In October of this year, the Swedish Academy announced that Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Debate immediately exploded across the internet about whether it was appropriate to bestow this honor upon a musician – which had never happened before. Further fueling the fire, Dylan subsequently announced that he would not attend the awards ceremony, which takes place today.
Dylan is not the first person of note to do this. Ernest Hemingway and Theodore Roosevelt are among the ranks of individuals who have accepted a Nobel Prize in absentia. However, this fact did not shield Dylan from harsh commentary regarding his decision.
Whether or not you agree that the singer-songwriter-poet handled this situation well, it is clear that he has left an indelible mark on his field. According to the Swedish Academy, Bob Dylan deserved the award “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”
Though we are not in Sweden today – and neither is Dylan for that matter – it seems appropriate to look back at this artist’s career. Here we have 10 of the top songs that made Bob Dylan the icon he is, in chronological order.