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

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

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.

Woody Guthrie emblazoned 'This machine kills fascists' on his guitar, a phrase he borrowed from war machinery.

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.

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.

Before he was known as a folk singer, Woody Guthrie was a popular radio host in Los Angeles.

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.

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.

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."

'Blowin' in the Wind' became a rallying cry for the Civil Rights Movement

The song is based on a spiritual titled "Many Thousand Gone," whose melody Dylan reworked. The result was popularized by the folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary and from there became an anthem for the growing Civil Rights Movement, culminating in Dylan's appearance at the March on Washington.

In 1998, Billy Bragg and Wilco recorded unreleased songs penned by Woody Guthrie.

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'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.

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 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 FBI tracked Woody Guthrie's politics for years, amassing an enormous file that was only discovered many years after his death.

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.

Woody Guthrie was briefly a member of the Communist Party USA, but he was kicked out for 'lack of discipline.'

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

In 1988, Bruce Springsteen inducted Dylan into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Bob Dylan was one of the earliest inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, joining the third class in 1988. A Dylan devotee (and eventual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee), Bruce Springsteen, did the honors of inducting the legendary musician, offering a tribute that makes the case for Dylan as the catalyst for decades of innovative music.

Woody Guthrie wrote 'This Land Is Your Land' as a sarcastic response to 'God Bless America.'

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.

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.

Broadway's songwriters began experimenting in the 1920s

Broadway’s early decades were heavily influenced by opera and vaudeville, but songwriters in the 1920s began exploring more narrative-based songwriting and psychologically complex characters. That trend would continue in the following decades, though it would evolve in even more nuanced ways.

Ginsberg debuted 'Howl' at San Francisco's Six Gallery in 1955

The performance impressed Lawrence Ferlinghetti, owner of City Lights Books and City Lights Publishers. He eventually published "Howl and Other Poems." It would inspire a national movement that included Gregory Corso, LeRoi Jones (later known as Amiri Baraka), Bob Kaufman, Diane di Prima, Gary Snyder, Anne Waldman, and others.

Blues was a major influence on early rock

Early rock ‘n’ roll had a straightforward sound, relying mostly on guitar, bass, drums, piano, and saxophone playing up-tempo 12-bar blues. In subsequent decades, the form evolved and splintered into countless subgenres that used more diverse sounds, instruments, and lyrics.

How Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman grappled with the American Civil War

Whitman, whose brother was injured while fighting for the Union, was often overt in his pro-Union poems. Dickinson, whose brother paid to have someone enlist under his name, was more subtle, though equally as affected, as this comparative analysis makes clear.

How the Vietnam War changed rock 'n' roll

This short video essay analyzes how rock music responded to US involvement in Vietnam, from the protest folk of Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan to the popularity of rock and soul records with soldiers stationed abroad.

Walt Whitman helped define the voice and spirit of American literature

The 19th-century poet is considered one of the most important voices in the American canon. His collection “Leaves of Grass,” in particular, is regarded as a foundational text and is widely taught in American high schools and colleges.

Whitman revolutionized American poetry

Whitman was a groundbreaking force in American literature, legitimizing the national idiom, capturing the spirit of the evolving country, and inspiring younger generations of writers for centuries to follow.

Why Frank Sinatra called Billie Holiday his 'greatest single influence'

In a 1958 essay for Ebony magazine, Sinatra wrote about the impact that Black music had on him, writing that "it is Billie Holiday, whom I first heard in 52nd Street clubs in the early 1930s, who was and still remains the greatest single musical influence on me. It has been a warm and wonderful influence, and I am very proud to acknowledge it."

EY 'Yip' Harburg is the lyricist behind 'The Wizard of Oz'

The 1939 film’s songs were written by composer Harold Arlen and lyricist EY “Yip” Harburg. In an early draft of "Over the Rainbow," the movie's most famous song, Harburg scribbled "Some day I’ll wish upon a star + wake + find the darkness far behind me,” which would eventually become the iconic line, “Some day I’ll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson celebrated Walt Whitman, then regretted it

Emerson famously praised the first edition of Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass,” which Whitman used to promote the collection. In doing so, Whitman effectively created the modern book blurb, though he did so without Emerson’s permission, leading to a prolonged, passive beef between the two.

The first song delivered by a podcast was the Grateful Dead's 'Truckin.''

Walt Whitman wrote a poem for the official celebration of America's 100th anniversary, but was not invited to read at the event.

The music theory behind a lonesome country classic

Townes Van Zandt's "I'll Be Here in the Morning" might read like a clever inversion of a standard country music trope. But Cush, a musician in his own right, walks through the song's structure to show how its story is far more complicated than its lyrics suggest.

The Rolling Stones got their name from a Muddy Waters song

The band was set to play a live session on the BBC in 1962, though they still didn't have a name. When guitarist Brian Jones spoke to Jazz News magazine about the upcoming appearance, he realized the group still didn't have a name. He saw Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone" record on the ground and decided in that moment that it would be the name of the band.

20th-century country music was influenced by Hawaiian instruments

When people talk about influences on country music, they mention the European and African folk traditions that blended together to form the earliest country standards. Hawaiian music has had an incredible influence on country music, too, though, especially in terms of the genre's sound: the steel guitar and lap steel.

Honky-tonk features a rollicking stomp

Widely considered the first honky-tonk song, Ernest Tubb’s "Walking the Floor Over You" is a perfect example of the subgenre's upbeat percussion, barroom piano, and chippy lyricism. The song is a country music classic, being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and preserved in the Library of Congress.

'Steamboat Willie' was inspired by 'The Jazz Singer'

Walt Disney was mesmerized by Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer" and the way it used synchronized sound, which synced film with audio. He replicated that effect in “Steamboat Willie," producing the first animated film to do so.

Listen to the Pink Floyd album inspired by 'Animal Farm'

The 1977 album "Animals" was loosely inspired by Orwell's 1945 novella, though it was not a strict allegory for the Russian Revolution. Instead, Roger Waters' and David Gilmour's songs criticize what they see as the inhumanity of modern capitalism.

Tolkien's grandson says 'Lord of the Rings' was influenced by WWI

JRR Tolkien fought in World War I, an experience his grandson, Simon Tolkien, says informed the fantasy legend’s famous trilogy. The companionship between Frodo and Sam and Sauron’s pervasive evil, according to the younger Tolkien, were directly influenced by time on the battlefield.

'The good ole days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.'

- Billy Joel (1949-present)

Billie Holiday's influence on Amy Winehouse

Winehouse, who became popular in the 2000s, was known for her jazz style, which was indebted to the vocal technique Holiday had innovated decades earlier. In 2003, Winehouse paid homage to Holiday by covering "(There Is) No Greater Love," a standard that Holiday had recorded in 1947.

Learn about the Beatles song 'Taxman,' which was inspired by Britain's tax structure

In the US, many people think of the IRS as the "taxman"—but the Beatles song is actually about the tax structure in the UK at the time. George Harrison wrote the song when he realized that even though the Beatles had started earning money, "we were actually giving most of it away in taxes," as he wrote in his autobiography.