Photos: Bob Dylan through the years
Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's birthday is May 24. Here's a look back at his career in photos.
Folk singer and songwriter Bob Dylan plays the harmonica and acoustic guitar in March 1963 at an unknown location. He was born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1941 as Robert Allen Zimmerman. (AP Photo)
FILE - Musician Bob Dylan appears in London on April 27, 1965. Transcripts of lost 1971 Dylan interviews with the late American blues artist Tony Glover and letters the two exchanged reveal that Dylan changed his name from Robert Zimmerman because he worried about anti-Semitism, and that he wrote "Lay Lady Lay" for actress Barbra Streisand. The items are among a trove of Dylan archives being auctioned in November 2020, by Boston-based R.R. Auction. (AP Photo, File)
American singer Bob Dylan at a press conference in Paris, France on May 22, 1966. (AP Photo/Pierre Godot)
Singer Bob Dylan entertains at the Forum in Los Angeles, Feb 15, 1974. (AP Photo/Jeff Robbins)
Singer Bob Dylan and appears before a full house at Madison Square Garden in New York, Jan. 31, 1974. He is on tour with his back up group The Band. (AP Photo/Ray Stubblebine)
Bob Dylan is back on the road with his show visiting small town and cities. He is seen here with Joan Baez, Nov. 4, 1975 in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo)
FILE- In this Dec. 8, 1975 file photo, Bob Dylan performs before a sold-out crowd in New York's Madison Square Garden. Dylan’s entire catalog of songs, which spans 60 years and is among the most prized next to that of the Beatles, is being acquired by Universal Music Publishing Group. The deal covers 600 song copyrights. (AP Photo/Ray Stubblebine, File)
Folk singer Bob Dylan sings on stage during his final appearance with "The Band" at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, Calif., on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, 1976. The show was known as "The Last Waltz". (AP Photo)
American singer Bob Dylan during his tour through West Germany at the Dortmunder Westfalenhalle, June 27, 1978. (AP Photo/Proepper)
American Singer Bob Dylan during his tour through West Germany at the Dortmunder Westfalenhalle, June 27, 1978. (AP Photo/Proepper)
Bob Dylan accepts a Grammy Award for his song "Gotta Serve Somebody" at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Feb. 27, 1980. Presenters Ted Nugent and Michelle Phillips look on at right. Woman at left is unidentified. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon)
American singer Bob Dylan performs at the Olympic Stadium in Colombes, France, before an estimated 40,000 fans, June 23, 1981. (AP Photo)
Singer Bob Dylan (left) at the Bar Mitzvah of his son (right) at the Wailing Wall, a Jewish Shrine in Jerusalem, Sept. 20, 1983. (AP Photo/Zavi Cohen)
American Folk singer during his show June 20 1984, in front of some 13,000 fans at Rome's Palasport. ( AP Photo/Gianni Foggia)
American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan eyes the crowd while performing at the Live Aid famine relief concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia Pa., July 13, 1985. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
Bob Dylan and Tom Petty, left, open their "True Confessions Tour" in the San Diego Sports Arena, June 10 1986 to a crowd of about 13,000. (AP Photo/Howard Lipin)
Bob Dylan receives The Founders Award from Hal David, president of the American Society of Composers, March 31,1986. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Singer/songwriter Bob Dylan opens his "True Confessions" tour in the San Diego Sports Arena to a sold-out house of about 17,000, June 9, 1986. It is Dylan's first U.S. tour since 1981. Also appearing with Dylan is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. (AP Photo/Howard Lipin)
Bob Dylan in concert, Aug 3, 1986. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Bob Dylan sings during his anniversary concert at New York's Madison Square Garden, Friday night, Oct. 17, 1992. Joined by contemporary artists, Dylan celebrates the 30th anniversary of the release of his first Columbia album. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm)
American pop legend Bob Dylan sings "Knocking on Heavens doors" in front of Pope John Paul II during a concert in honour of the Pontiff in Bologna Saturday, September 27, 1997. An estimated crowd of 300,000 youths attended the concert. (AP Photo/Gianni Schicchi)
** FILE ** Bob Dylan performs at the Newport Folk Festival in this file photo from Aug. 3, 2002, in Newport, R.I. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
US musician Bob Dylan, 69, performs with his band at his first one night only concert named "Bob Dylan - Live in Vietnam," a one night only show held at RMIT University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Sunday, April 10, 2011. After nearly five decades of singing about a war that continues to haunt a generation of Americans, legendary performer Bob Dylan is finally getting his chance to see Vietnam at peace, 36 years after the end of Vietnam war. (AP Photo/Le Quang Nhat). (AP Photo/Le Quang Nhat)
FILE - In this June 18, 2011 file photo, U.S. musician Bob Dylan performs weeks after his 70th birthday at the London Feis Festival at Finsbury Park. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2012 file photo, Bob Dylan performs in Los Angeles. One of the most popular songs of all time, Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," could bring between $1 million and $2 million at auction. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
Bob Dylan performs during the 17th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
President Barack Obama presents rock legend Bob Dylan with a Medal of Freedom, Tuesday, May 29, 2012, during a ceremony at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2012 file photo, Bob Dylan performs in Los Angeles. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will honor a diverse cross-section of political and cultural icons — including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, astronaut John Glenn, basketball coach Pat Summitt and rock legend Bob Dylan — with the Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony Tuesday. The Medal of Freedom is the nation's highest civilian honor. It's presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the national interests of the United States, to world peace or to other significant endeavors. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2015 file photo, Bob Dylan accepts the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year award at the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year show in Los Angeles. Dylan, the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in literature declined the invitation to the Dec. 10 2016 prize ceremony and banquet, pleading other commitments. But the Nobel Foundation said Monday that Dylan has written a “speech of thanks” that will be read by a yet-to-be-decided person at the lavish banquet in Stockholm’s City Hall. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Invision/AP, File)
In a statement to USA Today, a spokesperson for Dylan said Monday that "the 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended."
It's Bob Dylan's 81st birthday today. A look back at the life, career and best albums of the legendary singer-songwriter.
Because Dylan draws from songs from the past, he's been accused of plagiarism. But this view is colored by a distorted grasp of the creative process.