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Featured articleBob Dylan is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do so.
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October 8, 2003Featured article candidatePromoted
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September 7, 2006Featured article reviewKept
October 28, 2008Featured article reviewKept
In the news A news item involving this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "In the news" column on October 13, 2016.
On this day... Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on March 19, 2013, March 19, 2016, March 19, 2017, March 19, 2020, March 19, 2022, and March 19, 2023.
Current status: Featured article


Critical Study

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Under Legacy, it says "Dylan's lyrics began to receive critical study as early as 1998…"

I think it's safe to say that critical study of his lyrics began roughly 1963. Certainly I recall reading about his lyrics in the 70s, but I wouldn't have been reading that sort of thing in 1965. I'm not entirely sure how to reword that, but 35 years would've been a long time to escape critical attention. I might give the rewording a try.--HughieGRex (talk) 17:55, 10 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I think by "critical study" it means basically academic papers. It would be interesting to see how soon papers were being written on his lyrics, but I doubt that was as early as 1963.Brianyoumans (talk) 19:25, 10 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Michael Gray published Song & Dance Man: The Art of Bob Dylan in 1972, discussing Dylan's work in the context of the poetry of Browning, Rimbaud, Baudelaire and Eliot. Craig McGregor published Bob Dylan: A Retrospective in 1972, an anthology containing many critical essays about Dylan by Robert Shelton, Nat Hentoff, Ellen Willis, Richard Goldstein and other early practitioners of the art of rock criticism. Anthony Scaduto's Bob Dylan: An Intimate Biography, published in 1971, contains critical discussion of Dylan's work. Mick gold (talk) 08:21, 11 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Michael Gray never held an academic post but he is widely regarded as an important Dylan critic. Similarly, Greil Marcus has in recent years taught at universities, but when he began to write critical articles about Dylan he was a Rolling Stone journalist. Similarly Nat Hentoff was a New Yorker journalist and Robert Shelton was a New York Times journalist. (He is portrayed in the current biopic A Complete Unknown.) I would argue serious critical studies of Dylan began to be published from 1972 onwards, but by authors without academic titles. Mick gold (talk) 13:57, 11 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

wonderfull SPON.de article (in German)

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Nice article about a very, very loyal long-term fan in (former Eastern) Germany: https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/bob-dylan-in-oel-wie-das-gemaelde-aufs-konzert-in-ost-berlin-kam-a-52cdc5fa-eef8-4e9f-bced-379d61a1075a

Accident?

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There is scepticism in some quarters that the motorcycle accident ever happened. It seems to have no support independent of Bob. They suggest he just wanted to get out of the tiresome commitments he had ahead of him. Burraron (talk) Burraron (talk) 10:32, 22 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

If you look at the Tony Scherman American Heritage piece that is used as a source in our article, it seems like there is some question as to the severity of his injuries and the reason for his long convalescence, but it seems likely there was an accident and that he had injuries - he did seek medical care immediately afterwards, he was seen wearing a neck brace, he has told various stories about the incident but never that it didn't happen. It may well be that he used it as an excuse to step back, but that's mentioned in our article.Brianyoumans (talk) 15:16, 22 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Concur with Brianyoumans. Dylan biographers agree with what Dylan himself wrote in his autobiography Chronicles: "I had been in a motorcycle accident and I'd been hurt, but I recovered. Truth was that I wanted to get out of the rat race." I don't think a single Dylan biographer writes it never happened. Mick gold (talk) 11:00, 26 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hebrew name

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Any thoughts on using the phrase "Hebrew name:" instead of just "Hebrew:" before his Hebrew name. The way it is now makes it look like the Hebrew is just a translation/transliteration of his English name, which it is not. -KaJunl (talk) 18:48, 27 December 2024 (UTC

I suggest moving the Hebrew name to a a separate sentence, such as the following.
His Hebrew name is Shabtai Zisl ben Avraham (Hebrew: שבתאי זיסל בן אברהם).
‐   William Avery (talk) 21:20, 27 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
William Avery OK, done. Mick gold (talk) 18:56, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Adapting the tunes and phrasing of older folk songs

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The One I Left: I’ve restored the words "which adapted the tunes and phrasing of older folk songs" to the Lead, referring to "Girl From The North Country" and "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall". I think it’s important that the Lead mentions Dylan first made an impact with these songs (and also "Masters of War", "Blowin’ in the Wind", "With God On Our Side") by marrying new lyrics to traditional melodies and forms. Best, Mick gold (talk) 23:16, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure if that mention is worth of the lead. Seems more appropriate to put in the body of the article.The One I Left (talk) 03:20, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Since the Lead serves as “a summary of the article’s most important contents”, BD’s talent for writing new lyrics to traditional tunes was surely crucial to the early impact he made with "Girl From The North Country", "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall", "Masters of War", "Blowin’ in the Wind", "With God On Our Side" and more. Mick gold (talk) 08:12, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Agree to disagree. I think it's worthy of mention within the article for sure, but mentioning it in the lead seems like puffery.The One I Left (talk) 20:01, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with The One I Left. His use of traditional tunes in those early songs is noteworthy, but it seems out of place in the lead. Jameson Nightowl (talk) 05:50, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]