The best of Bob Dylan through the years

The iconic Bob Dylan

AP Photo/Nick Ut

Bob Dylan, an American singer-songwriting legend, was born on May 24, 1941. Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, and raised in Hibbing, he has been iconic since the 1960s. Truly a living legend. To help celebrate his 81st birthday, let’s take a look back at some of the memorable moments and incredible accolades during his impressive career.

The start of an unparalleled career

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Dylan left Minnesota for New York in 1961, and visited a seriously ill Woody Guthrie, his idol. He started playing clubs around New York and gathered a following. Dylan’s first album, “Bob Dylan,” released March 19, 1962, sold 5,000 copies in its first year, just enough to break even.

Bob and the Man (Usually) in Black

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Johnny Cash was one of the people who went to bat for Dylan with Columbia records, which had some people thinking about dropping the contract of the young artist. Pictured are Cash, right, and Dylan before taping an episode of the new “The Johnny Cash Show” at the Ryman Auditorium May 1, 1969.

Walking out of The Ed Sullivan show

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In May 1963, Dylan’s political profile rose when he walked out of “The Ed Sullivan Show.” During rehearsals, Dylan had been told by CBS television’s head of program practices that “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues” was potentially libelous to the John Birch Society. Rather than comply with censorship, Dylan refused to appear.

Newport Folk Festival gets a jolt

(AP Photo)

In 1965, headlining the Newport Folk Festival, Dylan performed his first electric set. Dylan had appeared at Newport in 1963 and 1964, but in 1965, was met with cheering and booing and left the stage after three songs.

'Like A Rolling Stone'

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In July 1965, Dylan’s six-minute single “Like a Rolling Stone” peaked at No. 2 in the U.S. chart. In 2004 and in 2011, Rolling Stone listed it as No. 1 of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

Reclusive period

AP Photo/Jay Brady

On July 29, 1966, Dylan crashed his motorcycle in Woodstock, New York, and said that he broke several vertebrae in his neck. Dylan’s biographers have written that the crash offered him the chance to escape the pressures around him. Dylan concurred in his autobiography “Chronicles:” “I had been in a motorcycle accident and I’d been hurt, but I recovered. Truth was that I wanted to get out of the rat race.” He made few public appearances and did not tour again for almost eight years.

On the road again

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In January 1974, Dylan, backed by The Band, embarked on a North American tour of 40 concerts. The double album “Before the Flood” that was released that year would be Dylan’s first live album.

Blood on the Tracks

 Kevin Winter/Getty Images for AFI

Released in early 1975, “Blood on the Tracks” received mixed reviews, but has subsequently been acclaimed as one of Dylan’s greatest albums. The songs have been linked to tensions in Dylan’s personal life.

Hurricane Carter

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In the middle of 1975, Dylan championed boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, imprisoned for a triple murder in Paterson, New Jersey, with his ballad “Hurricane” that made a case for Carter’s innocence. Despite its length — more than eight minutes — the song peaked at No. 33 on the U.S. Billboard chart and was performed at every 1975 date of Dylan’s next tour, the Rolling Thunder Revue.

Rolling Thunder

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The purpose of the Rolling Thunder tour was to allow Dylan to play in smaller auditoriums in less populated cities. Some of the performers on the tour were Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, Joni Mitchell, Ronee Blakely, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.

The Last Waltz

AP Photo/John Storey

Dylan was one of a number of superstar artists who took part in “The Last Waltz,” the final concert by legendary musicians The Band.

Captured in time by an Oscar-winning director

AP Photo/JS

Dylan appeared at the Band’s “farewell” concert with Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison and Neil Young. Martin Scorsese’s 1978 cinematic chronicle of the concert, “The Last Waltz,” included most of Dylan’s set.

True Confessions

AP Photo/Howard Lipin

In 1986 and 1987, Dylan toured with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, sharing vocals with Petty on several songs each night.

Traveling Wilburys

AP Photo/Howard Lipin

The Traveling Wilburys were a supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. Originating from an idea discussed by Harrison and Lynne during the sessions for Harrison’s 1987 album “Cloud Nine,” the band formed in April 1988 after the five members united to record a bonus track for Harrison’s next European single.

Bobfest 1992

(AP Photo/Ron Frehm)

On Oct. 16, 1992, an impressive and eclectic group of artists gathered at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the purpose of celebrating the music of Bob Dylan on the occasion of his 30th anniversary of recording.

The MSG lineup

AP photo/Ron Frehm

The star-studded event featured Johnny Cash, Lou Reed, the Band, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, and Pearl Jam. The band shown in the video below includes guitarist G.E. Smith (who was musical director for the show), Booker T and the M.G.s—guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn, and organist Booker T. Jones—and drummer Jim Keltner.

Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize

 Kevin Winter/Getty Images for AFI

In 2008, the Pulitzer Prize jury awarded Dylan a special citation for “his profound impact on popular music and American culture.” On October 13, 2016, the Nobel Prize committee announced that it would be awarding Dylan the Nobel Prize in Literature “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”

Presidential Medal of Freedom

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On May 29, 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Dylan a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Obama praised Dylan’s voice for its “unique gravelly power that redefined not just what music sounded like but the message it carried and how it made people feel.”

Massive tribute

AP Photo/Alan Diaz

In 2015, a 160-foot wide Dylan mural by Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra was unveiled in downtown Minneapolis.

By the numbers

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Bob Dylan has released 39 studio albums, 95 singles, 17 notable extended plays, 52 music videos, 12 live albums, 15 volumes comprising “The Bootleg Series,” 19 compilation albums, 20 box sets, and seven soundtracks as main contributor.

100 million

 Keith Mayhew / SOPA Images/Sipa USA

In a remarkable career, Dylan has sold more than 100 million records.

Discography

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• “Bob Dylan” (1962)

• “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” (1963)

• “The Times They Are a-Changin'” (1964)

• “Another Side of Bob Dylan” (1964)

• “Bringing It All Back Home” (1965)

• “Highway 61 Revisited” (1965)

• “Blonde on Blonde” (1966)

• “John Wesley Harding” (1967)

• “Nashville Skyline” (1969)

• “Self Portrait” (1970)

• “New Morning” (1970)

• “Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid” (1973)

• “Dylan” (1973)

• “Planet Waves” (1974)

• “Blood on the Tracks” (1975)

• “The Basement Tapes” (1975)

• “Desire” (1976)

• “Street Legal” (1978)

• “Slow Train Coming” (1979)

• “Saved” (1980)

• “Shot of Love” (1981)

• “Infidels” (1983)

• “Empire Burlesque” (1985)

• “Knocked Out Loaded” (1986)

• “Down in the Groove” (1988)

• “Oh Mercy” (1989)

• “Under the Red Sky” (1990)

• “Good as I Been to You” (1992)

• “World Gone Wrong” (1993)

• “Time Out of Mind” (1997)

• “Love and Theft” (2001)

• “Modern Times” (2006)

• “Together Through Life” (2009)

• “Christmas in the Heart” (2009)

• “Tempest” (2012)

• “Shadows in the Night” (2015)

• “Fallen Angels” (2016)

• “Triplicate” (2017)

• “Rough and Rowdy Ways” (2020)

Story originally appeared on List Wire