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• Bob Dylan is an influential singer, songwriter, poet and musician whose career has spanned more than five decades and has included forays into music, movies, literature, theater and art..

  Dylan released his 33rd studio album on April 28, 2009. Together Through Life is his first album since 2006's Grammy Award-winning Modern Times. The week of its release, Together Through Life hit number one on the UK charts. This was the first time that a Dylan album topped the UK charts in 39 years, marking a new record for the largest gap between number one solo albums.BBC: Dylan is in chart seventh heaven (May 3, 2009)

• Fast Facts

  1. Full name: Robert Allen Zimmerman
  2. Birthdate: May 24, 1941
  3. Hometown: Duluth, Minnesota
  4. Years active: 1959 - present
  5. Record label: Columbia Records
  6. Became a born-again Christian in the late 1970's
  7. Hosts the Theme Time Radio Hour radio program on XM Satellite Radio
  8. Ranked #2 in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time," behind only The Beatles
  9. Was awarded a special music citation from the Pulitzer Prize in 2008
  10. Has appeared in ad campaigns for Victorias Secret and CadillacNME: Bob Dylan allows 'Blowin' In The Wind' to be used in advert (January 28, 2009)
  11. Licensed the song "Blowin' In The Wind" for a British advertising campaignNME: Bob Dylan allows 'Blowin' In The Wind' to be used in advert (January 28, 2009)
  12. Appeared with Will.i.am in a Pepsi commercial aired during the Super BowlBillboard.biz: Pepsi Brands Tap Music Stars For Super Bowl Push (January 28, 2009)
  13. Scheduled to perform at the second annual Rothbury Festival in July of 2009.Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan's New Album Together Through Life Due April 28th (March 16, 2009)

• Background

  Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, Dylan grew up listening to Blues and Country music on the radio and eventually formed a number of short-lived bands at his high-school. After experimenting with Rock & Roll, Dylan became enamored with folk music and traded in his electric guitar for an acoustic one. After dropping out of college, he played a number of shows on the folk music circuit before moving to New York City in 1961.

• Folk Hero

  Dylan played a number of folk clubs and venues in and around Greenwich village before eventually signing to Columbia Records and releasing his self-titled debut album in 1962. With the release of 1963's The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Dylan began to more clearly define himself as a folk singer and a performer of protest songs. During this period, Dylan released a number of classic folk anthems - including "Blowin' in the Wind," "The Times They Are a-Changin" and "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall".

• Dylan Goes Electric

  In an infamous 1965 performance at the Newport Folk Festival, Dylan performed electric for the first time on stage and received a harsh reception from fans.

• Like a Rolling Stone

  With the release of the 1965 single "Like a Rolling Stone," Dylan cemented his transition from folk-rock figurehead to pop-rock visionary. Considered by some to be one of the greatest songs in Rock and Roll history, the single launched one of the most productive periods in Dylan's life, including the classic albums Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde.Rolling Stone: Like a Rolling Stone (December 9, 2004)

• Super Bowl Commercial

  Pepsi's "Refresh Anthem" ad, which was debuted during the 2009 Super Bowl on February 1, features a mash-up of singer Will.i.am and Bob Dylan.Guardian: Bob Dylan to Appear with Will.I.am in Pepsi Advertisement (January 30, 2009)

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Bob Dylan Videos | Bob Dylan Pulitzer Prize | I'm Not There | Chronicles Volume Two | Love Band | Woody Guthrie | Ramblin' Jack Elliot | Billy Bragg | The Band | Robbie Robertson | Joan Baez | The Byrds | Martin Scorsese | The Beatles | Jimi Hendrix | George Harrison | Tom Petty | Traveling Wilburys | Ron Wood | Keith Richards | Van Morrison | Neil Young | Willie Nelson | Roy Orbison | Academy Awards | Cate Blanchett | Heath Ledger | Tim Buckley | Bob Dylan Blonde On Blonde | Bob Dylan Bringing It All Back Home | Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited | David Foster Wallace Suicide | Religulous Soundtrack | W. Soundtrack | Heroes Soundtrack | Watchmen Soundtrack | Bob Dylan 1965 Newport Folk Festival | Odetta Holmes | Dennis Yost | Bert Jansch | Michelle Shocked | William Zantzinger | Jonathan Richman | Pepsi Refresh Anthem Super Bowl Ad

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