Bob Dylan is just four years older than I am.
His Nobel Prize has made me think about what his influence was in my life. I first encountered his music in 1963, when I was in my senior year in high school. A friend had a copy of "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan." Shortly after that, I bought that album, and many more as the years passed. "Masters of War" was the track that got my attention.
In 1963, guys who were in high school began to become aware of Vietnam. We got educated on the draft and realized that our sheltered little lives might be altered. We also grew up in the era of diving under our desks in school for "A-Bomb Drills," the Cuban Missile Crisis, and other educational events.
Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and a very few others were presenting a new musical vision to some of us. Not many. Not all, by any means. But for those who were reached, it was a powerful message we were hearing. Dylan led me astray from the routine life I thought I would end up leading. Truly he did.
As I entered college, I began learning more. I traveled frequently to San Francisco, making North Beach my destination. I met a number of the Beat Poets and began reading books that were not found in the bookstores in my college community. I began learning. I became aware of the Civil Rights movement and the inequities women faced in our society.
And all along, there was Bob Dylan and his music and lyrics, along with others. Dylan led me to Woodie Guthrie, too, and other poets and lyricists of the labor movement.
Does Bob Dylan deserve the Nobel Prize? Oh, Hell yes! His words inspired many people, like me, who needed awakening. Not many. Not everyone, but enough to start a new movement.
Congratulations, you scratchy-voiced old fart!
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