Essay on Bob Dylan’s work on Popular Music and the impact of his work on American Society

        Music is a part of our culture and it influence almost everyone’s emotions especially the young generation therefore, the a person who learns the art of using music to create influence on public he reaches to the heart of the people and by winning hear he directs the society as per he wants. Bob Daylon was a person who has amazing musical intellectuality, which he mingled with the art of writing and melodious voice and became a great musician and most influential public figure.

        For this research work, the selected topic is “Bob Dylan’s work on Popular Music and the impact of his work on American Society”. For the popular music class assignment, the Bob Dylan’s work and its impact on the society is selected to discuss because the popular discussion seems incomplete without talking about the man who have given fame to the term popular music by serving it for his whole life [1]. Bob Dylan is the name of the musical legend that has used the music not only as a source of entertainment but he also used music to encourage people and to develop a better society [2]. Therefore, I have found this topic as a best choice for this assignment and through this efforts I can describes the fact that how he had served the popular music and influence the American society through his amazing skills.

        The Miller has quoted a saying about BoB Dylan and he described Bob as “the man who did to popular music what Einstein did to physics,” [3]. Bob have served the music throughout his life and so he is remember as one of the most influential person in the world of popular music. Bob is all time famous American, song-writer, singer, artist and author and have been remained as an influencing figure for popular for more than five decade. He also became a public figure since he has become a voice of the generation through his songs such as “The times they are a-Changin” and “Blowing in the Wind” in which he support the civil right movement [2].

        Bob work for the popular music can never be neglected as he has deeply impact the popular music through his work. In his life, Bob had to face many hard time as he had been a part of many historic event that made great impact on his personality and so he reflects his life experience through his musical work [3]. Therefore, it is said that his rise to the idol is pushed by multiple historic factors as he has received affects from the multiple events such as the Vietnam war, Cuban missiles crisis, assassination of President Kennedy and various civil right movement. Subsequently, his songs reflect his songs [1].

        Dylan wanted to become a rock-n-roll star but fate decided something else for him and he became a famous folk singer. He received great influence from the rhythm, country, blues and folk. He was very inspired from the personality of Woody Guthrie and his attachment with Woody can be imagined by the fact that he adopted his Okie accent [2].

        Another important event in the life of Dylan came in 1961 when he signed a contract with the Columbian Records and following this, his work was first time released in March 1962. Following this, he started to become a public personality as he started writing protest songs by 1963 that given him more fame. His protest songs became famous as “Finger pointing” songs that reflects the frustration towards the poor political system and discriminating rights practices in American society [2].

        On the other hand, Dylan have made great impact on the music world as he introduced a new era in the popular music. He started to make impact as a fresh faced folk. At the starting stage he was appeared as an informal chronicler but with the passage of time, with a developed understanding about the music, he also started to show his concern towards the social unrest and since then he started to become a “generation voice”. Bob was admired and appreciated by many other artists and he became one of the most influential musicians in the popular music. With his intellectual work, he continues to make influence for more than five decades.

        In 60’s the Beatles makes a shift towards the introspective song writings which was not possible without Bob Dylan. The most renowned artists acknowledged the incredible impact of Bob Dylan on the industry as well as on themselves. These artists included TomWaits, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young.  While appreciating the contribution of Bob Dylan, Neil Young said that he cannot be Bob Dyalan. He further explained that Bob Dylan was a master and he would want to be like him. Bob was a great writer and he was true to his music and for years he did what he felt to be right. Neil young further added that he was the one and he look to him [4].

        The work of Dylan summaries his passion to create the hunger for change and challenge the political and social status quo but after he won the “Tom Paine Award’ by the Civil Liberties Committee and National Emergency he seems to reject his status. He raised question on the role of committee. Moreover, he also claimed that see look up at Lee Harvey Oswald he alleged assassin of JFK for himself and for everyone. The Byrds cover Bob’s song Mr Tambourine Man in 1965, which enables him to propel and established a new folk rock genre along with brining The Byrds to the level of super stardom. Following his verbal sophistication he was compared with romantic poets as well as received literary criticism which is still a dream for many artists even today [2].

        His launch of Theme Time Radio Hour for XM Satellite Radio helped him to establish Bob Dylan. His songs and music was the key factor that revolutionized hundreds of thousands of individuals. Although he was not the one responsible for ideology triggering the movement but even them Bob provided “emotional 10 drive’ to provoke the movement. He was not the only   influencer on the public in America but also on the other musicians rising in the area including the Rolling Stone, The Beatles, Eric Clapton, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison and so on. He became the cultural change catalyst and he was considered as the twentieth century’s most influential popular musician. The whole American Generation was after his footprints under his leadership. He used all the ongoing events and emotions and rewrote them in the form of music, poetry, prose and songs with honest and beautiful liberation. He set free minds, changes; unlock emotions, influenced music, revolutionized, protest, truth, confusion politics and rock-n-roll. He transformed the folk tradition and makes it modernized. He was recognized through his song writing and poetry.  Bob Dylan was most focused on theme of religion and protest. Depression was theme of his work as his work is affect by the events of his life [2].

        Woodie Guthrie was a person who has great influence on the personality of Bob Dylan. The Bob has visited him when he was in a hospital in 1962. He was gone through from the severe diseases of Huntington in Morristown the New Jersey.  As he was the idol of Bob Dylan so finally he got the chance to meet with him and soon they became good companions but Bob was feeling bad as Woodie was dying gradually. Dylan had write a song for his friend named as Woodie song. song was very famous at that time “Bout a funny old world that is coming along” is a famous lyric from that song.

        In 1959 the Bob had passed his graduation from a high school. After he graduated he felt himself like a musician he plays the folk the lyrics of folk music particular. This was the duration when he started his career as a writer by writing the legendary of folk songs. But soon the Bob was felt to writes something different and he wrote about what many people deliberate the harms of the society. In 1960 he turned the theme of his music from folk to protest [2].

    Bob Dylan has put in the chimes of liberty in his songs as he use the impression of infortune, deserted and the abounded in his writhing.  Bob convicted John Birch in “Speaking” and John Birch Paranoid Blues Ku Klux Klan imprisoned to “The Death of Emmett Till”. Bob damned the war of markers in the Master of war. According to Dylan Bob his one of the most popular song is ”Blowing in the wind” once the Bod has said that this popular song he wrote it for is all friends only. Bob Dylan had used the traits of the biblical Prophet as his song before he can hear people and Yes “n” how many ears one man must have but at the same time Bob knows very well difference among the humor or irony as instance his one writing ( “Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues”). Later he felt that he is at the starting point of the writing the lyrics of songs as he observe that the entire world is not comprises on the villains and the heroes only he recognized intensely that there are faint – hearted humans who mostly caught up into the condition of all-to-human [2].

        The era of 1960 was proved good for Dylan as it was the time of emancipation of music, new discoveries, the binds of racism, public perceptions and dance.  At that period some of the greater musicians produced and became more popular so Bob has considered to greatest musician of culture of that time. The Bob was not that much potential person by birth his legacy is the outcome of his struggle dedication and surrounding. The Bob life was not much smooth in childhood as throughout of his childhood his mind was affected by several historical incidents like the influence of World war aftershocks and the improvement of the radio and TV in community. It push the Dylan to write the music and later on the Robert Allen Zimmerman has changed to Bob Dylan [4].

        Dylan is famous for a fact that he never missed a change to be called “voice of generation” but still on the other hand he maintains his sequentially growing fame in the world of music. He was a prominent element of the counterculture in the era when America was suffering from the political activism. The music that was created by the Bob was a master piece in the popular music as his work was equally inspiring and evoking for the American peoples and at one stage his music was dubbed with focus of quintessential voice on the spirit [2].

        It is believed that through his influential work in popular music he used his songs as a weapon to reinforce the civil rights movements in American society that revolutionized the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. However, he did not clear support the ideology of the movement but it can be seen that he had emotions for them [4]. He used one of the strongest weapon music through which he won hearts of many Americans as he set a new era of rising musicians, which included the Rolling, Beatles, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Joan Benz etc but among all those Dylan regarded as the trend setter. Not only for that era, but overall, he regarded as one of the most influential musician in the 20^th century. Still in the world of popular music, the musicians follow his footprints and try to adopt his style.

References of Bob Dylan’s work on Popular Music and the impact of his work on American Society

Cantwell, R. (1996). When we were good: The folk revival. Harvard University Press.

Dettmar, K. (2009). The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan. Cambridge University Press.

Eyerman, R., & Jamison, A. (1995). Social movements and cultural transformation: Popular music in the 1960s. Media, Culture & Society, 449-468.

Frith, S. (1986). Art versus technology: The strange case of popular music. Media, Culture & Society, 263-279.

GILMORE, M. (2016). Why Bob Dylan Is a Literary Genius. Retrieved 2018, from https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/why-bob-dylan-is-a-literary-genius-105108/

Miller, K. H. (2011). How to Write About Bob Dylan: A Step‐by‐Step Guide. Journal of Popular Music Studies, 362-370.