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Castlebar Library
Dylan Exhibit in Castlebar Library
By Paula Leavy-McCarthy
18, Jul 2011 - 19:31

Bob Dylan, music icon, popular songwriter, poet, celebrated his seventieth birthday on Tuesday, May 24. To commemorate this occasion Castlebar Library is delighted to host an exhibition of Bob Dylan memorabilia generously loaned to the library by Liamy McNally.

Bob Dylan or Robert Allen Zimmerman was born in May 1941 in the iron-ore shipping town of Duluth in northern Minnesota. His singing career started at a family party when at the age of four he sang 'Some Sunday Morning' for his grandmother. His performance was so popular that he was obliged to perform an encore and he delivered 'Accentuate the Positive' with aplomb! He formed several bands while attending high school among them 'The Golden Chords' which played covers of popular songs.

In 1959 Dylan enrolled at the University of Minnesota and gradually his early focus on rock and roll (his stated ambition in his finals high school yearbook had been to follow Little Richard) was replaced by an interest in American folk music. In his autobiography Dylan acknowledged that he had been influenced by the poetry of Dylan Thomas and that his he had changed his name because 'you call yourself what you want to call yourself'. After a year at university Bob Dylan dropped out of the education system and moved to New York. In his book Chronicles he says 'America was changing. I had a feeling of destiny and was riding the changes.' By 1963 Dylan's works included 'Blowin in the wind' and 'A hard rain's a-gonna fall' both protest songs and both striking chords in the hearts and minds of the American people.

His albums include The Freewheelin Bob Dylan, Times they are a-Changin, Another Side of Bob Dylan. His works have been recorded by The Byrds, Sonny and Cher, Joan Baez and Manfred Mann among many others. His songs and his poetry have influenced and inspired people throughout the world for the past five decades and he continues to tour and perform .
If you have an interest in the folk music scene, an interest in popular music or simply want to see a small snapshot of the career of Bob Dylan come along to Castlebar Library. This exhibition is available to view during library opening hours, will run until mid August and is FREE.

 



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