MPR’s Marlana Benzie reports on Bob Dylan’s 50th birthday and the how his hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota, is reconsidering its view of the famous musician.
MPR’s Marlana Benzie reports on Bob Dylan’s 50th birthday and the how his hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota, is reconsidering its view of the famous musician.
[BOBY DYLAN, "THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'"] Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again And don't speak too soon for the wheel's still in spin And there's no tellin' who that it's namin' For the loser now will be later to win 'cause the times, they are a-changin'
SPEAKER: Robert Zimmerman spent his school years in the boom-and-crash mining town of Hibbing, the home of the world's largest open-pit iron ore mine. Zimmerman was the son of middle class parents and has been described as a shy boy but apt to surprise his classmates with an Elvis impersonation or his new motorcycle. Charlie Miller, Zimmerman's high school social studies teacher, says in the '50s, Hibbing wasn't ready to accept the loud, pounding beat of rock and roll.
CHARLIE MILLER: And I remember on Bob and one of the areas that really shook the school up was a homecoming program or variety program or something. He--
[LAUGHS]
--jumped all over the piano and that shook the place up.
[LAUGHS]
[BOBY DYLAN, "MOTORPSYCHO NIGHTMARE"]
BOB DYLAN: (SINGING) I pounded on a farmhouse lookin' for a place to stay I was mighty, mighty tired I'd come a long, long way I said, hey, hey, in there, is there anybody home? I was standin' on the steps, feelin' most alone When out comes a farmer He must have thought that I was nuts He immediately looked at me and stuck a gun into my guts
SPEAKER: A young Robert Zimmerman left Hibbing in 1959 after his high school graduation and headed to Minneapolis, then New York. He changed his name to Bob Dylan, and within three years was hailed as one of the most unique and talented voices in folk music. Dylan's achievements didn't impress everyone in Hibbing, though. Dylan had left town abruptly, making it quite clear he was happy to leave.
So Hibbing has never been enthusiastic about honoring Dylan. Until recently, the only memorial to him was a small placard in a tourist pavilion at Hull Rust Iron Mine. But Al Zdon, editor of the "Hibbing Daily Tribune," says many in Hibbing may be forgetting Dylan's bitter departure, and finally realizing his unmatched stature in popular music.
AL ZDON: It seems to me that there's a lot of people that knew Bobby, that really didn't know him a few years ago. It's sort of like, how many people were at Woodstock? The count is up to about 16 million now, I think. But I think anybody that ever had even the closest or most remote encounter in the old days now has a special memory of Bob Dylan.
SPEAKER: Officials at Iron World, USA are coordinating the first ever official Dylan celebration on the Iron Range just a few miles from Hibbing in neighboring Chisholm. Program Coordinator Tom Sorcha says Dylan's hometown may be warming up to him.
TOM SORCHA: Well, everybody knows that this man has accomplished just great things in the musical industry, but I believe that he's probably respected more outside the Iron Range area. And people are probably more knowledgeable about all the different things that Dylan has done in terms of his music and his songwriting. But overall, I think as the years go on, I think you'll find more and more people even on the Iron Range and people from the Hibbing area that really do respect him.
SPEAKER: On the weekend of Dylan's 50th birthday, Iron World will feature Iron Range folk singers, exhibits of Dylan memorabilia, and film clips highlighting his 30-year career. Sorcha says Dylan has been invited to attend, but as yet, Iron World and Hibbing are still waiting to hear from Bob Dylan. I'm Marlana Benzie.
[BOB DYLAN, "HANDY DANDY"]
BOB DYLAN: (SINGING) Handy Dandy, controversies surround him He been around the world and back again Something in the moonlight still hounds him Handy Dandy, just like sugar and candy Handy Dandy, if every bone in his body was broken, he would never admit it
He got an all-girl orchestra. And when he says, strike up the band, they hit it Handy Dandy Handy Dandy You say, what are ya made of? He'll say, can you repeat what you say? You'll say, what are you afraid of? He'll say, nothin' neither alive nor dead Handy Dandy, he got a stick in his hand and a pocket full of money
Digitization made possible by the National Historical Publications & Records Commission.
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