Bob Dylan (2015)

Happy birthday, Bob Dylan...
Born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, U.S., Bob Dylan is a singer-songwriter, musician and writer.
He began to be interested in music at a young age, listening to blues and country on the radio when he was a child and to rock and roll as a teenager.
When he was in high school, he formed several bands, like for instance the Golden Chords which played covers of songs by Elvis Presley and Little Richard.
In September 1959, Bob was accepted in the Universty of Minnesota and moved to Minneapolis where he performed at a coffeehouse called Ten O'Clock Scholar and became involved in the folk music scene of Dinkytown (commercial district of Minneapolis) and started to introduce himself as Bob Dylan.
He dropped out of college after the first year and in January 1961, he moved to New York City where he met his idol Woody Guthrie who was in hospital suffering from Huntington's disease.
He soon began to play in clubs in Greenwhich Village and to become friends with folk musicians like Fred Neil, Dave Van Ronk, New Lost City Ramblers...
Bob started to gain recognition from the public in September 1961, after Robert Shelton had written a review of one of his shows at Gerde's Folk City in The New York Times. Later the same month, Bob was noticed by producer John Hammond after playing harmonica on Carolyn Hester's third album which was produced by John Hammond.
In October 1961, John Hammond signed Bob to Columbia Records and, in March 1962, Bob released his eponymous debut album where he sang, played the guitar and played the harmonica. The album did not sell well and Columbia thought of dropping his contract but John Hammond convinced them not to.
Bob often used pseudonyms when recording. For example, while recording for Broadside (folk magazine and record label) he used the pseudonym Blind Boy Grunt, Tedham Portherhouse when playing harmonica on Ramblin' Jack Elliot's Jack Elliot (1964)...
In December 1963, Bob went to the United Kingdom for the first time to appear in BBC Television's play Madhouse on Castle Street. While in the UK, he also played at London folk clubs.
In May 1963, he released The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, which featured one of his most famous songs Blowin' in the Wind. The melody of the song was in part derived from No More Auction Block, a traditional slave song, and lyrics are about social and political status quo. Like many other songs of the album, it was labeled as a protest song. Since its release, Blowin' in the Wind has been covered by hundreds of artists.
His voice, often described as raw and nasal, was sometimes seen as disturbing and sometimes seen as attractive. Several of his early songs were known by the public when covered by other artists like Sonny & Cher, Peter, Paul and Mary, the Turtles, Joan Baez... the latter helped Bob becoming more famous by inviting him in stage during her shows.
Bob created controversy when he refused to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show after a CBS program practices executive told him he couldn't play his song Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues as it could be seen as defamatory to the John Birch Society.
At this time, Bob was already politicized: with his lover Joan Baez, he was part of the civil rights movement. They both sang at the March on Washington on August 28 1963.
In 1964, he released the album The Times They Are a-Changin' which featured songs tackling topics such as poverty, racism, and social change. The title song is considered as capturing the spirit of political and social change that's so characteristic of the 1960s.
Later the same year, he released the LP Another Side of Bob Dylan with which he moved away from the position of political spokesman people had thrust him in.
Released in March 1965, the album Bringing It All Back Home featured songs where Bob was accompanied by an electric rock and roll band, and marked another step in the evolution of his music. The same year, he headlined the Newport Folk Festival where he decided to perform an electric set with lead guitarist Mike Bloomfield, bassist Jerome Arnold, drummer Sam Lay, organist Al Kooper and pianist Barry Goldberd. Bob and the band were booed by the crowd and left after playing only three songs. Two interpretations of this event exist: some think folk fans booed as they felt outraged by Bob using an electric guitar whereas some think the fans were upset because of the poor quality of the sound and the shortness of the set.
Not long before the festival in July 1965, Bob had released the singke Like a Rolling Stone which was number 2 in the US and number 4 in the UK. The song was number 1 on Rolling Stone's 2004 and 2011 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It also opened the album Highway 61 Revisited, which was released in August 1965.
Just after the release of the album, Bob played two shows to promote it. The first one, at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium on August 28 1965, was not really appreciated by the fans who were still annoyed by the use of electric instruments. The second one, at the Hollywood Bowl on September 3 1965, received better reactions.
On September 24 1965, Bob embarked on a six-month long tour of the US and Canada with the musicians from the Band (then known as the Hawks) backing him (lineup of Bob Dylan and the Band: Bob Dylan (vocals, guitars, harmonica, piano), Robbie Robertson (guitars, vocals, percussion), Rick Danko (bass, vocals, double bass, fiddle, trombone), Levon Helm (drums, vocals, mandolin, guitar, percussion), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, saxophone, accordion, pedalboard, woodwinds, brass), Richard Manuel (piano, organ, vocals, lap steel guitar)). As time went by, the fans were more and more receptive to Bob's new sound.
In April and May 1966, Bob toured in Australia and in Europe. The shows were split in two parts: during the first part of the shows, he performed solo and played acoustic guitar and harmonica as he sang, and during the second part, he was backed by the Band and played an electric set. Many fans were unhappy about this contrast and felt like Bob had betrayed them.
At this time, Bob was under a lot of pressure, just after getting home he was supposed to finish his book Tarantula, he had to appear on a TV show on ABC Television, he already had a new tour scheduled for later in 1966... Yet, he eventually got to have time to rest and stay home after having a motorcycle accident on July 29 1966. The circumstances of the accident are still mysterious as he was not hospitalized after his accident and did not call an ambulance. Bob and his biographers later said that the accident gave him the opportunity to escape the pressure he was under.
In 1967, Bob and the Band began to record again. A selection of 24 songs was released by Columbia in 1975 as The Basement Tapes since they were recorded in the basements of Bob's and the Band's houses. However, many of these songs had already appeared on bootleg records before 1975. Eventually, the 139 tracks they had recorded were released in November 2014 as The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete.
Bob went back to a studio for the first time after 19 months in October and November 1967 to record the album John Wesley Harding, which was released in December 1967 (lineup: Bob Dylan (guitar, harmonica, piano, keyboards, vocals), Charlie McCoy (bass), Kenneth A. Buttrey (drums), Pete Drake (pedal steel guitar)).
He made his first live appearance after 20 months at a memorial concert for Woody Guthrie on January 20 1968.
In 1969, Bob released his ninth studio album, Nashville Skyline. The album was in a country style and was both a commercial and critical success.
The following year, he released two albums: the controversial Self Portrait and New Morning which was more appreciated by the critics and the fans.
In early 1973, Bob recorded songs and backing music for the movie Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid where he also played Alias, a member of Billy's gang. The movie was a commercial failure but it featured one of Bob's most covered songs, Knockin' on Heaven's Door.
In 1974, he embarked on a 40-date North American tour, his first tour in 7 years. The same year, he went back to Columbia Records after being unsatisfied with Asylum Records with whom he had signed in early 1973 after his contract with Columbia Records had expired.
From October 1975 to May 1976, he toured in North America alongside many other folk musicians such as Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, T Bone Burnett, David Mansfield... for his tour called Rolling Thunder Revue. A live album recorded during the 1976 part of the tour was released the same year as Hard Rain whereas The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue which had been recorded in 1975 was released in 2002.
In November 1976, along with Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Neil Young and other artists, Bob performed at the Band's farewell concert (they later reformed in 1983). The concert was filmed by Martin Scorcese and released in 1978 as The Last Waltz.
In 1978, Bob performed 114 shows for the Bob Dylan World Tour 1978, playing in the US, in Europe, Japan, Australia... The shows in Japan were recorded and released in 1979 as the live double album Bob Dylan at Budokan. During the tour, he was backed by 8 musicians and 3 backing singers and he performed many of his most famous songs but in a strongly altered way which made him receive mixed reviews from the critics.
In early 1979, after becoming a born again Christian, Bob took some months off in order to attend Bible school. In August the same year, he released a Christian rock and gospel album, Slow Train Coming. The album brought changes in his fan base: many fans were alienated by the strong religious influence of the songs and the importance Christianity had in them whereas it made him gain a lot of Christian fans. The album featured the single Gotta Serve Somebody which made him win the Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. During his tours in 1979 and 1980, Bob mostly played songs from his Christian and gospel albums Slow Train Coming and Saved (1980) and did not play his not religious old songs.
During the following tour, A Musical Retrospective (1980), he returned to play his popular 1960s songs. The same year, he released the album Shot of Love which featured both religious and secular songs and while still being a gospel album was also in a more rock and roll style.
With Infidels, released in 1983, he received the best critical reaction he had had in years. Although it still featured religious imagery, the album was more focused on personal themes such as loss and love, on political topics, and was considered as a return to more secular songs. Yet, the fact that several good songs like Blind Willie McTell and Lord Protect My Child were cut from the album disappointed the fans and the critics. The songs were released amongst others in 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.
On July 13 1985, backed by Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, Bob performed his song Hollis Brown at the Live Aid concert at the JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, US. He had also sung on the USA For Africa's song We Are the World.
In 1986 and 1987, Bob invited Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on his tours True Confession Tour and Temples in Flames Tour. In the summer of 1987, he toured with the Grateful Dead for the six-date Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead 1987 Tour. Through the tour, seven songs were recorded and released on the live album Dylan and the Dead in 1989.
In 1988, alongside George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, he founded the supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. Their debut album, The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, was released in October 1988 and was both a commercial and critical success (lineup: Lucky Wilbury (Bob Dylan)(vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, backing vocals), Nelson Wilbury (George Harrison)(vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, slide guitar, backing vocals), Otis Wilbury (Jeff Lynne)(vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards, backing vocals), Lefty Wilbury (Roy Orbison)(vocals, acoustic guitar, backing vocals), Charlie T. Wilbury Jr (Tom Petty)(vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, backing vocals)). With 3,000,000 copies sold, the album was certified triple-platinum in the US.
In 1989, Bob released the studio album Oh Mercy which finally reconciled him with the critics after that Knocked Out Loaded (1986) and Down in the Groove (1988) had received almost only negative reviews.
In 1990, he released Under the Red Sky which featured guest performances from famous artists such as Elton John, Slash, George Harrison, David Crosby, Stevie Ray Vaughan... The album was considered as disappointing compared to its predecessor Oh Mercy and was criticized for its sound and for some songs sounded very childlike. The same year, the Traveling Wilburys released their second and last studio album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 which was titled Vol. 3 instead of 2 because George Harrison wanted to "confuse" people. The members decided to change the pseudonyms they used for the credits since Roy Orbison had died a couple of years earlier (lineup: Boo Wilbury (Bob Dylan)(lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica), Spike Wilbury (George Harrison)(lead and backing vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, sitar), Clayton Wilbury (Jeff Lynne)(lead and backing vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, keyboards), Muddy Wilbury (Tom Petty)(lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, bass)).
In 1991, Bob was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The following years, he went back to his musical origins with the albums Good as I Been to You (1992) and World Gone Wrong (1993) which featured only covers of traditional folk songs. These albums were Bob's first entirely acoustic albums in almost 30 years.
In November 1994, he performed two shows on the television series MTV Unplugged which were recorded and released as MTV Unplugged in 1995. The album featured John Brown, a song written in 1962 but never released on a studio album, and was Bob's best sales in years.
Time Out of Mind was released in 1997, was universally hailed and seen as one of his best albums, made him win three Grammy Awards and quickly became platinum in the US.
In 1999, Bob embarked on 38-date tour of the United States with Paul Simon where they alternated as headline artist, and between the two performances they'd perform together on stage.
In 2001, Bob won his first Oscar: the Academy Award for Best Song for his song Things Have Changed that he had written for the movie Wonder Boys.
Under the pseudonym Sergei Petrov, he co-wrote the movie Masked and Anonymous with Larry Charles in which he also starred.
Bob published the first part of his autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One, in October 2004. The following year, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan; A Martin Scorsese Picture, Bob's film biography directed by Martin Scorcese was released. The documentary was focused on a period of 5 years, between his arrival in New York in early 1961 and the time after his motorcycle accident in July 1966, and featured interviews of Joan Baez, Liam Clancy, Pete Seeger amongst others and Bob himself.
In May 2006, Bob began hosting a weekly radio show on XM Satellite Radio called Theme Time Radio Hour. The show aired from May 2006 to April 2009 and featured many various music styles with songs centered on a different theme each episode.
On August 29 2006, he released the album Modern Times which received mostly positive reviews and followed the blues oriented music tendencies of Time Out of Mind (1997) and Love and Theft (2001).
With his 2009 album Together Through Life which debuted at number 1 in the Billboard 200 Bob became the oldest artist to have an album debuting at this number in the chart. Later the same year, he released a Christmas album, Christmas in the Heart, whose money from the sales went to various charities.
In 2011, Columbia released In Concert – Brandeis University 1963 which was a recording of a show Bob had performed at the Brandeis Folk Festival in Waltham, Massachusetts, in May 1963. The tape featuring the recording had been found in Rolling Stone co-founder Ralph Gleason's basement after his death.
In 2012, Bob released his thirty-fifth studio album, Tempest.
Two years later, he released an album of cover of traditional pop songs written between 1923 and 1963, Shadows in the Night.
Bob's lastest album, Fallen Angels, was released on May 20 2016 and featured covers of classic American songs.
On June 7 1988, Bob embarked on a tour which he named The Never Ending Tour. The name stayed through the years and to this day Bob and his band have played more than 2,600 shows. The Never Ending Tour keeps going nowadays with 32 North American dates planned for summer and October 2016 (lineup: Bob Dylan (vocals, piano, harmonica), Charlie Sexton (electric guitar), Stu Kimball (rhythm guitar), Tony Garnier (bass, double bass), George Receli (drums, percussion), Donnie Herron (lap steel, pedal steel, banjo, mandolin)).
To conclude, we wish a happy birthday and years of rock to Bob Dylan!

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan (2013)

[ french version :
Joyeux anniversaire, Bob Dylan ...
Né Robert Allen Zimmerman le 24 mai 1941 à Duluth, Minnesota, U.S., Bob Dylan est un auteur-compositeur, musicien et auteur.
Il commence à s'intéresser à la music assez jeune: enfant, il écoute du blues et de la country à la radio et du rock and roll quand il est adolescent.
Au lycée, il forme plusieurs groupes comme par exemple les Golden Chords qui jouent des reprises de chansons d'Elvis Presley et de Little Richard.
En septembre 1959, Bob est accepté à l'université du Minnesota (University of Minnesota) et déménage à Minneapolis où il joue dans un café appelé Ten O'Clock Scholar, s'implique rapidement dans la scène folk de Dinkytown (quartier commercial de Minneapolis) et commence à se faire connaître sous le nom de Bob Dylan.
Il quitte l'université à la fin de sa première année et, en janvier 1961, il déménage à New York où il rencontre son idole Woody Guthrie qui est hospitalisé car souffrant de la maladie de de Huntington.
Très vite il se met à jouer dans des clubs à Greenwhich Village et se lie d'amitié avec d'autres musiciens folk comme Fred Neil, Dave Van Ronk, New Lost City Ramblers...
Bob commence à se faire connaître du public en septembre 1961 après que Robert Shelton ait écrit une critique de l'un de ses concerts à Gerde's Folk City dans le New York Times. Plus tard le même mois, Bob se fait remarquer par le producteur John Hammond après avoir joué de l'harmonica sur le troisième de Carolyn Hester produit par John Hammond.
En octobre 161, John Hammond signe Bob chez Columbia Records et, en mars 1962, Bob sort son éponyme premier album où il chante et joue de la guitar et de l'harmonica. L'album se vend mal et Columbia songe rompre son contrat mais John Hammond les convainc de garder Bob.
Bob utilise souvent des pseudonymes quand il enregistre. Par exemple, quand il travaille avec Broadside (magazine de folk et maison de disques) il utilise le nom Blind Boy Grunt, Tedham Portherhouse quand il joue de l'harmonica sur l'album Jack Elliot (1964) de Ramblin' Jack Elliot...
En décembre 1963, Bob va pour la première fois au Royaume-Uni pour apparaître dans Madhouse on Castle Street, une pièce diffusée sur BBC Television. Pendant qu'il est au Royaume-Uni, il joue aussi dans des clubs folk de Londres.
En mai 1963, il sort The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan qui comporte une de ses chansons les plus connues, Blowin' in the Wind. La mélodie de la chanson est en partie dérivée de No More Auction Block, une chanson traditionelle chantée par les esclaves, et les paroles questionnent le status quo politique et social. Comme beaucoup d'autres chansons de cet album, elle est considérée comme étant une chanson engagée. Depuis sa sortie, Blowin' in the Wind a été reprise par des centaines d'artistes.
Sa voix, souvent décrite comme étant brut et nasale, est parfois vu comme étant dérangeante, parfois comme étant attirante. Plusieurs de ses premières chansons comment à être connue après avoir été reprises par d'autres artistes comme Sonny & Cher, Peter, Paul and Mary, the Turtles, Joan Baez... cette dernière aide Bob à se faire connaître en l'invitant à participer à ses concerts.
Bob crée de la controverse quand il refuse d'apparaître au Ed Sullivan Show après que des représentants de CBS lui ait dit de ne pas jouer sa chanson Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues car elle pouvait être vue comme étant diffamatoire à l'égard de la John Birch Society.
A cette époque, Bob est déjà engagé politiquement: avec son amante Joan Baez, il prend part au mouvement des droits civiques des noirs et, le 28 août 1963, ils chantent tous les deux durant la marche à Washington (March on Washington).
En 1964, il sort l'album The Times They Are a-Changin' qui comprend des chansons sur des sujets tels que la pauvreté, le racisme, et le changement social. La chanson du même titre que l'album est considérée comme capturant l'esprit de changement politique et social si caractéristique des années 1960.
Plus tard la même année, il sort Another Side of Bob Dylan avec lequel il s'éloigne de la position de porte-parole que le public lui a attribuée.
Sorti en mars 1965, l'album Bringing It All Back Home comporte des chansons où Bob est accompagné par un groupe de rock and roll avec des instruments électriques et marque une autre étape dans l'évolution de sa musique. La même année, il est en tête d'affiche du festival Newport Folk Festival où il décide de jouer des morceaux électriques et non acoustiques avec le guitariste Mike Bloomfield, le bassiste Jerome Arnold, le batteur Sam Lay, l'organiste Al Kooper et le pianiste Barry Goldberd. Bob et le groupe se font huer par la foule et quittent la scène après seulement trois chansons. Il existe à ce jour deux interprétations de cet évènement: certains pensent que les fans de folk les ont hués car ils se sentis outragés par l'usage de guitares électriques alors que d'autres pensent que les fans étaient mécontents à cause de la qualité médiocre du son et de la courtesse de la performance.
Peu de temps avant le festival en juillet 1965, Bob sort ke single Like a Rolling Stone qui est numéro 2 aux Etats-Unis et numéro 4 au Royaume-Uni. La chanson est classée numéro 1 dans les listes de 2004 et de 2011 des "500 plus grandes chansons de touts les temps" du magazine Rolling Stone. C'est aussi la première chanson de l'album Highway 61 Revisited, qui sort en août 1965.
Juste après la sortie de l'album, Bob joue deux concerts pour en faire la promotion. Le premier, au Forest Hills Tennis Stadium le 28 août 1965, n'est pas vraiment apprécié par les fans, toujours mécontents de l'usage d'instruments électriques. Le second, au Hollywood Bowl le 3 septembre 1965, reçoit des réactions plus favorables.
Le 24 septembre 1965, Bob ommence une tournée de six mois à travers les Eats-Unis et le Canada avec les musiciens de the Band (alors connus sous le nom the Hawks) qui l'accompagne (lineup de Bob Dylan et the Band: Bob Dylan (chant, guitares, harmonica, piano), Robbie Robertson (guitares, chant, percussions), Rick Danko (basse, chant, double basse, violon, trombone), Levon Helm (batterie, chant, mandoline, guitare, percussions), Garth Hudson (orgue, clavier, saxophone, accordéon, pédalier, instruments à vent, cuivres), Richard Manuel (piano, orgue, chant, lap steel guitar)). Alord que le temps passe, les fans s'habituent peu à peu au nouveau son de Bob.
En avril et mai 1966, Bob tourne en Australie et en Europe. Les concerts sont divisés en deux parties: durant la première, il joue seul de la guitare acoustique et de l'harmonica alors qu'il chante, et durant a deuxième, il est accompagné par the Band et joue des chansons avec non acoustiques. Les fans apprécient peu le contraste et beaucoup se sentent alors trahis par Bob.
A cette époque, Bob est constament sous pression, juste après avoir fini sa tournée, il doit finir son livre Tarantula, participer à une émission sur ABC Television, il a déjà une nouvelle tournée de prévue pour plus tard en 1966... Cependant, il a finalement le temps de se reposer et de rester chez lui après avoir eu un accident de moto le 29 juillet 1966. Les circonstances de l'accident restent mystérieuses car il n'a pas été hospitalisé après l'accident et n'a pas appelé d'ambulance. Bob et ses biographes rapportent plus tard que cet accident lui a donnée une opportunité d'échapper à la pression qui l'étouffait.
En 1967, Bob et the Band se remettent à enregistrer. Une sélection de 24 chansons est sortie par Columbia en 1975 sous le nom The Basement Tapes car elles ont été enregistrées dans les sous-sols (basement) des maisons de Bob et the Band. Cependant, la plupart de ses chansons était déjà sortie sur des enregistrements bootleg (enregistrements faits et diffusés sans autorisation) avant 1975. Finalement, les 139 chansons qu'ils ont enregistrés sortent en novembre 2014 sur The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete.
Bob retourne en studio pour la première fois après 19 mois en octobre et novembre 1967 pour enregistrer l'album John Wesley Harding, qui sort en décembre 1967 (lineup : Bob Dylan (guitare, harmonica, piano, clavier, chant), Charlie McCoy (basse), Kenneth A. Buttrey (batterie), Pete Drake (pedal steel guitar)).
Il fait sa première apparition publique en 20 mois au concert en l'honneur de Woody Guthrie le 20 janvier 1968.
En 1969, Bob sort son neuvième album studio, Nashville Skyline. L'album est d'un style country et est un succès à la fois commercial et au niveau de la critique.
L'année suivante, il sort deux albums : le controversé Self Portrait et New Morning qui est plus apprécié par les critiques et les fans.
Début 1973, Bob enregistre des chansons et de la musique pour le film Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid où il joue aussi le role d'Alias, un membre du gang de Billy. Le film est un échec commercial mais il comporte l'une des chansons de Bob les plus reprises, Knockin' on Heaven's Door.
En 1974, il commence une tournée de 40 dates en Amérique du Nord, sa première tournée en 7 ans. La même année il retourne chez Columbia Records car il n'est pas satisfait du travail effectué par Asylum Records avec qui il avait signé début 1973 après que son contrat avec Columbia ait expiré.
De octobre 1975 à mai 1976, il tourne en Amérique du Nord aux côtés de nombreux autres musiciens folk comme Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, T Bone Burnett, David Mansfield... pour sa tournée appelée Rolling Thunder Revue. Un live album enregistré durant la partie 1976 de la tournée sort la même année sous le nom Hard Rain alors que The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue enregistré en 1975 ne sort qu'en 2002.
En novembre 1976, avec Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Neil Young et d'autres artistes, Bob joue au concert d'adieu de the Band (le groupe se reforme en 1983). Le concert est filmé par Martin Scorcese et sort en 1978 sous le nom The Last Waltz.
En 1978, Bob jouent 114 concerts pour sa tournée mondiale Bob Dylan World Tour 1978 où il joue aux Etats-Unis, en Europe, au Japon, en Australie... Les concerts au Japon sont filmés et sortent 1979 sur le double live album Bob Dylan at Budokan. Pendant la tournée, il est accompagné par 8 musiciens et 3 choristes et il joue la plupart de ses chansons les plus connues mais dans des versions très différentes des originales ce qui lui vaut des critiques assez divisées.
Début 1979, après être devenu un chrétien "born again", Bob prend quelques mois de congés pour rejoindre un institut de théologie (ou institut biblique). En août de la même année, il sort un album de rock chrétien et de gospel, Slow Train Coming. L'album apporte des changements parmis ses fans : beaucoup de fans se sentent aliénés par les thèmes religieux et l'importance du christianisme dans l'album alors que de nombeux chrétiens rejoignent le rang de ses fans. L'albums comprend le single Gotta Serve Somebody qui lui fait gagné le Grammy de la Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. Durant ses tournées en 1979 et 1980, Bob joue principalement des chansons de ses albums chrétiens et de gospel Slow Train Coming (1979) et Saved (1980) et il ne joue pas ses vieilles chansons non religieuses.
Durant la tournée suivante, A Musical Retrospective (1980), il se remet à jouer ses chansons populaires écrites dans les années 1960. La même année, il sort l'album Shot of Love qui comporte à la fois des chansons religieuse et des chansons laïques et, bien qu'il soit toujours un album de gospel, un style plus rock and roll.
Avec Infidels, sorti en 1983, il reçoit les meilleures critiques qu'il ait eu depuis des années. Bien que l'album contienne encore des références religieuses, il est plus focalisé sur des thèmes personnels comme l'amour et les pertes, des sujets politques, et est considéré comme un retour à des chansons plus laïques. Cependant, le fait que plusieurs bonnes chansons comme Blind Willie McTell et Lord Protect My Child ait été retirées de l'album déçu les fans et les critiques. Les chansons sortent parmis d'autres en 1991 sur The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.
Le 13 juillet 1985, accompagné par Keith Richards et Ronnie Woods, Bob joue sa chanson Hollis Brown au concert Live Aid au JFK Stadium, Philadelphie, U.S.. Il chante aussi sur la chanson We Are the World de USA For Africa.
En 1986 et 1987, Bob invite Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers sur ses tournées True Confession Tour et Temples in Flames Tour. Pendant l'été 1987, il fait une tournée de 6 dates avec the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead 1987 Tour. Durant la tournée, sept chansons sont enregistrées et sorties sur le live album Dylan and the Dead en 1989.
En 1988, aux côtés de George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison et Tom Petty, il fonde le supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. Leur premier album, The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, sort en octobre 1988 et est un succès commercial et au niveau de la critique (lineup : Lucky Wilbury (Bob Dylan)(chant, guitare acoustique, harmonica, choeurs), Nelson Wilbury (George Harrison)(chant, guitares électriques et acoustiques, slide guitar, choeurs), Otis Wilbury (Jeff Lynne)(chant, guitares électriques et acoustiques, clavier, choeurs), Lefty Wilbury (Roy Orbison)(chant, guitare acoustique, choeurs), Charlie T. Wilbury Jr (Tom Petty)(chant, basse, guitare acoustique, choeurs)). Avec 3 000 000 de copies vendues, l'album est certifié triple disque de platine.
En 1989, Bob sort l'album studio Oh Mercy qui le réconcilie enfin avec la critique après que Knocked Out Loaded (1986) et Down in the Groove (1988) n'aient reçu pratiquement que des critiques négatives.
En 1990, il sort Under the Red Sky qui comporte des guest performances d'artistes célèbres comme Elton John, Slash, George Harrison, David Crosby, Stevie Ray Vaughan... L'album est considéré comme décevant par rapport à son prédécesseur Oh Mercy et est critiqué pour son son et car certaines de ses chansons sonnent enfantines. La même année, the Traveling Wilburys sortent leur second et dernier album studio Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 qui est appelé Vol. 3 au lieu de 2 car George Harrison voulait "embrouiller" les gens. Les membres du groupe décident de changer les pseudonymes qu'ils utilisent sur l'album de car Roy Orbison a décédé deux ans plus tôt (lineup : Boo Wilbury (Bob Dylan)(chant, guitare acoustique, harmonica, choeurs), Spike Wilbury (George Harrison)(chant, guitares électriques et acoustiques, mandoline, sitar, choeurs), Clayton Wilbury (Jeff Lynne)(chant, guitares électriques et acoustiques, basse, clavier, choeurs), Muddy Wilbury (Tom Petty)(chant, guitare acoustique, basse, choeurs)).
En 1991, Bob reçoit un Grammy award pour l'ensemble de sa carrière (Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award). Les années suivantes il revient vers ses racines musicales avec les albums Good as I Been to You (1992) et World Gone Wrong (1993) qui ne comportent que des reprises de chansons folk traditionnelles. Ses albums sont les premiers albums de Bob entièrement acoustiques depuis presque 30 ans.
En novembre 1994, il fait deux concerts sur l'émission de télévision MTV Unplugged qui sont enregistrés et sortent sous le nom MTV Unplugged en 1995. L'album comprend John Brown, une chanson écrite en 1962, mais qui n'a jamais été sur aucun album studio, et offre à Bob ses meilleures ventes depuis des années.
Time out of Mind sort en 1997, est universellement acclamé et vu comme l'un de ses meilleurs albums, lui fait gagné trois Grammy Awards et devient rapidement disque de platine aux Etats-Unis.
En 1999, Bob fait une tournée de 38 dates aux Etats-Unis avec Paul Simon où ils alternent leur ordre de passage et, entre les deux, jouent ensemble sur scène.
En 2001, Bob remporte son premier Oscar: l'Academy Award de la meilleur chanson pour sa chanson Things Have Changed écrite pour le film Wonder Boys.
Sous le pseudonyme Sergei Petrov, il co-écrit le film Masked and Anonymous avec Larry Charles dans lequel il tient aussi un rôle.
Bob publie la première partie de son autobiographie, Chronicles: Volume One, en octobre 2004. L'année suivante, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan; A Martin Scorsese Picture, un film biographique sur Bob dirigé par Martin Scorcese sort. Le documentaire est focalisé sur une période de 5 ans, entre son arrivé à New York début 1961 et le temps après son accident de moto en juillet 1966, et comprend des interviews de Joan Baez, Liam Clancy, Pete Seeger parmis d'autres et Bob lui-même.
En mai 2006, Bob commence à animer une émission de radio hebdomadaire sur XM Satellite Radio appelée Theme Time Radio Hour. L'émission est diffusée de mai 2006 à avril 2009 et diffuse des styles musicaux diverses et variés à travers des chansons centrées sur une thème différent à chaque épisode.
Le 29 août 2006, il sort l'album Modern Times qui reçoit principalement des critiques positives et suit les tendances blues de Time Out of Mind (1997) et Love and Theft (2001).
Avec l'album Together Through Life sorti en 2009 qui démarre à la première place au Billboard 200, Bob devient le plus vieil artiste à avoir un album qui commence à cet place du classement. Plus tard la même année, il sort un album de Noël, Christmas in the Heart, dont l'argent récolté durant les ventes est reversé à diverses oeuvres de charité.
En 2011, Columbia sort In Concert – Brandeis University 1963 qui est un enregistrement d'un concert que Bob a joué au Brandeis Folk Festival à Waltham, Massachusetts, en mai 1963. La cassette contenant l'enregistrement a été trouvée au sous-sol de la maison du co-fondateur de Rolling Stone Ralph Gleason après sa mort.
En 2012, Bob sort son trente-cinquième album studio, Tempest.
Deux ans plus tard, il sort un album de reprises de chansons pop traditionnelles écrites entre 1923 et 1963, Shadows in the Night.
Le dernier album studio de Bob, Fallen Angels, sort le 20 mai 2016 et comporte uniquement des reprises de chansons classiques américaines.
Le 7 juin 1988, Bob commence une tournée qu'il appelle The Never Ending Tour ("la tournée sans fin", "la tournée qui n'en finit jamais"). Le nom reste avec le temps et à ce jour Bob et son groupe ont joué plus de 2 600 concerts. Le Never Ending Tour continue de nos jours avec 32 dates nord américaines prévues pour l'été et octobre 2016 (lineup : Bob Dylan (chant, piano, harmonica), Charlie Sexton (eguitare électrique), Stu Kimball (guitare rythmique), Tony Garnier (basse, double basse), George Receli (batterie, percussions), Donnie Herron (lap steel, pedal steel, banjo, mandoline)).
Pour conclure, nous souhaitons un heureux anniversaire et des années de rock à Bob Dylan ! ]