The Prince of Asturias Foundation
Robert Allen Zimmerman, known as Bob Dylan, was born in Duluth (Minnesota, USA) in 1941. A pioneer in bridging literature and popular music, he fused European and African-American rhythms for the first time, originating a revolution of a decisive influence for subsequent generations of musicians.
He began to play the guitar as a teenager and it was during his stay at Minnesota University and his involvement in the folk scene that he decided to move to New York and devote himself completely to music. He released his first album, “Bob Dylan”, in 1961 and sold two million copies. His second album included “Blowin’ in the Wind”, which became an anthem of the anti-war and civil rights movements in the United States. In 1964, “The Times They Are A-Changin’” marked an end to his period as a protest-song performer. In 1965, “Highway 61 Revisited”, which includes the song “Like a Rolling Stone”, changed the conception people had of rock and roll at that time due to the depth of its poetic lyrics. He then appeared at the Newport Folk Festival with these songs accompanied by the group The Band, with which he performed until 1977, the year they performed a farewell concert called “The Last Waltz”, chronicled and made into a documentary by Martin Scorsese. He reappeared in 1968 with the album “John Wesley Harding” after having suffered a motorcycle accident in 1966. In 1973 he composed the soundtrack for Sam Peckinpah’s film “Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid”, in which he also played a minor role. Two years later he filmed the only movie he has directed, “Renaldo and Clara”, although he has participated in several films and his songs are featured in numerous soundtracks. He also co-wrote Charles Larry’s film, “Masked and Anonymous” (2003). During the eighties, he recorded several albums centred on his new religious interests and for a while, was part of the band The Travelling Wilburys. In 1997, he performed in Bologna (Italy) before Pope John Paul II. A staunch advocate of social causes, he has lent his support to numerous solidarity initiatives, including Farm Aid and Live Aid, a fundraiser for famine-relief in Ethiopia. In 2006, he performed at a beach in San Sebastian (Basque Country, Spain) before 100,000 people in what was billed as a “Concert for Peace”. To mark his 25th year in the profession, his record label released “Biograph” (1985), a five-album compilation that includes tracks that had not been previously issued. 2004 saw the publishing of his autobiography, “Chronicles, Volume One”, which had been preceded by several books compiling his writing and lyrics. In 2006, he topped the US charts once again with the album “Modern Times” and received two Grammys: Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for the song “Someday Baby”. His latest work, published in 2009, is “Christmas In The Heart”.
Throughout his career he has also won five other Grammy Awards and in 1991 he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was made Commander of the French Order of the Arts and Letters and in 1997 received the Kennedy Center Honors for a lifetime of artistic work. In 2000, he received the Polar Prize from the King of Sweden, a prize which is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. In 2001 he won an Oscar for Best Original Song and a Golden Globe for his song “Things Have Changed”, which was featured in the film “The Wonder Boys”. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Princeton University and was listed as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of the 20th century. He has sold more than 90 million records over the half-century span of his career.
Up
