Bob Dylan, The #29 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Four

 

(Continued from Part Four)

 Dylan released the great album Blood on the Tracks in 1974, which has topped two million in sales.  The single "Tangled Up In Blue" is a personal song that deals with the changes Bob was going through, including a failed marriage.  The song stalled at #31, but is a fan favorite.

 Dylan's son Jakob, who has become successful in his own right, says that the songs on Blood on the Tracks are "his parents talking".  Here is "Simple Twist Of Fate".

 

"Idiot Wind" is a scathing song about a woman but also Dylan criticizes himself for not handling the relationship well.

 Dylan continues to deny the songs on the album were about his divorce from Sara, insisting they are taken from literature, as many of his songs are.  We want to include "You're Going To Make Me Lonesome When You Go".

 "Shelter From The Storm" is another of Dylan's career best, and one of the many tracks that makes Blood on the Tracks so outstanding.  The composition used only three chords and began as the song "Up To Me", which Roger McGuinn recorded in 1976.  It is about not knowing how good something is until it's gone.

 "Meet Me In The Morning" is about a woman the narrator is attracted to yet he criticizes her throughout the song.

One of the best songs of Dylan's career is an album track called "Lily, Rosemary & The Jack Of Hearts".  Bob tells an amazing tale of the seemingly invincible Jack of Hearts, who nobody seems to notice and who seduces Lily and Rosemary, both who have been involved with Big Jim, the wealthiest man in town.  A murder occurs halfway during the song, but do we really know who is guilty?  

In 1975, Dylan released the albums The Basement Tapes and Desire and ventured out on tour.  The former went Gold while Desire sold over two million copies. 

 Dylan wrote "Hurricane" for boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, who was imprisoned for 19 years for a triple murder in New Jersey.  Like it could be ripped from today's headlines, Carter was the victim of racism and profiling. 

On June 17, 1966, three white people were shot at the Lafayette Grill in Paterson, New Jersey.  After witnesses described two black men as the murderers, police pulled Carter and his friend John Artis over.  Although they were black, they did not fit the description the witnesses provided.  

Originally, Carter and Artis were released and Carter went back to his boxing career.  Two months later, however, the two were charged.  Alfred Bello and Arthur Bradley claimed on the witness stand that they were on the way to rob a factory when they saw the shooting.  Carter was sentenced to 30 years while Artis got 15 years.  Bradley and Bello received reduced sentences for their crimes.

Carter wrote his autobiography, The Sixteenth Round:  From Number 1 Contender to Number 45472, published in 1974.  Carter sent a copy to Dylan, who took up his cause.

 

"Isis" is another outstanding track.  Isis is a goddess in ancient Egyptian mythology who is worshipped as the ideal wife and protective mother.

The live album Hard Rain in 1976 reached #3 in the U.K. and sold over 500,000 copies.

Bob toured the world for nearly a year in 1978, performing 114 shows to an audience of two million fans.  Concerts in Tokyo were recorded and released as the live double album Bob Dylan at Budokan.  The tour grossed over $20 million.

Dylan released the album Street Legal, his 17th straight Gold album.

In 1979, Bob released the album Bob Dylan at Budokan, which has sold over 500,000 copies.

 

Bob claims he became a Christian in the late '70s, and he released two spiritual albums.  Slow Train Coming in 1979 is one of his best career albums.  Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits played guitar on the album, produced by Jerry Wexler.  The single "Gotta' Serve Somebody" peaked at #24, but the Grammy folks thought it was way better than that, giving Bob a trophy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male.

Dylan won a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Gotta' Serve Somebody".  Slow Train Coming sold over one million copies, but Saved ended Dylan's streak of consecutive Gold albums at 18.  The title song from Saved earned a Grammy nomination for Best Inspirational Performance.  During this period, Dylan would not play his older songs at concerts, but began working them back in by late-1980.

In 1981, Bob released his third Gospel album, Shot of Love, with the title song recognized at the Grammy Awards with a nomination for Best Inspirational Performance.

In 1983, Dylan released the album Infidels, which went Gold.  Some believe the "Jokerman" is Jesus, as the song has several Biblical references.  Others believe it is about Dylan himself.

He released Empire Burlesque in 1985, before joining an all-star cast to record We Are The World" with USA for Africa.  Dylan performed at Live Aid in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Bob released the million-selling compilation box set Biograph in 1985, with the album recognized as a nominee for Best Historical Album at the Grammy Awards.

In 1986, Dylan released the album Knocked Out Loaded.  Dylan toured with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, forming an association he revisited later in his career.  Bob also toured with the Grateful Dead in 1987 and released the album Dylan & The Dead.  Bob starred in the movie Hearts of Fire in 1987.

In 1988, Bob (above, with Bruce Springsteen) was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  He released the album Down in the Groove, which was a flop.  Dylan began what has been called the "Never Ending Tour", playing about 100 shows a year from 1988 to 2016.  By 2013, Dylan had played over 2,500 shows.  

Dylan then joined George Harrison, Petty, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne to form the group Traveling Wilburys.  The group released the album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 in 1988.

After Orbison's death in December of 1988, the remaining members recorded and released the album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3.

In 1989, Bob released the live album Dylan & the Dead, which was certified Gold.

Dylan released the album Oh Mercy in 1989, his first Gold album in six years.

In 1990, Bob released the album Under the Red Sky, which featured contributions from Harris, Elton John, Bruce Hornsby, David Crosby, Slash of Guns N' Roses and Stevie Ray Vaughan.  The album obviously had great musicianship but lacked good songwriting and failed.

Dylan received the Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres in France, the highest Order an entertainer can receive.

 Dylan released The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991, which contained the first available recording of "Blind Willie McTell".

Bob received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys in 1991.  He soon returned to music similar to his early albums with Good as I Been to You in 1992 and World Gone Wrong in 1993.  Dylan was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album (for Good As I Been to You), Best Traditional Folk Album (for World Gone Wrong),  Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group (for "My Back Pages"), Best Male Rock Vocal Performance (for "All Along The Watchtower") and Best Music Video, Short Form at the Grammy Awards (for "Series Of Dreams").

Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, Volume 3 in 1994 went Platinum.  In 1995, Dylan made his contribution to the MTV Unplugged series and was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album, Best Rock Song ("Dignity") and Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male (for "Knockin' On Heaven's Door").

 While recording his next album, Bob was struck with the heart infection pericarditis and he had to cancel a European tour.  After recovering, Bob hit the road and released the album Time Out of Mind, which won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year and sold over one million copies.  "Not Dark Yet", thought by some to be Dylan dealing with his own mortality, is the highlight of the album.  

Dylan also won Grammys for Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male (for "Cold Irons Bound").  It was Dylan's first Platinum album since Slow Train Coming 18 years before.

In 1997, U.S. president Bill Clinton presented Bob with a Kennedy Center Honor.  Dylan joined another legend, Paul Simon, for a tour of North America.  Though he was greatly overshadowed by Simon, whose knack for entertaining was in sharp contrast to the reclusive nature of Dylan, the tour was a success.

In 1998, Dylan received a nomination for Best Country Song as the writer of "To Make You Feel My Love".

In 2000, Bob received the Polar Music Prize, and won an Academy Award for the song "Things Have Changed", recorded for the movie Wonder Boys.  Dylan was nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male and Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media at the Grammy Awards.

Dylan released the album Love and Theft in 2001, which he produced himself.  He won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album and was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male (for "Honest With Me").

In 2003, Bob starred in a movie he co-wrote with director Larry Charles called Masked & Anonymous.  He was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Gonna' Change My Way of Thinking" and Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male for "Down In The Flood".

Also that year, Dylan released part of his autobiography, Chronicles Volume One, which rose to #2 on The New York Times' best-seller list and was nominated for a National Book Award. 

St. Andrews University in Scotland bestowed an Honorary Doctorate of Music degree to Dylan in 2004.

Dylan released the album Modern Times in 2006.  The album rose to #1 in the United States, sold over one million copies and was nominated for three Grammy Awards, winning for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance (for "Someday Baby").  "Someday Baby" was also nominated for Best Rock Song.


Dylan released the triple compilation album Dylan in 2007.

Dylan exhibited his paintings in The Drawn Blank Series, which opened at the Kunstsammlungen in Chemitz, Germany in 2007.

In 2008, the Pulitzer Prize jury awarded Bob for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

Dylan released the album Together Through Life in 2009.  When it debuted at #1 in the U.S., Dylan became the oldest artist (at 67 years old) to debut at #1.  It was Bob's first #1 album in the U.K. since New Morning, giving Dylan the record for the longest gap between #1 solo albums in the U.K.

Bob earned Grammy nominations for Best Americana Album and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance (for "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'").

Dylan released the album Christmas in the Heart in 2009, with proceeds benefiting Feeding America in the United States, Crisis in the U.K. and the World Food Programme.

In 2010 and 2011, the National Gallery of Denmark featured 40 acrylic paintings by Dylan called The Brazil Series.  Dylan's paintings of schenes in China and the Far East were shown at the Gagosian Madison Avenue Gallery in New York

In 2012, U.S president Barack Obama awarded Dylan the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Later in the year, Bob released the album Tempest.   

Dylan released the box set Bob Dylan:  Complete Album Collection:  Vol. One, which featured all 35 studio albums, six live albums and another collection called Sidetracks (which consisted of singles, music from soundtracks and non-album songs).

Dylan exhibited more paintings in the New Orleans Series at the Palazzo Reale in Milan, Italy in 2013.  Bob showcased 12 pastel portraits for the Face Value exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

In 2014, Dylan published a 960-page edition of his songwriting called Lyrics:  Since 1962.  A limited edition of 50 books, signed by Dylan, was offered for $5,000.  The next year, Bob released the album Shadows in the Night, his interpretation of the Great American Songbook, which won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.  Bob also won a trophy for Best Historical Album for The Bootleg Series Vol. 11:  The Basement Tapes Complete.

 In 2016, Dylan released the album Fallen Angels.  Later in the year, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".  In typical Dylan fashion, he snubbed the organization by not accepting his award at the ceremony.

The Halcyon Gallery exhibited Dylan's collections of drawings, watercolors and acryllics for the exhibition The Beaten Path.

Dylan has won 12 Grammy Awards from 39 nominations, one Academy Award and one Golden Globe Award.  Five of Bob's songs:  "Blowin' In The Wind", "The Times They Are-a-Changin'", "Like A Rolling Stone", "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Tangled Up In Blue" are included in the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll" exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  

"Blowin' In The Wind", "Like A Rolling Stone" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" (which became a hit for the Byrds and the albums Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 Revisited, Bringing It All Back Home, Blood on the Tracks and The Basement Tapes have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Dylan has scored 23 career hits, with 4 of those reaching the Top 10.  He has sold an estimated 100 million