Folksinger, Bluesman, Rocker, Crooner

Abstract

This chapter offers a chronological overview of Bob Dylan’s evolution as a singer on his recordings. Starting out as a folk-singing heir to Woody Guthrie, and incorporating strong influences from the blues, Dylan went on to embrace electric rock in the mid-1960s and then assumed the voice of a country crooner at the end of the decade. Among the songs receiving detailed attention are “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Down the Highway,” “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” and several from the album Nashville Skyline. Eventually, Dylan utilized a wide range of vocal approaches on single albums; his 1975 Blood on the Tracks is treated as exemplary in this regard. The chapter concludes with a consideration of Dylan’s employment of expressive silence in his vocal lines.