Robert Alan Zimmerman (1941–), a.k.a. music icon Bob Dylan, was born on this day in Hibbing, Minnesota. With supreme instinct and genius, the singer-songwriter altered the course of popular music from the moment he began strumming his guitar in Greenwich Village in the 1960s.

"Just because you like my stuff doesn't mean I owe you anything," he once said.

Dylan brought intellectual credibility to rock and roll, transforming lyrics into passionate tools of self-expression. "A poem is a naked person," he said.

A visionary, he inspired generations to speak their truths and challenge norms. He tackled social issues with poetic insight and layered complexity. He brought poetic fire to protest songs like Blowin’ in the Wind and The Times They Are a-Changin’, sparking revolutions of the heart.

Dylan has revived, renewed, and celebrated music, always true to his authentic heart. In the Martin Scorsese film No Direction Home, he called himself "a musical expeditionary."

n later years, Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, honoring the poetry he sang all along.

"The highest purpose of art is to inspire," Dylan said. "What else can you do? What else can you do for anyone but inspire them?"

Dylan inspired them all — John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Kurt Cobain, Alanis Morissette... the list goes on. Each found truth in his lyrics. Each followed the echo of his song.

With his signature nasal twang and poetic grit, Dylan didn’t just sing—he sparked a fire. And in that fire, he urged us all to find our voice… and sing it loud.