How Did Bob Dylan Impact Society

"If you fall behind, run faster. Never give up, never surrender, and rise up against all odds." That’s Jesse Jackson at one of his speeches in 1984, he went against all odds himself, overcame the risks and proved to America that color didn’t matter making him one of the most influential characters in American history.  Jacksons rough childhood, bravery, and human rights activism is what I think it took to get the courage to do something as big and selfless as Jackson brought himself to do.

Popular folk artist gave their own opinions on war, racism civil rights, justice, and the “establishment” through their music (Holland107). The suggestion of rebellion interested the baby boom generation. Two of the top folk artists from the 1960s were Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. Joan Baez was referred to as a political singer/activist and she was known as the “Queen of Folk music” (Joan Baez). Bob Dylan created plenty of politically based songs that directly warned specific areas of politics, like congressmen and senators, who wanted to stop the civil rights and peace movements (Holland 107-108).

Dylan’s most famous protest song is “Blown’ in the Wind”. It became the anthem for the civil rights movement in America during the 1960s, and as result Dylan was viewed as the spiritual leader of the civil rights movement. “Blown’ in the Wind” became very popular among the American people because the lyrics of the song could be applied to any situation as the lyrics were all about humanity learning from its mistakes and a call for freedom. “Only a Pawn in Their Game” was Dylan’s most offensive protest song that he wrote, and it was first performed at a civil rights rally in Greenwood, Mississippi. This song was about a civil rights activist who was murdered by “just a poor dumb

The Nobel Prize for Literature was not rewarded to the deserving writer. You have awarded Bob Dylan the Nobel Prize for Literature on October 13, 2016 degrading dedicated writers around the world. After dropping out of college in the 1960’s to pursue an occupation in which he was already well known as the times “most loved folk poet”, he turned to singing and writing rock-type songs with anti war messages. Whether he did “create new poetic expressions within the great American tradition” he has not proven himself worthy of such a significant award. Such a legendary award offered to many other brilliant writers, should be received by someone who can and will continue to change the world. This award could help out developing writers, developing countries, and should not be handed out single handedly.

Elvis Aaron Presley, otherwise known as “The King” was born on January 8th, 1935. He came from simple beginnings; being born into a lower-class family in Tupelo, Mississippi. In 1948, at the age of 13 Elvis Presley and his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Soon he launched his incredibly successful music career with Sun Records at the age of 19 in 1954. His music was influenced by both African American and White artists causing his unique blend of country, pop, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. Presley was heavily influenced by artists such as Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Buddy Holly. Though Presley was widely known for his “provocative” dances moves and his popularization of Rock n’ Roll Presley impacted American culture in a much larger aspect. His influence on Americans and American culture aided desegregation and civil rights during his period of influence and helped create “youth culture”.

There are a revolutionary of unique voices before the music formation in the contemporary art music. The feeling of the new art music has its foundation on a progression of works and spirituals of the past musical legendries including Billie Holiday. Before her demise, Billie is noted to have had a flourishing career as a jazz singer. Meanwhile, she is still known as one of the singers who has had a significant influence on the history of Jazz music. Her legacy is re-stated in the music landscape in ways that prove her as a reflection of the foundation of the major transformations in jazz and the whole American music.

After all, Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota, was as meat-and-potatoes as it could get. It wasn’t possible to be a rebel in Hibbing because there was nothing to rebel against. No one had any strong beliefs or ideology; they were a working class people that did not really listen to music. No one liked country, R&B or rock n’ roll – they barely knew what it was (No Direction Home). Dylan, on the other hand, was interested in music, and fiddled around on an electric guitar for a bit until he discovered folk music: “The first thing that turned me on to folksinging was Odetta. I heard a record of hers in a record store…Right then and there, I traded my electric guitar and amplifier for an acoustical guitar…[Her first album] was just something vital and personal” (McCombe). Without Odetta, folk music would have never entered Dylan’s life, and when it did, he was moved by it. It caused him to imitate Odetta’s rough, natural sound and unplug his electric guitar. Folk music was like nothing he had ever heard of before. It told the story of hard-working people just trying to get by. It wasn’t flashy or famous; instead, it was stories and songs that had been passed down from generation to generation of Americans. Odetta was just the person to introduce him to such a genre: “Bobby had become an apostle of a woman named Odetta, a husky-voiced black folksinger whose blend of

The Nobel Prize for Literature is an outstanding prize that honors extraordinary people for their works in literature. It honors people that have changed literature. On October 13, 2016 you awarded Bob Dylan with the Nobel Prize in Literature. This marks him as the first musician ever to win this prize. Many people agree with your decision, while others are not delighted with this fact. I agree with the committee to honoring Bob Dylan with the Nobel Prize in literature “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”

Arguably one of the most powerful of Dylan’s social issue charged song is The Death of Emmet Till, a young black man who was unrightfully killed by the Ku Klux Klan. By 1963, Dylan and his on and off lover Joan Baez were both very well known in the civil rights movement. Baez and Dylan would sing together at rallies including the famous March on Washington. Dylan was on stage with Martin Luther King Jr. when his gave his infamous I Have a Dream speech. Though Dylan sang of American injustices, he was never incredibly interested in politics and he was ultimately frustrated by people defining him solely as a protest singer. Dylan’s frustrations with the unsought political branding are expressed in It Ain’t Me Babe, which “appears to be a song about rejected love, [it] was actually his rejection of the role his reputation and fans had thrown on him” (Carlson).

“Among the American folk music, the name Bob Dylan is murmured with hushed respect ("Getting To Dylan 1986 documentary”). Bob Dylan, originally named Robert Allen Zimmerman was born on May 24, 1941. At the age of eighteen, Bob Dylan attended the University of Minnesota, where he sought interest in music. “Influenced by the blues, country, and rock and roll, he began playing music as a teenager…” (“Bob Dylan”). Single-mindedly, Bob Dylan coached himself to learn how to play multiple instruments such as the guitar, harmonica, and piano, which helped lead to a plentiful amount of awards and achievements. Chronologically, Bob Dylan was announced in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, was granted a Grammy for lifetime achievements in 1991 and

The 1960’s was one of the most controversial decades in American history because of not only the Vietnam War, but there was an outbreak of protests involving civil and social conditions all across college campuses. These protests have been taken to the extent where people either have died or have been seriously injured. However, during the 1960’s, America saw a popular form of art known as protest music, which responded to the social turmoil of that era, from the civil rights movement to the war in Vietnam. A veritable pantheon of musicians, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan sang their songs to encourage union organizers to protest the inequities of their time, creating a diverse variety of popular

Just as it was a crucial time for America in terms of politics and social issues, it was just as big for the music industry. People expressed their social opinions and political beliefs in a way that was the most true to them. Music was, and still is, a worldwide phenomenon for it has been able to take the shape of justice and to mold the minds of it’s listeners. Artists at the time had extreme social and political influence and used their defined stances on cultural issues to influence their music as well as their

To understand the sixties counterculture, we must understand the important role of Bob Dylan. His lyrics fueled the rebellious youth in America. Songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times are A-Changin” made him favorable to anti-war demonstrators and supporters of the Civil Rights movement. He was commonly hailed as the spokesman for his generation. Dylan used lyrics to allow the youth to find their own form of counter-culture. The youth generation began to see the effects racism, war, etc. effect the society in America. To combat this, the youth created their own form of counter-culture to promote a peaceful change within society. Some of their actions include forming anti-war protests that opposed America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, and supporting African Americans/women get the rights they deserve through the Civil Rights Movement. Bob Dylan’s music appealed to the young generation because he openly expresses his disapproval of the establishment in order to influenced his audience to move in a direction for change. Counterculture youth rejected cultural norms of the previous generation and their values and lifestyles opposed the mainstream culture present in the 1950’s. The folk music revival of the early 1960s, as well as the counter-culture movement played an important role in advocating change. Bob Dylan wrote songs that influenced the Civil Rights Movement, New Left Movement, and Anti-War Movement.

Bob Dylan is known to be one of the most influential artist during the American Folk Music. He change the way of music, especially for the American Folk Music Revival. Bob was born on May 24, 1941. His parents are Abram and Beatrice Zimmerman. His real name is Robert Zimmerman. He picked up the name Bob Dylan when he began singing in Greenwich Village. His songs are still played today, especially “Blowin in The Wind.” Bob was influenced by other artists before he became famous. His influences were Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley. Also the legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie. Woody was hospitalized and Bob would visit him regulary. That same Bob dropped out of college.

The paper discusses how Marley’s music changed society by mainstreaming the ideas of black resistance, social justice, racial equality, and anti-colonialism to the baby-boom generation and generations endlessly onward. The paper will outline the historical background of reggae as well as the social cause to which it became attached by the work of Marley. The paper submits that reggae, ultimately, became the chief means of expressing the angst and dislocation felt by many within the African Diaspora. Finally, the paper will offer a critical analysis of one of Marley’s works, “I Shot the Sheriff”, and will explain why this signature work is a classic instance of reggae speaking out against injustice and the prevailing power structure.