Kate Schnitman
Professor Lebeaux
Folk Music Revival
November 13, 2012
Bob Dylan: A Growing Performer Throughout the second part of the semester in Folk Music Revival, and after learning about many different performers and how they came about, I have come to prefer Bob Dylan as a talented singer songwriter. Through movies and text, I was able to gather opinions about the artists we have learned about and really think about why I prefer one artist to another. Bob Dylan started out as an unknown performer and he grew into a beloved artist. He was able to have the ability to work with talented people such as Joan Baez, who shared the same love in performing as he did. Dylan was also able to take criticism from an audience and critics in general, and grow as a person from them, and continue to work strong to do what he loved. Bob Dylan, “born in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1941” (Cohen 142) started off as someone who could definitely sing tunes and write some catchy lyrics. “He became a folk singer in Minneapolis, where he learned about southern blues and string bands, and particularly Woody Guthrie…” (141). He had an unusual sense of style, “He performed in work clothes- frayed blue denim pants, over worn tan boots, and stained khaki shirts, sometimes dressed up with a brown suede vest or a gray wool scarf-“ (Hajdu 74). I believe that Bob was someone who captured people’s attention because of his style and his ways of performing. He had the ability to grab the attention of an audience and keep them intrigued. “He often started telling a story, somehow connected to a song, presumably, only to drift off in the midst of a thought or puff a bit on his harmonica” (75). Personally, I admire performers that are able to somehow tell a story as part of a performance. It goes to show that the artist is not just writing music but making it a story, or writing about a story. Once you know that, you know that an artist like Bob Dylan really had a strong passion for his music and lyrics. People grew to love that special talent that Dylan portrayed. A particular song that I like by Bob Dylan is “The Times They Are a- Changin” (YouTube). The theme of social change appears in the song. A lot of his songs are often associated with the civil rights movement. Dylan makes his lyrics timeless and relevant to any decade, and with that, they become something people can remember. During the 1960’s, Dylan would perform at rallies including the one for Martin Luther King Jr., for his “I Have a Dream” speech. From this, Bob Dylan became very well known in the sixties; his songs became anthems for anti- war and civil rights movements. ‘The Times They Are a- Changin,’ “a mordant rallying cry in three- quarter time, this was by far the most fervent anthem Dylan had written: “Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don’t’ stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled” (Hajdu 191).
People had wondered why Bob wrote that kind of song. He simply answered and said, “‘it seems to be what people like to hear’” (Hajdu 192). This is an example of the types of musical pieces that Bob Dylan wrote for the people because it is what they like. “‘To put it frankly, he was a nervous wreck,’ said Oscar Brand” (75). Here was this guy, coming to a new place that already had its fair share of talented performers, and Bob Dylan was nervous and ended up lying about different things. “‘He came on my radio show, and he said nothing but lies about his life. Naturally he was nervous all the time. He was living with these enormous lies.’” (75) Dylan was just a “kid from Minnesota” (75) that had gone to a place where people were already used to certain things. “He was afraid he couldn’t compete and afraid he wasn’t good enough, so he lied, and that made him afraid he would be caught and we would judge him” (75). Although Bob Dylan started off telling lies, he still grew to be so talented. People lie out of fear all the time, and that is exactly what Dylan did: a young boy, lying out of fear of new things. But soon, he would grow out of that lying phase, and into a person that cared more about his music than what other people thought about him. He would grow to be comfortable around people whom he grew a relationship with, “‘When he got to know you, he could be very funny- really clever, fun, smart,’ said Jim Kweskin” (75). Through time, Dylan began to grow as a person and as a performer, where he wasn’t behind the songs of other artists, but he was composing his own pieces, “Dylan was developing a growing reputation as an original” (106). Singer songwriters like Bob Dylan that grow to have their own reputation and their own beliefs are able to compose songs that are very motivating. Bob Dylan’s stage presence is something that took time for him to learn. And over a period of time, he learned to move with the crowd and make an audience listen to his music. “He was a good writer. He learned stage presence. He might have learned a few tips from me but he never picked up my style, because he had his own thing” (Cohen 141). Initially, Dylan was performing some of Guthrie’s songs. He did that until he began creating his own songs. “…But soon included more of his own compositions, usually based on traditions tunes” (144). Once Dylan got into the groove of things and he figured out himself as a performer, he was able to establish his own writings, without so much as following in the footsteps of another artist. One thing that Bob Dylan did that really made an influence was his contribution to the anti- war protest. He wrote songs that really grabbed the attention of many people, “His lyrics came right out of the song with a really deep message for the audience to think about” (Rae). I believe that it was Bob Dylan’s energy and enthusiasm that kept people engaged in his talent and music. He did not only write music because he loved it, but “to get the public aware of what was going on in the world” (Rae). I think that unlike other folk singers such as Guthrie and Joan Baez, Dylan “sold his lyrics outside the normal folk audience and reached the mass teen public” (Rae). It takes talent to reach out to a variety of people, and Bob Dylan was able to take his love of music and make it into something that would be enjoyable for different people with different tastes. Bob Dylan had a spontaneous part of him that made him a real character. With that, a lot of his music was written at random times and places. “Most of Dylan’s songs (with the notable exception of ‘Mr. Tambourine Man,’ one of several tunes recorded in Bob Dylan’s style, with acoustic guitar) were created as spontaneously as they were recorded” (Hajdu 233). Bob would find himself in a downtown café, or any other place creating music that he might not have expected to write at that time. Creating spontaneous pieces like Dylan did made his music that much more interesting. He had a musical ability that is unlike so many other things that I’ve seen or heard of. “He laid out dozens of photographs torn from newspapers and magazines in a montage on the floor and sat down amidst them with his guitar” (233). He would draw thoughts from these photos to create music. “Bob would start with a simple musical framework, a blues pattern he could repeat indefinitely, and he would close his eyes- he would not draw from the pictures literally but would use the impression the faces left as a visual model for kaleidoscopic language” (233). He sang from the heart, with what ever came to him. “He appeared to sing whatever came to him, disconnected phrases with a poetic feeling” (233). His lyrics were not written for him to perform, but written by him for so many others to love and enjoy. Bob Dylan is a character unlike any other. In the genre of folk music, Bob Dylan has made such an impact. For so many years, he has mastered so many types of songs all of which contain a message. These messages can be understood if listened to carefully. During this time in Folk Music Revival, Dylan has grown to become an artist who I prefer over many others. With his talent as a stage performer, songwriter and singer he has connected with me, and so many others out there, and for so many years.

Works Cited
"Bob Dylan - Times They Are A-Changin." YouTube. YouTube, 16 Dec. 2010. Web. 1
Cohen, Ronald D. The Basics Folk Music. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.
Hajdu, David. Positively 4th Street. New York: North Point Press, 2001. Print.
Rae, Jake. "Bob Dylan." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2012.