March 19, 1962: Bob Dylan releases self titled first album

Robert Allen Zimmerman was born in Duluth, Minnesota on May 24, 1941. Robert spent most of his childhood in Duluth, until his father was stricken with Polio and the family had to move in with his grandparents in Hibbing, Minnesota. In Hibbing, he attended Hibbing High School, graduating in 1959. It was there his interest in music took on a whole new life.

Throughout the 1940's and 1950's, folk music grew in popularity in the United States. It mixed the styling of Country, Blues, and Gospel. It mostly involved a singular or a small group of musicians using acoustic instruments singing about American culture. The music took on a more political leaning due to the turmoil of Great Depression. Woody Guthrie had popularized the music in the late 1940's with his mix of earthiness and political liberalism. Throughout his adolescence, Robert studied and became a practitioner of Guthrie's style and performance.

While in college, Robert performed his music in various off campus venues. In 1960, he dropped out of college and moved to New York. He began playing around Greenwich Village, making a name for himself. He took on the stage name, Bob Dylan, in honor of his favorite poet, Dylan Thomas. He also met his hero, Woody Guthrie, then in hospital dying from Huntington's Disease. In February of 1961, he was discovered by local disc jockeys and was played on the radio for the first time, propelling him to stardom. In 1962, he signed with Columbia Records and on March 19, released his self titled, first album. The album was a collection of songs he performed in the past. The album was not as well received as Columbia anticipated, but they stuck with the young folk singer. The move would prove to be in Columbia's favor. Throughout the 1960's and beyond, Bob Dylan would be one of the most popular musicians in the United States, far surpassing his hero, Woody Guthrie.


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