Wyckly

          Bob Dylan was born Robert Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota, and grew up in the iron-mining town of Hibbing. He learned to play harmonica and the piano at the young age of 10. By the time he was in high school, he had already taught himself to play the guitar. As a teenager in the 1950’s he listened to all kinds of music, but his main influences and inspirations came from acts like Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie, Roy Orbison, Chuck Berry, and bands or acts similar to them. He mostly appreciated folk, country, and rock and roll music. Dylan grew up learning to play the electric guitar but this quickly changed once he started college at The University of Minnesota. There, he switched over to the acoustic guitar and started to make music with a more folk or traditional sound that he is most famously known for today.

Bob Dylan moved to New York City to try and get his music more attention, and gravitated to the folk and blues scene in Greenwich Village, he made his first debut at Greenwich Village’s premier folk club, Gerde’s Folk City, on April 11, 1960. He opened for one of the most famously known bluesmen John Lee Hooker. That night he played harmonica for folksinger Carolyn Hester and was then signed by producer John Hammond to a deal with Columbia Records.

Bob Dylan is most famous for his influential lyrics. His songs became anthems for United States Civil Rights and Anti-War movements. In the 1960’s Many people who were part of these movements, the so called, “hippies” favored his music. His lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social, philosophical, and literary influences. The hippies enjoyed his music, because Dylan’s lyrics were about things they stood for and they supported.

The Beatles began in Liverpool, England in the year 1958. They started when John Lennon started a rock and roll group called The Quarrymen. Lennon grew up listening to rock and roll such as Elvis Presley and Gene Vincent. Lennon eventually met Paul McCartney and was significantly impressed with his knowledge of music and song lyrics, as well as his ability to tune a guitar. This led Lennon to recruit McCartney into The Quarrymen. Then McCartney introduced Lennon to his good friend from school, George Harrison. Harrison was inducted into the band. Stu Sutcliffe and Pete Best also joined the band to make a five-piece band. Lennon was the lead man; McCartney played guitar and bass, Harrison played guitar, Sutcliffe played bass, and Best was on drums. After much thinking,  they changed their name from The Quarrymen to The Beatles. They became popular in Germany’s club scene, specifically in Hamburg. There music was inspired by acts such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard.

Unfortunately, in 1961 The Beatles lost Stu Sutcliffe, which meant Paul McCartney would have to switch to bass instead of guitar. In that same year, their music was discovered by Brian Epstein, who soon became their manager. Epstein changed their look and made them appear more like a band. He helped them get a deal with EMI-Parlophone in April 1962 after impressing producer George Martin. Soon after, that they met Pete Best’s replacement, Ringo Starr (born Richard Starkey).

The Beatles are most famously known for their psychedelic sound, their vocals, and lyrical knowledge. They had a sound that appealed to many people seemingly everybody. They were most popular with teenagers and younger people in their mid twenties.

Both Bob Dylan and The Beatles are legendary and influential to may people around the world. They were both inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the year 1988. They also were both at the peak of their careers in the 1960’s. They are both known as some of the most influential acts in music. Both acts are still influencing people in the music industry more than 50 years after their peak in their careers.

Both The Beatles and Bob Dylan are legendary music acts. In my opinion, I prefer The Beatles, simply because I grew up listening to them. I never really got interested into Bob Dylan’s music until recently. I do enjoy his music a lot though, but since I have somewhat more knowledge of The Beatles’ music, I like them more. They have a more fast-paced poppy sound, which I really like. Bob Dylan is very good in the way he writes lyrics and his ability to make his not so great vocals sound incredible, but he can become boring at times due to the slow paces of a lot of his songs.