Bob Dylan - America’s Nobel Poet Laureate

Get in touch!By the late 1960’s, folk was beginning to feel “scarred and battered”, so what came next in this tradition was less political, and much more personal. The world was changing politically, socially, and culturally. Some of the new generation of singers and songwriters felt that staying relevant meant they had to move away from folk, towards more personal themes. The ‘70s was the “Me” decade. Instead of drawing from what was happening in the outside world, one group of song-writers turned inward. Another group turned toward broader political issues, instead of the Hattie Carroll, situation-specific inspirations that had inspired writers in the early. ‘60s. There’s no better artist to start with than Bob Dylan, the single artist without whom, this whole series may not have even been possible, his impact is so huge. And yet, even Dylan owes his position as the Mount Everest of rock music to the people who came before him. One very important inspiration was the great Woody Guthrie.  And even Guthrie you have to put in context, amidst all of the other great artists we’ve been talking about since day one of the American Song podcast.  It’s like Pete Seeger, the great folk musician and a closer friend and collaborator of Guthrie’s, said,  "All songwriters are links in a chain."  In This EpisodeBruce Springsteen: Atlantic CityPete Seeger - This Land is Your LandBob Dylan - The Times They are a ChangingJim Croce - OperatorBob Dylan - Song to WoodyBob Dylan - Big Yellow TaxiBuddy Holly and the Crickets - Not Fade AwayBuddy Holly and the Crickets - Maybe BabyBob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine ManBob Dylan - JokermanBob Dylan - Foot of PrideBob Dylan - House of the Rising SunBob Dylan - Rollin' and Tumblin'Bob Dylan - Arthur McBrideBob Dylan - HurricaneBob Dylan/ Tom Petty - I've Forgot More than You'll Ever KnowBob Dylan - Blind Willie McTellBob Dylan - Cantina ThemeBob Dylan - A Hard Rain's a Gonna FallBob Dylan - Sad Eyes Lady of the LowlandsBob Dylan - Masters of WarBob Dylan - Every Grain of SandBob Dylan - I'll Be Your Baby TonightBob Dylan - High Water (for Charlie Patton)Bob Dylan - Meet Me in the MorningBob Dylan - Sweetheart Like YouBob Dylan - Not Dark YetBob Dylan - False ProphetBob Dylan - Murder Most Foul InterviewsPete Seeger (on Woody Guthrie)Bob Dylan (on 'the muse' and Hoagy Carmichael)Louie Kemp (Bob Dylan's childhood friend)Bob Dylan/ Ed Bradley (60 Minutes Interview)Bob Dylan (on receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature)Alan Ginsberg (on first hearing Bob Dylan)Penn Jillette (Bob Dylan is America's Shakespeare)Links to earlier American Song EpisodesAllman Bros. - Southern Rock: Coming to Terms with a Complicated PastFolk Revival in England - The Second Folk Revival: A Passing of the Torch