Music of the Civil Rights Era: Bob Dylan

1169 Words3 Pages

Music has always inspired people to think for themselves and find meanings within deep and confusing lyrics, giving them new perspective. Back during the times when the fight for civil rights was in full swing, music played an even bigger role. Some musicians used personal experience as inspiration for their work; it made their songs more relatable to the listeners and added a bit of personality to the music. The songs they wrote stimulated people to gather together and demand change. The bravery of the artists who spoke out against the way the country was headed allowed them to create these songs and get people together.
One artist that was extremely influential in the time of crisis was Bob Dylan. He was born on May 24, 1941 as Robert Allen Zimmerman. When he began to perform in college, he adopted the stage name that he is known for today, Bob Dylan. He got his last name from the poet Dylan Thomas, who was one of his major motivations along with Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie. He wrote songs about real occurrences like his song, “Hurricane” which was about the renowned African American boxer Rubin Carter, who was wrongly accused of murder even though he was all the way across town at the time the murder took place. Throughout his musical career, he was awarded an abundance of awards for his lyrics and song writing that inspired and moved many struggling people all across the troubled country.
Another artist who was tremendously influential during this era was Joan Baez. She produced folk music which happened to be very popular during this time period. She is also famous for popularizing the work of Bob Dylan. She was born on January 9, 1941 in Staten Island, New York. She became interested in the folk genre of music two yea...

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... soul, emotion, and a yearning for change. Their words and ideas were spread across the U.S. on their concert tours which helped make the movement bigger than it ever could have been without these musicians. Musical artists used their creativity and life experience to weave songs that sewed the African Americans together into one marvelous cloth of equality.

Works Cited

Demuynck, Julie. "English 102." : Soul Music of the 1960s Influence on Civil Rights-Julie Demuynck. N.p., 17 Mar. 2010. Web. 14 May 2014.
"Joan Baez Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.
"James Brown." James Brown. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.
"Bob Dylan." Bob Dylan. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.
Ward, Brian. ""People Get Ready": Music and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.

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