MPR: Dylan Turns 60

Dylan Turns 60
By Cathy Wurzerand Lorna Benson
Minnesota Public Radio
May 23, 2001

On May 24, 60 years ago, an American legend was born in Duluth, Minnesota. Robert Allen Zimmerman, better known as Bob Dylan, would become one of the century's most influential artists. MPR marks Dylan's birthday with music and interviews.

(Image courtesy of Red House Records)

SOME OF THE MUSICIANS WHO FELT DYLAN'S INFLUENCE have collaborated to create a CD in honor of his birthday. The CD, called A Nod to Bob, features a variety of folk musicians singing their favorite Dylan songs. It's available on the Red House Records label.

MPR's Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer spoke with two of those musicians, Peter Ostroushko and John Koerner. Koerner first met Dylan in 1959, when they both were part of an emerging folk scene in Minneapolis. Listen to the interview.

(Portrait by Luke Pepper)
See larger image.

BOB DYLAN HAS SEEN HIS LIFE AND MUSIC CAREER DOCUMENTED over the airwaves, on television and film, and on pages and pages of print. But perhaps no single person has written as much as music historian Michael Gray. Gray's latest book, Song and Dance Man 3: The Art of Bob Dylan, is a nearly 1,000-page detailed analysis of Dylan's 40-year career. Gray told MPR's All Things Considered host Lorna Benson that it's hard to underestimate the influence Dylan has had. Listen.

USUALLY WHEN A MINNESOTA NATIVE OF BOB DYLAN'S STATURE reaches this kind of a significant milestone, we like to bring that person into the studio for an interview. But Dylan has shied away from interviews for quite some time. Early in his career, he was a bit more accessible to the media. In honor of his birthday, here are some highlights from a 1965 press conference in San Francisco, at a time when Dylan was reaching the peak of his popularity. Listen.

Dylan Web sites:

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