A bootleg video of a 1966 conversation between Bob Dylan and John Lennon has long been a cryptic text for the artists' superfans.

Watch a 1965 press conference with Bob Dylan where he mocks the media's focus on celebrity.

After the bitter breakup of the Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney only played music together one more time—at an impromptu studio session in 1974, joined by Stevie Wonder.

Dylan's 1965 electric set at the Newport Folk Festival was viewed by some as a betrayal

It's considered a watershed moment in his career and rock ‘n’ roll history, mostly because the audience allegedly booed Dylan’s new electrified songs, believing he had abandoned politically minded folk music for pop stardom.

In 1984, Bob Dylan reimagined himself as the front man of a punk band for a performance on David Letterman's late-night talk show.

Some dispute why the Newport crowd booed Dylan

Bruce Jackson, one of the directors for the infamous 1965 Newport Folk Festival, claimed that the story of Dylan being booed for going "electric" is a myth. Pointing to transcripts from the set's audio recordings, he argued that the audience wasn’t upset with Dylan; they were bothered that he couldn’t play for longer.

Dylan's early records were socially conscious folk songs

Dylan's early records were modeled after his heroes Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, meaning they were often acoustic numbers filled with lyrical wordplay and political themes. "Masters of War," from 1963's "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan," is a perfect example of the form, railing against politicians and war profiteers.

Dylan's raucous 1976 tour was one piece of an ongoing reinvention

In the mid-70s, Dylan assembled a ragtag group of musicians and poets—including Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Allen Ginsberg—he called the Rolling Thunder Revue. Rather than playing stadiums in major markets, they played smaller venues in smaller cities for a more intimate experience. The tour yielded some of the most exuberant versions of Dylan songs, captured in this 1976 performance in Fort Collins, which originally aired on NBC as “Hard Rain.”

Dylan influenced many of his contemporaries

Dylan's groundbreaking approach to songwriting didn't just change his career; it changed the trajectory of American popular music. This podcast from the National Association of Music Merchants' oral history project features interviews with several Dylan compatriots and fans–including Pete Seeger, Emmylou Harris, and Robbie Robertson–who detail how Dylan changed their careers and how they viewed songwriting.

The Dylan/Whitman connection

Even before his 2016 Nobel Prize, critics often wrote about Bob Dylan with a seriousness typically reserved for literary figures. In this critical analysis, Jones Hogsed continues the tradition, analyzing Dylan's vision of America alongside Walt Whitman's.

In 1966, Dylan was in a motorcycle accident

At the height of his popularity, Bob Dylan disappeared. The press reported it was due to a near-fatal motorcycle accident, though specifics were never provided. When he returned some time later, with a new album and sound, Dylan fans treated the accident as a pivotal moment in the legendary artist's career. But there's ample proof the accident never happened and, at its core, was little more than a cover story for a burnt-out rock star.

The BBC banned the Beatles' song 'A Day in the Life' for 5 years, fearing it encouraged drug use.

In the 2000s, Dylan began hosting a weekly radio show

Bob Dylan remained unpredictable, even 40 years into his career. Look no further than his satellite radio show from the 2000s, which found the legendary singer-songwriter riffing on a different theme every week. In this episode that theme is “Nothing.” He talks about Dr. Dre’s “Nuthin’ but a G Thang,” quotes several lines from Shakespeare, and speaks at length about his love for the musical “Porgy and Bess.” It’s a wild, unpredictable ride, just like the rest of his career.

Bob Dylan wrote and recorded songs that later became hits when they were covered by artists like Jimi Hendrix, Adele, and Guns N' Roses.

Bob Dylan considered Woody Guthrie a foundational influence, a sentiment he immortalized in his 1962 recording 'Song to Woody.'

Some allege that Dylan plagiarized his Nobel Prize lecture

The speech bore striking similarities to entries on SparkNotes, a summary site that's often used by students looking to skip assigned reading. Neither Dylan nor his management commented on the matter, though some critics suggested it was just another part of Dylan's career-long performance.

Dylan's political songs were often abstract

Dylan's protest songs weren't always explicit; sometimes, his dense lyrics only suggested political themes. "Hard Rain," for example, features Biblical allusions, charged images, and what would become generational axioms. It's a perfect encapsulation of what his early records could offer and a thrilling preview for what would come later.

An American Beatles album featured a bizarre, gruesome image of the band as butchers, which was swiftly recalled.

In 'Cut Piece,' Yoko Ono invited the audience to her clothes

Much more than simply John Lennon’s partner, Yoko Ono is a prolific multimedia artist in her own right. Her 1964 performance "Cut Piece" invited audience members to come onstage and cut away pieces of her clothing. She described the piece as being about solidarity between women and the possibility for world peace, saying, “By not fighting, we show them that there's a whole world, which could exist by being peaceful.”

80 artists on their favorite Bob Dylan songs

Listen to any rock music from the past century and you’ll likely hear some trace of Dylan’s influence. This massive list, released back on Dylan’s 80th birthday, offers objective data to back that up. Its 80 participants include David Byrne, Michael McDonald, and dozens more. The best part? The article also includes a playlist, so you can listen to the songs while you read about their impact.

Bob Dylan, explained

Bob Dylan has never had a Billboard No. 1 hit—but his influence on music is unmatched. This overview looks at his early protest songs, his shift to electric rock, and the cultural impact of his lyrics, performances, and legacy across generations.

Dylan was called 'the voice of his generation,' but rejected the title

By the mid-60s, Dylan made it clear he had no desire to be a spokesman for anyone but himself. He found the title stifling and believed it would prevent him from creating authentic art.

A deep dive into Bob Dylan's 'memoir'

Bob Dylan's "Chronicles: Volume One" is part memoir and part novel, a book that intentionally blurs the line between Dylan's factual biography and the self-mythologizing he's done for over six decades in the public eye. This podcast walks listeners through the book, treating Dylan less like an artist and more like a thought leader.

Dylan opened for Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington

The apex of Dylan’s era as a “protest singer” was his appearance, alongside collaborator and sometimes-lover Joan Baez, at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was the same demonstration where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Dylan performed four songs, including a scathing version of “Only a Pawn in Their Game,” a ballad about Medgar Evers, an activist who was murdered at his home in Mississippi by a white supremacist.

Bob Dylan often reworks his vocal melodies, even for his classic songs

Bob Dylan is an unpredictable live artist willing to reinvent his classics as they age. This analysis by Steven Rings, a music professor, breaks down the evolution of the singing style in "A Hard Rain’s A‐Gonna Fall," which transformed in one 1994 performance and then continued growing.

The Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows,' the final track from 1966's 'Revolver,' used innovative recording methods—including a rudimentary form of sampling—to redefine the sound of popular music.

Bob Dylan deeply admires Willie Nelson

The Nobel Prize-winning songwriter is a big fan of the country troubadour. When Dylan was asked for his thoughts on Nelson for a New Yorker profile, he offered a poetic monologue not unlike his lyrics, including a comparison to "the invisible air."

In the late '70s, Dylan started a trilogy of Christian rock albums

Across his six decades making music, Bob Dylan’s gone through numerous artistic eras and reinventions, but among the most polarizing (and, for some, the most perplexing) is Dylan’s Christian period in the late '70s and early '80s.

A comprehensive list of the best Bob Dylan covers

Bob Dylan’s songwriting quickly became part of the great American songbook, thanks in large part to many major artists of the '60s popularizing their own versions of his songs. As this list proves, though, that tradition continued all the way to today. Learn about essential covers of Dylan songs by Adele, Guns N’ Roses, The White Stripes, and others.

Lorne Michaels jokingly offered the Beatles $3K to reunite on 'Saturday Night Live,' which John Lennon and Paul McCartney briefly considered.

The time Bob Dylan was accused of plagiarizing ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’

“Blowin’ in the Wind” is a defining song of the Civil Rights Movement, one that Dylan openly acknowledged was based on a traditional African spiritual. But when Newsweek accused Dylan of stealing the song in 1963, they weren’t talking about influence. They suggested he’d jacked the tune from a helpless high school student. This article breaks down the falsehood and why it was given so much attention while Dylan was becoming a household name.

In 2016, Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his lyrics, marking the first time a rock songwriter had won the award.

The surgeon who tried to save John Lennon says he can’t forget that night

Frank Veteran was a resident in 1980 on the night John Lennon was shot in New York. For years afterward, he tried to process the sight of seeing the Beatle dying in the hospital, including through art, but he says that the memories from the experience are still vivid.

'A Complete Unknown' misrepresented some aspects of Dylan's life

Dylan scholar and Princeton professor Sean Wilentz said the 2024 Dylan biopic had several inaccuracies. According to Wilentz, “The facts are all true … but none of it happened the way that the film depicts it.”

Why is Bob Dylan on Patreon?

The singer's notorious for his inscrutability, but his venture into the content subscription website might be one of his stranger choices, especially given the posted content that resembles AI-generated material. Pitchfork's Nina Corcoran surveys the site and tries to make sense.

Paul McCartney announced his departure from the Beatles in a 1970 press release, surprising his bandmates.

Read a 1984 interview with Dolly Parton, conducted by artist Andy Warhol.

Revisiting the milieu of the Greenwich Village music scene

Few neighborhoods of the world stand out as more productive of a robust music scene than New York City's Greenwich Village, the bohemian launchpad of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and other folk artists of the 1960s and '70s. Expert David Browne discusses why it became so significant in this episode of "Sound Opinions."

Listen to 'Now and Then,' the Beatles' final song

The Beatles released their final song, "Now and Then," in October 2023, featuring a previously hidden John Lennon vocal. The track was initially shelved due to poor audio quality but was revived with the help of AI to enhance Lennon's performance....

In the late '80s, Dylan formed the Traveling Wilburys with other rock legends

The word “supergroup” gets tossed around plenty in rock ‘n’ roll, but it’s never been more apt than with the Traveling Wilburys, a late '80s band featuring Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne. At the time, Dylan was feeling creatively adrift and far removed from the passion of his earlier work. The winking alter-egos of the Wilburys reinvigorated him, leading to a great record and a renaissance in Dylan’s solo career.

Some people believe Paul McCartney died in a car crash in 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike.

Joan Didion interviewed The Grateful Dead in 1967, before they became music icons.

Bob Dylan asked Patti Smith to perform in his place at the Nobel Prize ceremony

Dylan didn't attend the ceremony, citing "other commitments," and asked Patti Smith, the legendary poet and punk pioneer, to perform in his place. Smith sang "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," accompanied by an orchestra, though she had to request to restart one verse after stumbling over Dylan's dense lyrics.

The 20-year feud between Elton John and Madonna

The two superstars feuded from roughly 2002 until 2025. After playing shows together in the 1990s, John took issue with Madonna's James Bond theme song "Die Another Day," calling it the worst of the film series. He kept up a stream of criticisms, and the feud peaked at the 2012 Golden Globes when Madonna beat out John for best original song. The pair reportedly reconciled backstage at "Saturday Night Live" in 2025.

Salvador Dalí once conned Yoko Ono

A quirky story often told about Salvador Dalí claims that in 1969, Yoko Ono offered him $10,000 for one of his famous mustache hairs. Allegedly wary of occult intentions, Dalí instead sent her a blade of grass. While the tale is debated, it fits neatly into Dalí's eccentric public image and his later-life reputation for turning playful stunts into profitable moments.

Listen to Woody Guthrie's 1940 concept album about agricultural and economic destruction, 'Dust Bowl Ballads.'

The Beatles' visit with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi helped inspire Western interest in Eastern spirituality

The Fab Four met with the guru—the creator of Transcendental Meditation—in 1968 in Rishikesh, India. The band's George Harrison and his wife had been interested in Indian culture for several years, but the meeting with Maharishi signified a meeting of Western popular culture with Eastern spirituality that would inspire the rising hippie movement.

David Bowie tried to hire Norman Rockwell for the cover of 'Young Americans'

The Thin White Duke thought the iconic artist, known for his classic Americana, would be the perfect artist for his campy 1975 album, “Young Americans.” Bowie called the Rockwell residence and made the request, but was told that Rockwell would need around six months to complete the painting, which Bowie felt was too long.

A high schooler accused Dylan of stealing the song

Newsweek once claimed he bought it from a high school student for $1,000. The story was false—Dylan wrote it in 10 minutes. Years later, the student admitted he had taken credit to impress his classmates.

Dylan was born Robert Zimmerman

The name change was just one facet of his self-created myth. From the moment he arrived in Greenwich Village’s folk scene, he was crafting tall tales about his life, including a claim that he'd spent the previous six years working for a carnival.

Listen to "Yesterday and Today," the 1966 Beatles album only released in the US.