Bob Dylan Biography

Performs in the Dinkytown folk scene before moving to New York.

Plays harmonica on Carolyn Hester's third album.

Performs at Gerde's Folk City during his early New York breakthrough.

Visits Woody Guthrie while seeking connection with his folk hero.

Arrives in New York and enters the Greenwich Village folk scene.

Records Broadside material under the pseudonym Blind Boy Grunt.

Records several songs for Broadside under the name Blind Boy Grunt.

The first Columbia album makes limited commercial impact in its first year.

Releases his debut Columbia album Bob Dylan.

The first Columbia album mixes folk, blues, gospel and two originals.

Includes Song to Woody on his debut album.

Records Blowin in the Wind during Freewheelin sessions.

Legally changes his name from Robert Allen Zimmerman to Robert Dylan.

Accepts the Tom Paine Award after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Releases A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall on Freewheelin.

Releases Don't Think Twice It's All Right on Freewheelin.

Releases The Freewheelin Bob Dylan and becomes known as a songwriter.

Releases The Freewheelin Bob Dylan.

Performs at Newport Folk Festival during his folk breakthrough.

Popularises protest songwriting during the civil rights era.

Works on political material later central to The Times They Are a-Changin.

Releases The Times They Are a-Changin.

Releases With God on Our Side on the third album.

Releases Another Side of Bob Dylan.

Releases My Back Pages on Another Side of Bob Dylan.

Like a Rolling Stone reaches major chart positions in America and Britain.

Sees Mr Tambourine Man become central to the folk-rock breakthrough.

Records Subterranean Homesick Blues with electric backing.

Releases Bringing It All Back Home.

Releases an album mixing acoustic songs with electric instruments.

Releases Like a Rolling Stone, expanding expectations of a pop single.

Performs electric material at Newport Folk Festival.

Releases Ballad of a Thin Man on Highway 61 Revisited.

Releases Desolation Row on Highway 61 Revisited.

Releases Highway 61 Revisited.

Highway 61 Revisited connects Dylan's roots to blues, folk and rock.

Releases the double album Blonde on Blonde.

Releases Just Like a Woman on Blonde on Blonde.

Releases Visions of Johanna on Blonde on Blonde.

Suffers a motorcycle accident near Woodstock.

Records informal basement sessions with members of the Band.

Releases All Along the Watchtower on John Wesley Harding.

Releases John Wesley Harding.

Releases Nashville Skyline with mainstream country arrangements.

Releases Lay Lady Lay as a major country-pop single.

Performs at the Isle of Wight Festival.

Releases the controversial double album Self Portrait.

Releases New Morning.

Performs at the Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden.

Records and releases the protest single George Jackson.

Releases Knockin on Heaven's Door from the film soundtrack.

Releases the soundtrack album for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

Releases Planet Waves with the Band.

Releases the live album Before the Flood.

Releases Blood on the Tracks.

Releases Tangled Up in Blue on Blood on the Tracks.

Begins the Rolling Thunder Revue tour.

Releases Desire.

Releases Hurricane, a song about Rubin Carter.

Records performances later issued as Bob Dylan at Budokan.

Releases Street-Legal.

Releases Gotta Serve Somebody from Slow Train Coming.

Releases Slow Train Coming during his gospel period.

Releases the gospel album Saved.

Releases Shot of Love.

Releases Infidels.

Releases the live album Real Live.

Records and releases the album Empire Burlesque.

Appears near the climax of Live Aid at JFK Stadium.

Releases Knocked Out Loaded.

Stars in Richard Marquand's film Hearts of Fire as Billy Parker.

Is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Begins the long-running Never Ending Tour.

Releases Traveling Wilburys Vol 1 with the supergroup.

Releases Oh Mercy, produced by Daniel Lanois.

Records and releases the album Under the Red Sky.

Receives the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Releases the acoustic folk album Good as I Been to You.

Releases World Gone Wrong.

Releases Time Out of Mind.

Wins Album of the Year for Time Out of Mind.

Releases Things Have Changed for the film Wonder Boys.

Wins the Oscar for Things Have Changed.

Releases Love and Theft.

Rolling Stone ranks Like a Rolling Stone first in its songs list.

Publishes Chronicles Volume One.

Releases Modern Times.

Releases Together Through Life.

Releases Tempest.

Receives the Nobel Prize in Literature for creating new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.

Is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.