Bob Dylan at 80: a glimpse of the singer-songwriter’s charmed life

Bob Dylan, the American poet, musician, and Nobel laureate turned 80 on May 24, 2021. His work combines the classical with the contemporary, and the musical with the literary. Here are a few moments capturing the artist’s life and his influence across the world, including in Mumbai and Shillong. 

Updated On: 2021-06-09 12:45 PM IST

American rock and folk musician Bob Dylan performing on May 25, 1966 during a concert at the Olympia music hall in Paris

American rock and folk musician Bob Dylan performing on May 25, 1966 during a concert at the Olympia music hall in Paris. Dylan turned 80 on May 24, 2021.

Photo: AFP

Bob Dylan (centre) looks on during a photo taken in 1957 at Herzl camp, with "his guitar already attached as if a limb".

Photo: HO / Mark Alpert / AFP

A photo of a young Bob Dylan (centre) as displayed on October 14, 2016 at an exhibit in the Hibbing Public Library in Hibbing, Minnesota. Dylan grew up in Hibbing, a rural mining town, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature On October 13, 2016. 

Photo: Stephen Maturen / AFP

Bob Dylan (centre) pictured at his fiftieth birthday in 1991, with friends Louis Kemp (left) and Larry (last name unknown).
Photo: HO / Louie Kemp collection / AFP

Indian pop artist Vivienne Pocha performed at a May 24, 2001 concert in Mumbai that celebrated the music legend Dylan's birthday. A galaxy of forty Indian artists had paid rich tributes in the show titled 'Thank You Bob'.

Photo: Sebastian D'Souza / AFP

Singer Lou Majaw of Shillong seen performing in 2001 in St. Mary's School in Laitumkrah, Shillong. Majaw is well known for having organised tribute concerts on Bob Dylan's birthday almost every year since 1972.

Photo: AFP

This photo taken on May 29, 2012 shows then-US President Barack Obama presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Dylan during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Dylan turned 80 on May 24, 2021.

Photo: Mandel NGAN / AFP

A mural of songwriter Bob Dylan by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra on display in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 15, 2016. On October 13, 2016, Dylan had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. 

Photo: Stephen Maturen / AFP

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