Question:
Did fame ever get to Bob Dylan's head?
1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Did fame ever get to Bob Dylan's head?
Eleven answers:
2016-04-12 05:59:34 UTC
Of course he has. He's written boatloads of bad songs. After the motorcycle accident, he became very hit-and-miss. The Down in the Groove CD I bought years ago was ALL bad songs except the one that was on the radio. I'm a big fan. I don't dismiss his later work. I was actually listening to Modern Times in the car this morning. I just don't worship the man. He put on great live shows in the 80s, but his songwriting had mostly gone downhill by then.
2010-05-23 12:39:48 UTC
In general I think he's pretty down to earth. He certainly doesn't go for the whole celeb/entourage package. For example he was in Liverpool last year and he went and visited John Lennon's house, taking the tour bus with all the other tourists, most people didn't know he was there.

The footage in 'Don't Look Back' is mostly staged for the cameras. He does come across as a bit of a pr*ck in that, maybe it was put on, maybe not...
2010-05-23 07:35:19 UTC
Watch the movie "Dont Look Back" by D.A. Pennebaker which chronicles Dylan's concert tour of England right after his famous electric performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. There is a scene where he rips into a grad student who is trying to interview him. He also goes after Donovan.



It's a terrific film, but no, I wouldn't call him down to earth.
Mike H Music Man in New Orleans
2010-05-23 17:11:51 UTC
Bob is known to be a little arrogant sometimes - He doesn't come across as a very social person but I could be wrong. I have only read brief articles about his personality so I am far from an expert on this subject but I have 90% of all of his commercially available recordings and the man is way up my favorites list.
2010-05-23 07:55:17 UTC
No, I would say no. Saw him in Glasgow with my neice last year and the place was packed and the air was electric!!!

Dylan Rules, totally cool and down to earth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8y3aUgDY6c
2010-05-23 12:51:55 UTC
Fame gets to everyone's head. You don't get down to earth famous musicians.
☼Marisa☼
2010-05-23 07:52:18 UTC
Yep, Bob's too cool for school. ;)



http://www.last.fm/music/Bob+Dylan/+images/6690423
Shades of Grey♥
2010-05-23 18:46:45 UTC
He's always seemed a little standoffish to me... but if I were him, I'd probably be that way, too, to keep the fans and papparazzi away.
David V
2010-05-23 10:16:57 UTC
I think for the better part he is, but we all are flawed a little.



take care

dave
?
2010-05-23 19:58:09 UTC
*Edit - ok, "straight" answer - to be honest, probably a little - in '66. Surely less than most anyone else on earth in that same position, which no one else ever would have, could have, has, or probably will get into. John Lennon called that arrogant attitude in his own life his "Elvis" period, btw.



He is actually down to earth, but has very good reasons for distancing himself from fans and the press. He has always been about the music - never about his "laurels". He has always respected other musicians opinions more than fans, or especially "the media". His greatest honors at this time were the admiration he garnered from such musicians as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and others of them thar' ilks. Not because of their success, but because of the honesty in their music and persons.



Just before going on The Ed Sullivan Shoe, CBS executives told him he couldn't play "The John Birch Society Paranoid Blues", which had been rehearsed for like two weeks and all - Dylan walked! Integrity, not "fame".



The '66 world tour is probably as close as he ever came to being swell-headed. He was kicking *** (the world's) and taking names!

In regards to the incident in "Don't Look Back". Donovan was a pretender who was being promoted as the "British Bob Dylan" - I can't think of any other musician who ever had the gall, and/or lack of integrity to allow themselves to be promoted that way (arbitrarily attaching themselves to another musician) and Dylan was having none of it - to his credit. Integrity, not "fame". This tour was also shortly after the famous/infamous Newport incident where he went electric, to the dismay of the folk scene that he was at the top of (I'll try to post a clip of some of that, below), and he was being widely booed by purists/phony fans (I thought of a clip of this too, if I can find it). Anyway, both hotel incidents were involving Donovan and/or his entourage. One of them tore something glass off a wall in the bathroom and threw it down in the alley and Dylan rightly got upset about that, it being his room and all. This was no doubt related to the confrontation between Dylan and Donovan that had just occurred. Pay particular attention to the weak (not bad) song that Donovan played (showing off), then Dylan taking the guitar away from him and tearing into him with his own song. I think, on a personal basis, he was a bit rough on Donovan, but there was additional supporting context. I don't see it as his finest moment, but who wouldn't want that as their worst? . . . which is what it is as far as I know.
nodumgys
2010-05-23 09:04:23 UTC
yes and pretty early on. I would guess he may be a little de-bloated by now, sometimes that happens too.


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