Musician Bob Dylan was recently awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for

Literature.  Dylan gained prominence in the 1960s when his folk music

was embraced by a generation of people who opposed the war in Vietnam

and worked for social change.  His early songs  “The Times They are a

Changin” and “Blowin’ in the Wind” spoke to a generation of people who

supported the social changes promised by the Civil Rights Movement.

Dylan has been a prominent musician for the past 5 decades. Although

initially celebrated as a folk musician he sent fans and critics reeling

when he performed at the Newport Folk Festival playing an electric

guitar.  The phrase “Dylan goes electric” heard both cheers and jeers.

Rumors abound that he was booed off the stage in Newport.

Despite popular reluctance, Dylan’s career continued to thrive.  Many of

his songs such as “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Positively Fourth Street” and

the iconic “Like a Rolling Stone” are influential parts of the American

folk and rock music canon.  Film maker D.A. Pennebaker documented

Dylan’s 1965 British tour in the film Don’t Look Back.  The filming of

Dylan singing “Subterranean Homesick Blues” has influenced many music

videos and films since it was made in 1965.

Dylan’s career since the 1960s has followed a circuitous path.  Never

one to shy away from a new challenge Dylan was a times experimental and

always reliable.  Dylan’s long career and lasting influence have made

many Americans and music lovers proud as he is so rightfully the

recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature.