Genre: Folk / Rock / Pop
Most Memorable Recording: "Like A Rolling Stone"
Followers: Rebecca and the Sunnybrook Farmers, Stereobus, Blue Dust Drifters, McCarthy Trenching, 1997, Dear and the Headlights, Yesterday's Ring, The Nightwatchman, Garland Jeffreys & Grinder's Switch, Cold War Kids, Dirt Road Logic, The Rosewood Thieves, Jewels and Binoculars, John Ralston, Patrice, Hotel Lights, Struck Down, The Drones, The Chrysler, Snakebite Orphans, Nightmare of You, Viking Moses, Brett Dennen, Slackstring, The Silent Type, Tom Brosseau, Elvis Perkins, Jennifer O'Connor, In the Country, Akron/Family, Stephen Fretwell, Ken Will Morton, T.K. Webb, The Only Children, Coque Malla, Karsten Rasim, Dietrich Kammer, The Falling Leaves, Ron Franklin, Vietnam, Holly Williams, Two Gallants, Andre Ethier, Langhorne Slim, Nathaniel Street-West, The Redwalls, Matthew Friedberger, Terry White, The Snake the Cross the Crown, The Fiery Furnaces, Deadstring Brothers, Phosphorescent, Elan, Jan Carlo DeFan, Damien Rice, Jason Isbell, Entrance, Steel Train, Jackie Greene, Lizzie West, Grey DeLisle, Our Religion, Mike Boyd, Gor Mkhitarian, Dorman, Keren Ann, Grey Revell, Thea Gilmore, Sixto Rodriguez, Lars Winnerbäck, Ulf Lundell, Octobre, Hoola Bandoola Band, Panhandle Pete, Aaron Persinger, Tom Marshall, Mason Jennings, Al Jones, Ike Reilly, Ferroblues, Prosthetic Aesthetics, Arlo Leach, Charlie Pangoniak, A.C. Cotton, Jaime Anglada, Meic Stevens, Tom McRae, River City Blues Band, Alastair Moock, Minibar, The Watergypsies, The Four Storeys, José Ramón San Juan, Jim Ramirez, Vending Machine, Raphael, Kevin Devine, Michel Montecrossa, Dashboard Confessional, Pete Bernhard, Lenore, Vashti Bunyan, Peter Kern, Eef Barzelay, Stefanie Fix, The All Golden, The Waybacks, Todd Grant, Little Wings, Kathy Fleischmann, Josh Ritter, Will Hoppey, Smokin' Grass, The Slip, Manfred Mann, El Destroyo, Phil Lee, The Baptist Generals, Echoboy, John Oszajca, Adam Snyder, My Morning Jacket, Bree Sharp, For Stars, Mark Erelli, Shannon Wright, Mary Lee's Corvette, The Crust Brothers, Tyler Burkum, Josh Joplin, Bocephus King, Matt Suggs, Bill Madden, Carlos Cano, Jörn Elling-Vuttke, Tim Easton, Gary Jules, Asteroid No. 4, Kyp Harness, Mike Lawson, Birddog, Jim Roll, Marah, SONiA, The Bacon Brothers, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Emily Sparks, Will Oldham, Connie Evingson, Micah Gilbert, Mojo Heroes, Bill Fox, Rivermen, Doug Hoekstra, Edoardo Bennato, Grace Braun, Gabriela, Kiko Veneno, Gianmaria Testa, John Bunzow, Damien Jurado, The Optic Nerve, Mary Lou Lord, Bill Callahan, Hayden, Sophie Zelmani, Mojave 3, Fred Eaglesmith, Deana Carter, Denzil, The United States of America, Mouse & the Traps, Teddy Morgan, Bobby Sichran, Austin DeLone, Warren Zevon, Chris Wilson, Eddie Vedder, John Vanderslice, Townes Van Zandt, George Usher, Derek Trucks, Travis, J.D. Souther, Sonny & Cher, Patti Smith, Mike Silver, Bob Seger, Mike Scott, Dave Schramm, Mark Sandman, Shawn Pittman, Gerry O'Beirne, Mott the Hoople, Van Morrison, John Mellencamp, Roger McGuinn, Mike McCready, J Mascis, Nick Lowe, Los Lobos, J.P. Jones, Shannon Hoon, Jimi Hendrix, Ben Harper, Steve Harley, David Gray, Stone Gossard, David Freeman, Pink Floyd, Mark Eitzel, Dr. Robert, Francesco De Gregori, Carmaig DeForest, Jackie DeShannon, David Crosby, Eric Clapton, T-Bone Burnett, Duncan Browne, Captain Beefheart, Raimundo Amador, Kirtana, Jeff Buckley, Paul Westerberg, Los Secretos, Grant Lee Buffalo, Peter Nardini, Gasolin, Carlos Varela, Dan Bern, Bobby Sutliff, (Smog), Chris Kowanko, Freedy Johnston, PJ Harvey, Sheryl Crow, Country Joe & the Fish, The Wallflowers, Eric Ambel, Blind Melon, Don Michael Sampson, Stealers Wheel, Martin Simpson, Rotary Connection, Craig Nuttycombe, Barry McGuire, Phil Lynott, The Leaves, Barry Goldberg, Felt, Bill Fay, Rick Danko, Pete Atkin, Alpha Band, Nikki Sudden, Stackabones, Chuck Prophet, Jim Morrison, Santana, Michael McDermott, Joe Henry, Vic Chesnutt, Area Code 615, Zero, The Youngbloods, Neil Young, Yo La Tengo, XTC, World Party, Winter Hours, Jesse Winchester, Bob Weir, Was (Not Was), Tom Waits, The Velvet Underground, Suzanne Vega, Uncle Tupelo, The Turtles, Timbuk 3, Richard Thompson, Thin Lizzy, Them, Texas Tornados, Television, James Taylor, T. Rex, Sting, Rod Stewart, Al Stewart, Cat Stevens, Steely Dan, Squeeze, Bruce Springsteen, Joe South, Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, The Silos, Jules Shear, John Sebastian, Doug Sahm, Leon Russell, Robbie Robertson, The Replacements, Lou Reed, Bonnie Raitt, Rage to Live, Gerry Rafferty, Procol Harum, The Proclaimers, John Prine, The Pretenders, Robert Plant, Tom Petty, Michael Penn, Graham Parker, Laura Nyro, Willie Nile, Randy Newman, Elliott Murphy, Joni Mitchell, Melanie, James McMurtry, Maria McKee, McGuinn, Clark & Hillman, Mazzy Star, Manfred Mann, The Lovin' Spoonful, Lyle Lovett, The Long Ryders, Lone Justice, Little Feat, John Lennon, Al Kooper, Kevn Kinney, John Kilzer, Paul Kelly, Rob Jungklas, Jules & the Polar Bears, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Vinnie James, Ian Hunter, Robyn Hitchcock, Peter Himmelman, John Hiatt, Don Henley, John Wesley Harding, Gunbunnies, Grateful Dead, Mark Germino, Bob Geldof, Jerry Garcia, Freiheit, Steve Forbert, Dan Fogelberg, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Flo & Eddie, Fish Karma, fIREHOSE, The Feelies, Fairport Convention, Melissa Etheridge, Joe Ely, Steve Earle, Dream Syndicate, Donovan, Dire Straits, Died Pretty, The Del Lords, David & David, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Crazy Horse, Elvis Costello, Lloyd Cole, Bruce Cockburn, The Clash, Gene Clark, Tracy Chapman, Eugene Chadbourne, Exene Cervenka, Nick Cave, Peter Case, The Call, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Tim Buckley, Jackson Browne, David Bromberg, Billy Bragg, David Bowie, The Boomtown Rats, The Blues Project, Blue Rodeo, Chris Bell, The Beatles, Beat Farmers, The Animals, Phil Alvin, 10,000 Maniacs, Phranc, Leslie Phillips, P.F. Sloan, Phil Ochs, Geof Morgan, Mark Heard, Richie Havens, Arlo Guthrie, Leonard Cohen, David Blue, Joan Baez, Steve Young, Kris Kristofferson, Chris Hillman, Rosanne Cash
Bob Dylan's influence on popular music is incalculable. As a songwriter, he pioneered several different schools of pop songwriting, from confessional singer/songwriter to winding, hallucinatory, stream-of-conscious narratives. As a vocalist, he broke down the notions that in order to perform, a singer had to have a conventionally good voice, thereby redefining the role of vocalist in popular music. As a musician, he sparked several genres of pop music, including electrified folk-rock and country-rock. And that just touches on the tip of his achievements. Dylan's force was evident during his height of popularity in the '60s -- the Beatles' shift toward introspective songwriting in the mid-'60s never would have happened without him -- but his influence echoed throughout several subsequent generations. Many of his songs became popular standards, and his best albums were undisputed classics of the rock & roll canon. Dylan's influence throughout folk music was equally powerful, and he marks a pivotal turning point in its 20th century evolution, signifying when the genre moved away from traditional songs and toward personal songwriting. Even when his sales declined in the '80s and '90s, Dylan's presence was calculable.
