Bob Dylan Biography, Composition History and Listening GuidesBy: Jocelyn Gomez

Biography

Background

• Real name was Robert Allen Zimmerman • Born on May 24, 1941 in Minnesota• Went to college at University of Minnesota and dropped

out. • Moved to New York City in hopes of meeting Woody

Guthrie • His musical influences; rock n roll, blues, folk, country.

Influences

Columbia Records

• Signed with them in 1961• By producer John Hammond

Instruments

Composition History

“Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan

“Mr. Tambourine Man” by Bob Dylan

“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan

Listening Guides

“Like a Rolling Stone” – 6:11

• 0:00- Introduction The song here introduces some very heavy electric instruments that will provide an easy, repetitious melody for him to sing with.

• 0:13- Verse 1 Here Dylan provides us with a brief introduction to what the song will be about. His voice is raspy and stern and the guitar in the background provides a simple melody for to accompany his verses.

• 1:01- Chorus How does it feel…” the melody slightly changes here to provide contrast from the verses and the chorus’. He also holds his notes for a just a few seconds longer which might also be why the melody has shifted.

• 1:26- The harmonica is incorporated here and plays a short solo before the next verse. This is often done to keep the listener intrigued and it also provides a pleasant change in texture.

• 1:35- Verse 2 The instruments sort of reeve up to return you to the original harmony. He also rhymes “juiced to it” and “used to it” to bring you back to the familiar melody. Then for the next part of this verse, each bar rhymes with the next instead of every other line.

• 2:25- Chorus The chorus is repeated with the same melody. The biggest difference here is that a few words of removed rather than saying “like” now you are “a complete unknown.” And immediately after the chorus the harmonica reintroduces itself for a few seconds.

• 3:03- Verse 3 Again Dylan does some word playing here by rhyming the last words on each line, or even within each line as in “understood” and “good.”

• 3:52- Chorus Same chorus followed by another harmonica solo.

• 4:32-Bridge The bridge provides a lull before the last chorus is sung and it’s slightly longer than the verses with a conclusion.

• 5:20- Chorus By this point the chorus has been sung 3 times already which is very uncommon in popular music but it’s does provide a sense of closure. And it slowly begins to fade out when the harmonica comes back as strong as ever and then it does fades out.

“Mr. Tambourine Man”- 5:26

• 0:00- Chorus “Hey Mr. Tambourine Man…” Dylan is accompanied by an electric guitar and it is a counterpoint behind his voice during each strum. He also adds a few last statements at the end that prematurely being the first verse.

• 0:46- Verse 1 The verse has no word playing specifically but it does end in a harmonic question which sets the stage for the rest of the song.

• 1:00- Chorus The chorus is the same and the harmony has not changed since the beginning of the song until the end of this chorus when the electric guitar changes chords and provides a nice contrast.

• 1:28- Verse 2 An additional statement is added to this verse right in the middle that allows for the story to expand and the melody also plays right along. This additional verse gives the song more texture as well.

• 2:00- Chorus The chorus is familiar and does not contain new words or phrases simply repeated once more.

• 2:26- Verse 3 Another additional statement is placed in the verse that provides a great change of pace. The chorus can become too familiar and the verses provide that additional expansion between them.

• 3:02- Chorus Same as before. However, right after it is over, the guitar changes up the melody in preparation for the harmonica solo that expresses that the end is near.

• 4:08- Verse 4 I just love how he rhymes his words in the middle of the phrases. It’s so simple yet refreshing. And although it makes the phrases seem shorter, it’s just shorter statements for an overall idea. He rhymes “mind” with “time” and “leaves” with “trees.” Also if you notice, each verse has gotten progressively longer than the last.

• 4:50- Chorus The final chorus is stated to conclude the song and the harmonica comes back ones more to fade out.

“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” – 2:30

• 0:00- An acoustic guitar sets up the melody of the song and it sounds like Dylan and some back up vocalists begin humming which make up a great harmony and contrast between instrument and voice. Then the drums slowly join in to enhance the melody and build the texture.

• 0:29- Verse 1 “Mama take this…” As soon as the verse begins the humming stops.

• 0:58- Chorus The title of the song is repeated about 4 times and the tempo has slowed down just a tiny bit as well.

• 1:24- Verse 2 The verses are similar but subtly more melancholy.

• 1:51-Chorus Here, the chords are repeated 3 times until the end of the song. The guitar, and drums remain the same and once the chorus is finished the vocalists resume their humming and fade out. It feels like a small day dream that just comes and goes.

References

• “Bob Dylan Biography.” Rolling Stone Artists. Rollingstone.com. Web. 16 June 2014.

• http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/bob-dylan/biography•  • “Bob Dylan Biography.” Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rockhall.com. Web. 16 June

2014.• http://rockhall.com/inductees/bob-dylan/bio/•  • “Bob Dylan’s Not Dead Yet (But He’s Getting There).” Huffington Post.

Huffingtonpost.com. Web. 16 June 2014.• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-flanagan/bob-dylan-tempest_b_3677012.html•  • “Songs.” Bob Dylan.com. Web. 16 June 2014.• http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs•  • “Bob Dylan.” Rhapsody.com. Web. 30 June 2014.• http://app.rhapsody.com/artist/bob-dylan