Bob Dylan The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016
Ill: N. Elmehed. © Nobel Media 2016
Bob Dylan
Prize share: 1/1
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 was awarded to Bob Dylan "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".
Bob Dylan (
/ˈdɪlən/; born
Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, artist and writer. He has been influential in popular music and culture for more than five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when his songs chronicled social unrest, although Dylan repudiated suggestions from journalists that he was a spokesman for his generation. Nevertheless, early songs such as "
Blowin' in the Wind" and "
The Times They Are a-Changin'" became anthems for the American
civil rights and
anti-war movements. Leaving behind his initial base in the
American folk music revival, his six-minute single "
Like a Rolling Stone", recorded in 1965, enlarged the range of popular music. Dylan's mid-1960s recordings, backed by rock musicians, reached the top end of the
United States music charts while also attracting
denunciation and criticism from others in the folk movement.
Dylan's lyrics have incorporated various political, social, philosophical, and literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed to the burgeoning
counterculture. Initially inspired by the performances of
Little Richard and the songwriting of
Woody Guthrie,
Robert Johnson, and
Hank Williams, Dylan has amplified and personalized musical
genres. His recording career, spanning more than 50 years, has explored the traditions in American song—from
folk,
blues, and
country to
gospel,
rock and roll, and
rockabilly to
English,
Scottish, and
Irish folk music, embracing even
jazz and the
Great American Songbook. Dylan performs with guitar, keyboards, and harmonica. Backed by a changing lineup of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s on what has been dubbed the
Never Ending Tour. His accomplishments as a recording artist and performer have been central to his career, but songwriting is considered his greatest contribution.
Since 1994, Dylan has published six books of drawings and paintings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. As a musician, Dylan has sold more than 100 million records, making him one of the
best-selling artists of all time. He has also received
numerous awards including eleven
Grammy Awards, a
Golden Globe Award, and an
Academy Award. Dylan has been inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
Minnesota Music Hall of Fame,
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and
Songwriters Hall of Fame. The
Pulitzer Prize jury in 2008 awarded him a
special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." In May 2012, Dylan received the
Presidential Medal of Freedom from
President Barack Obama. In 2016 Dylan received the
Nobel Prize in Literature, "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition"
