Today we celebrate songwriting legend Bob Dylan, who is 82 years old today. Over the course of his over 6-decade career, he has become known as one of the greatest and most influential songwriters of all time. He actually made his debut with a self-titled album of traditional folk songs, but once he released his second album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, his songwriting ability was on full display.
On his first five albums, Dylan favored minimal, acoustic production. He surprised listeners in 1965 when he enlisted the help of rock musicians to back him up on the first half of the album Bringing It All Back Home;Highway 61 Revisited, released later that year, is almost entirely electric. This move to an electric sound caused controversy and polarized fans, especially at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. This video shows one of Dylan's earliest electric performances, playing "Like a Rolling Stone" backed by Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Al Kooper at the festival.
