dylan grew up in the remote mining town of Hibbing, Minnesota, population
20,000, two hours from the Canadian border. He tends to be imaginative
about his background, portraying a "drop-out" picture of himself as an
itinerant who began running away from home when he was seven.
He implied that he had an unhappy childhood, but loving parents,
and was treated as an outcast growing up, with nobody really understanding him.
In fact, he was very good in English and an all-around B student at Hibbing
High where teachers remember him as being attentive and inquisitive, quiet,
shy and bashful but with a strong belief in his own ideas. He was booed and
hooted while performing in school talent shows.
An amazingly resilient performer, Dylan was criticized when he moved into
unexpected directions from his '60s roots. Despite an unflattering image,
he rebounded with imagination and heart. He is considered unpredictable and
moody, though also charming and profound. Creating some of the cover paintings
on his albums, in 1995, Dylan published a book of drawings called "Drawn Blank." For many
of his original followers, Dylan disappeared in the '70s and '80s, except for brief
comebacks. When he started recording folk and blues covers in the '90s, he was
restored to favor.
In 1977, he divorced his wife of 11 years and they entered a bitter custody
battle over their five kids, one of whom, Jakob, is also a singer-musician.
Ruth Tyrangiel, 47, filed a palimony suit on November 2, 1994 in Los Angeles
against Dylan, her companion for 20 years. Tyrangiel claims that she co-wrote
some of his songs and helped manage his career until 1993 when the relationship
dissolved. She asked for a monthly stipend, half of Dylan's assets and $5 million
in damages. Dylan claimed no agreement was made and contested the suit.
Gospel-rock vocalist Carol Dennis, a former backup singer for Bob Dylan,
confirmed that she was secretly married to the rock icon from 1986 to 1992
and had a daughter with him, named Desiree Gabrielle Dennis-Dylan, 15 in 2001.
In 1991, Dylan was awarded a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement.
Despite a 1997 brush with death in the guise of a heart infection,
Dylan released his album "Time Out of Mind" that same year. He considered
the Grammy-winning album to bring new life to his career after a
downward musical spiral. In a "first" for his 40-year career, the
legendary musician appeared throughout April 2004 in a series of TV ads
for Victoria’s Secret lingerie. In late 2004, in yet another "first,"
Dylan announced the October 5th release of his memoir, entitled "Chronicles,"
claiming, "'Chronicles' just means—I'm not sure what it means…but it would seem
to be some kind of thing where you can make right use of the past."
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What Do You Think?
Bob Dylan has been called "The Voice of the 60s" yet his fame and appeal
have endured over the intervening 40+ years, with no sign of fading.
He continues to write and release meaningful songs that reflect the political
and social issues of the times. With his raspy and haunting voice,
he captures the angst of American culture and reveals something of himself
that he seems unable to express in speech. He has been on the Time magazine’s
"100 List" and is featured on the cover of this week’s Newsweek magazine.
Let’s review his chart for clues to his great talent and appeal..
- Throughout his 40-year career Bob Dylan has an incredible ability to
make his audiences feel that he is their contemporary.
His music is always meaningful and captures the spirit and issues of the times.
What qualities in his chart might indicate this ability to appeal to
multi-generational audiences?
- He is a prolific song-writer.
He pours feelings and ideas into his music that he seems unable or unwilling
to express in speech. To what do you attribute his reluctance, until now, to
talk about his life, his ideas, his music or his philosophy?
- Most astrologers attribute dynamism and manifestation, the tension that
instigates action, to squares and oppositions.
Dylan has very few of these challenging aspects.
How do you explain his event-filled life and enduring fame with this dearth?
What do you make of his Taurus stellium and Gemini cluster?
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Answers
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