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Bob Dylan

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Bob Dylan

"When I was fifteen and I heard 'Like a Rolling Stone,' I heard a guy like I've never heard before or since. A guy that had the guts to take on the whole world and make me feel like I had 'em too..."

- Bruce Springsteen

The Grammy Awards ceremony in 1991 was not all that different from those which preceded it. A crowded auditorium littered with the beautiful people of Hollywood and the music industry once again gathered in Los Angeles to honor the year's most popular recording artists. However, at the time of this year's awards the country was in the midst of its first significant military action since the Vietnam conflict. The threat of a full-scale ground attack loomed on the horizon and the nation seemed overwhelmingly united in favor of war. At one point in the evening the wily Jack Nicholson rose and made his way to the podium to present the year's lifetime achievement award. This year's recipient was somewhat of a sharp contrast to the high profile event that the Grammys had become. The 1991 Lifetime Achievement Award for music went to none other than Robert Zimmerman, aka Bob Dylan, a musician whose monumental contribution to contemporary music had occurred nearly thirty years prior to this evening. After a brief introduction the lights were dimmed and all attention was directed to a slight, haggard-looking gentleman dressed in black. He faced the audience solemnly holding a guitar, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. Behind him a band began whaling a tantric and ferocious melody, yet not an eye shifted from the prophet who stood before them.

"Come you masters of war

You that build all the guns

You that build the death planes

You that build the big bombs

You that hide behind walls

You that hi...

... middle of paper ...

...d gone in recent years, never once compromising his artistic dignity. The result is a Time Out of Mind album which is a fresh breath of reality from a man whose concern is neither style nor popularity, but music in all its glory.

Works Cited:

Edmunson, Mark. "Tangled Up In Truth." Civilization. October, 1997. p. 50-55.

Gilmore, Mikal. "Bob Dylan at Fifty." Rolling Stone: May 30, 1991. p. 56-60.

Gilmore, Mikal. "60s." Rolling Stone: August 23, 1990. p. 61-65+.

Larkin, Colin, Kenny Clarke and Jackie Gleason. The Guiness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Guiness Publishing: New York, 1985.

Loder, Kurt. "Bob Dylan." Rolling Stone: October 15, 1992. p. 110-113.

Millers, Wilfred. A Darker Shade of Pale: A Backdrop to Bob Dylan. Oxford University Press: New York, 1984.

also

ftp://ftp.cs.pdx.edu/pub/dylan

http://www.rio.com/~ryans/influence/dylan
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