Bob Dylan Biography

Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, also known by his Hebrew name Shabtai Zisel ben Avraham, has used a variety of stage names throughout his illustrious career. These include Elston Gunnn, Blind Boy Grunt, Bob Landy, Robert Milkwood Thomas, Tedham Porterhouse, Lucky Wilbury, Boo Wilbury, Jack Frost, and Sergei Petrov.

Bob Dylan Height, Age, Wife, Girlfriend, Children, Family, Biography, & More

He is often affectionately referred to by nicknames such as Bobby, Zimmy, Robert, Zimbo, and The Bard. A multifaceted artist, Dylan is celebrated as a singer, songwriter, painter, and writer. He made his debut as a singer-songwriter with the album “Bob Dylan” in 1962, and as an actor, he appeared in the film “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid” in 1973, playing the character ‘Alias’.

Early Life

Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota, to Abram Zimmerman, a semi-professional baseball player, and Beatty “Betty” Zimmerman, grew up in a Jewish household. He attended Hibbing High School in Minnesota, graduating in 1959, and later enrolled at the University of Minnesota, but dropped out to pursue music. Known by his Hebrew name Shabtai Zisel ben Avraham, Dylan’s early life was marked by a strong connection to his cultural roots and an early passion for music.

Education

Bob Dylan attended Hibbing High School in Minnesota, graduating in 1959. He later enrolled at the University of Minnesota, USA, but eventually dropped out to pursue his musical career.

Age

Bob Dylan was born on May 24, 1941 (a Saturday) at St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth, Minnesota, US. As of 2024, he is 83 years old. His zodiac sign is Gemini, and he holds American nationality. He is known for his distinctive signature.

Physical Stats

Bob Dylan stands approximately 5′ 7″ (170 cm) tall, with cobalt blue eyes and dark ash blonde hair.

Girlfriends

Bob Dylan has had several notable affairs and girlfriends over the years. In the 1960s, he was involved with Mavis Staples, a singer and civil rights activist. He had a relationship with tour manager Chris O’Dell in 1974 and with actor, singer, and songwriter Dana Gillespie in the 1990s. During the 1970s, Dylan dated actor Sally Kirkland and former lawyer Ruth Tyrangiel, the latter during the mid-1970s, including the Rolling Thunder Revue tour in 1975. He had a well-known relationship with singer Joan Baez from 1963 to 1965 and with artist Suze Rotolo from 1961 to 1964. Additionally, Dylan was romantically linked to singer Françoise Hardy and singer Carolyn Dennis.

Wife and Children

Bob Dylan was married twice: first to model Sara Lowndes (1965–1977) and then to singer Carolyn Dennis (1986–1992). He has six children: Jesse Byron Dylan (film director), Sam Dylan (writer), and Jakob Luke Dylan (singer) from his first marriage; Maria Dylan Himmelman (adopted writer), Anna Dylan (singer), and Desiree Gabrielle Dennis-Dylan (singer) from his second marriage.

Family

Bob Dylan’s parents were Abram Zimmerman, a semi-professional baseball player (deceased), and Beatty “Betty” Zimmerman, also known as Betty Stone or Betty Rutman (deceased). He has one younger brother, David Zimmerman.

Bob Dylan Youngage Picture

Bob Dylan’s First Wife Sara Lowndes aka Sara Dyla

Bob Dylan Son Jesse Byron Dylan

Bob Dylan Son Jakob Luke Dylan

Bob Dylan Daughter Anna Dylan

Career

Bob Dylan’s career is a legendary journey through folk, rock, and beyond. Bursting onto the scene in the early 1960s, he quickly became an icon of the counterculture movement with his poignant lyrics and distinctive voice. Dylan’s influence as a singer-songwriter is unparalleled, with timeless classics like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are a-Changin'” capturing the spirit of social change.

He’s navigated various musical styles, from acoustic folk to electric rock, constantly evolving and challenging conventions. Beyond music, Dylan has explored painting, writing, and acting, leaving an indelible mark on the cultural landscape as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century and beyond.

Discography

• World Gone Wrong (1993)
• Under the Red Sky (1990)
• The Basement Tapes (1975)
• Street-Legal (1978)
• Slow Train Coming (1979)
• Shot of Love (1981)
• Self Portrait (1970)
• Saved (1980)
• Planet Waves (1974)
• Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
• Oh Mercy (1989)
• New Morning (1970)
• Nashville Skyline (1969)
• Modern Times (2006)
• Knocked Out Loaded (1986)
• John Wesley Harding (1967)
• Infidels (1983)
• Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
• Good as I Been to You (1992)
• Empire Burlesque (1985)
• Dylan (1973)
• Down in the Groove (1988)
• Desire (1976)
• Blood on the Tracks (1975)
• Blonde on Blonde (1966)
• Together Through Life (2009)
• Christmas in the Heart (2009)
• Tempest (2012)
• Shadows in the Night (2015)
• Fallen Angels (2016)
• Triplicate (2017)
• Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020)
• Shadow Kingdom (2023)

Net Worth

Bob Dylan’s net worth is approximately USD 130 million (as of 2022).

Some Lesser Known Facts About Bob Dylan

• Dylan formed various bands while he was in high school. He formed his first rock and roll band, the Golden Chords when he was a freshman in high school.
• He celebrated his bar mitzvah, a coming-of-age ceremony for Jewish boys when they reach the age of 12 or 13, with around 400 guests.
• He had learned to play piano on his own by the age of nine; he chose not to take any formal lessons at that time.
• He had joined the Sigma Alpha Mu, a college fraternity, before dropping out of the university.
• In the late 1950s, he switched from an electric guitar to an acoustic guitar after being inspired by American singer Odetta’s folk music; he had traded his electric guitar for a flat-top Gibson.
• His high school principal stopped his performance during the grade 10 talent show as he found the music too shocking, loud, and unsuitable.
• Bob Dylan performed for the first time at a Mother’s Day party when he was five. He sang ‘Some Sunday Morning’ and ‘Accentuate the Positive.’
• As a kid, he loved cherry pie and often ordered it with ice cream at his high school’s diner.
• Dylan enjoyed free access to movies in his youth as his great-grandfather owned movie theatres in Hibbing, Minnesota, at that time.
• He initially enrolled at the University of Minnesota, but he dropped out at the end of his first year in May 1960.
• Bob Dylan often smokes cigarettes. In college, he was infamous for tricking his friends to give him cigarettes and clothing items.
• In 1960, Dylan performed with the Smothers Brothers, a duo of American folk singers, in Denver, Colorado. When he started playing unknown songs, they wanted him removed from the lineup as they thought he sounded and looked like a homeless.
• Dylan initially used to like to joke with reporters and claim that he was an orphan and had been with a carnival since he was 13. His parents attended one of his concerts in the early 1960s and were surprised when he said in an interview that he did not know them and had lost contact with them for years.
• Bob has often mentioned comic actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin as a major influence since 1961. He even paid tribute to him with his 2006 album ‘Modern Times,’ which he named after Chaplin’s 1936 film.
• His first professional recording was as a harmonica player for American singer and actor Harry Belafonte on the title track of Belafonte’s 1961 album ‘Midnight Special.’
• He once visited folk musician and singer Woody Guthrie, who was sick, in a New Jersey hospital. There, he taught how to play the harmonica to Guthrie’s son, Arlo, who later became a musician and songwriter.

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