Bob Dylan: The Unauthorized Spiritual Biography

By Nadine Epstein and Rebecca Frankel In the early 1960s, Bob Dylan performed at tiny Greenwich Village folk clubs, acoustic guitar strapped across his compact shoulders, harmonica perched on a metal rack around his slender neck. His chord changes were simple and his voice a soft-grating croon. With lyrics that were eerily profound, the Midwestern folksinger soon found himself labeled a “prophet” of his generation. The young musician’s fans were spiritual, not religious in the traditional sense; many were abandoning the churches and synagogues of their parents in search of something new. But even those Jews who felt little connection with Judaism could not suppress a hint of pride as they listened to songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” anthems that were reverently taken up by other 1960s legends like Judy...

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