Bob Dylan is a renowned American Musician Songwriter, composer, singer and artist all rounded up in one package. He was born on 24th May 1941 to become quite influential through his music in the 1960s. Much of his songs during this time became a favorite for civil rights movements and anti-war campaigns. Notably the songs ‘blowing in the Wind and ‘The times they are a-changing’ became anthems for activists and antiwar campaigners in the United States of America.
His lyrics incorporated a variety of social, political, philosophical and literary influences that saw him develop and maintain a career spanning fifty years in American folk music. However, his music has explored other genre such as country, blues, gospel and rock making him reach out to many different American audiences. Bob Dylan was one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century both musically and culturally. Primarily, he was concerned with speaking against the vices that were eminent at the time particularly of concern was the war in Afghanistan and Human rights violations especially against the African-American community in the US. His influence has earned both awards and accolade that has seen him fated with the ‘Presidential Medal of Freedom’ by president Obama who termed him as a giant in the history of American Music.
The Time 100 named Dylan as the most important persons of the century where he was defined as a caustic social critic, master poet and intrepid. Much of his works have been criticized as much as they have received praise with several individuals such as former British Poet Sir Andrew Motion commenting that Dylan’s Lyrics should be studies in schools. To his fanatics Bob Dylan influenced them to form movements for radical change in criticizing bad leadership that propagated human rights injustices as well as encouraging the development of activism against war. He played a very important role in community organizing by stimulating individuals to come together for a common cause in driving justice and shunning evils in the community .
With regard to the method employed by Dylan in conveying his message through his music. Symbolism became the key ingredient that informed the art form employed by Dylan to transmit his messages to the masses. These symbols had ulterior significance that suggest deeper meanings than the immediate form of the words used in his lyrics. Dylan employed unusual concision and symbolic imagery coupled with his recurrent ability to evoke with artistic originality and effectiveness. This combination of talent and prowess ensured that Dylan’s works made a mark in the society where most of his lyrics stuck to the minds and lips of fanatics as well as critics.
Generally, Bob Dylan’s musical works has earned him fame and recognition not to mentions a number of awards that are the envy of many musicians and critics alike. Nonetheless, his greatest of all has been his legacy where he is renowned for his controversial lyrics that were characteristic of a revolutionary agenda in the US especially with regard to human rights activism and antiwar campaigns. Moreover, his success in influencing other genre of music puts him ahead of other musicians that has earned him acknowledgment for being a pace setter in the world of music in the USA.
Works Cited
Cooks, J. (1999, June 14). The Time: 100 Bob Dylan. Shrout. Retrieved January 31, 2014, from shrout.co.uk/TIME
Hughes, G. (2011). Ulterior Significance in the Art of Bob Dylan. Journal of Macrodynamic Analysis, 6. Retrieved January 31, 2014, from http://journals.library.mun.ca/ojs/index.php/jmda/article/view/264
Izkoff, D. (2012, May 29). Bob Dylan Among Reciepients of Presidential Medal of Freedom. THe New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2014
Motion, A. (2007, September 22). Andrew Motion Explains Why Bob Dylan's Lyrics should be studied in schools. The Tmes (London). Retrieved January 31, 2014
