A Salute to Bob Dylan
Image courtesy of the estate of Fred W. McDarrah.
Many artists and performers have made their home in Greenwich Village, but it few have had the enduring, global impact of Bob Dylan. Considered one of the greatest songwriters alive today, Dylan began making a name for himself in numerous cafes and clubs around the Village in the 1960s. He wrote the civil rights anthem “Blowin’ in the Wind” in 1962 while living in the Village, which he went on to perform at the 1963 March on Washington. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his songwriting in 2016.
Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, in Hibbing, Minnesota. In 1961, after dropping out of college, he moved to New York City and changed his legal name to Bob Dylan, after the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (who also made a name for himself in Greenwich Village). His lyricism and unique style quickly propelled him into the spotlight in the folk movement and beyond, reaching audiences who would have never otherwise engaged with his poetry.
The venues where Dylan and his peers performed were key elements of the historic designation of the South Village. Gerde’s, the Commons (later the Fat Black Pussy Cat), the Folklore Center, the Kettle of Fish, and Cafe Wha? were among the locations that were not included in the original Greenwich Village Historic District. The South Village was designated in 2013 after a successful 13-year campaign by Village Preservation. Our illustrated map of Dylan’s early gigs and important places, most of which are in the South Village, can be found here.
In our Village Voices exhibit on Dylan, viewers were able to enter into McDarrah’s now-famous image of Dylan sitting on a bench at Sheridan Square.
Photographer Fred W. McDarrah captured Dylan on many occasions in the 1960s, and his photos are generously made available to us through the estate of Fred W. McDarrah. You can view the entire collection here.
We are fortunate that Dylan’s time in Greenwich Village is so well-documented, as this is not always the case for great artists and performers. Documenting and engaging the public around Dylan’s life in the Village over the years has been one of our passions and labors of love over the years. Here are some highlights: