Literary songwriter – Bob Dylan did something no musician has, won a Nobel prize

For decades, American folk rock was defined by the musical legend Bob Dylan, who crusaded against musical conventions using his chosen weapons of  harmonica and guitar.

Dylan did not have a perfect voice, or a superhuman instrumental ability. Dylan did not make a career out of his skill — he made a career out of  singing about contemporary issues.

Blake Coker | Argonaut

His fame stemmed from his lyrical ability, a skill he was recognized for with a Nobel Prize in Literature.

University of Idaho Music Professor James Reid was a young teenager in the 1960s, and remembers how influential Bob Dylan was at the time.

He said before Dylan, most artists chose between keeping relevant with current musical technology, production value or having soulful lyrics.

Dylan was one of the first artists to do both when, after having never previously played in a band or used electric instruments, he attended the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, who played electric guitars and basses.

This was a watershed moment in the greater folk and rock history, and it was moments like that which ensured Dylan would remain popular and influential even today, Reid said.

UI sophomore Brenden McCoy is local singer-songwriter who finds inspiration in Dylan. McCoy said he has been interested in music since he was a child watching his father play.

McCoy said he recognizes that the young singer-songwriters of today owe much to Dylan’s influence as a musician.

“Stylistically, he put so much soul and passion into his music with, realistically, kind of simple musical ideas,” he said. “His contributions have just been revolutionary, he’s done things that other musicians have not done before.”

Dylan’s revolutionary qualities don’t just extend to style, but also to content. Dylan was famous for speaking his mind about contemporary issues through his music — issues that Reid feels are just as important today as they were in the ‘60s, he said.

“If you look at a song like ‘The Times They Are A Changin’, it is just as topical today as it was when it was written,” Reid said. “The lyrics talk about senators and congressmen getting in the way of progress. It discusses parents who are realizing they are losing command of their children. If the older generation doesn’t start swimming, they are going to sink like a rolling stone.”

Such lyrics epitomize why Dylan has remained so popular.

Dylan is the first songwriter to claim the Nobel prize, however it remains to be seen if he will even accept it, as he has yet to make a public statement referencing the win.

Even more unusual, Dylan has yet to contact the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize. This prompted one academy member to call him “arrogant,” according to a New York Times article.

Some said that, as a songwriter, Dylan does not deserve an award that is usually awarded to authors.

However, Dylan’s lyrics are not just simple words set to a tune — they have shaped and influenced not only other artists, but the greater American culture. His influence extends not only to his contemporaries, but to the college-aged students of today, McCoy said.

“His presentation of the message may not be incredibly dynamic. He doesn’t leave you awestruck with some incredible thing he just played on the guitar or his amazing vocal talent,” Mcoy said. “It’s the message behind it that he writes is so incredible that it hits you and you don’t think about the way it sounds, you think about the emotions and the implication behind what he is saying.”

Sam Balas

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