In my newest book, Down the Road with DYLAN – Living with the Songs, I write, ““Bob Dylan has been a deeply intimate part of my life for over 60 years. John Kennedy was still president when I heard my first Dylan song. I’ve spent countless hours listening to his records; I’ve attended numerous concerts, at both ends of the country; and I’ve sung his songs on the beaches, parks, and street corners of Southern California, in assorted wine bars, clubs, private homes, and at youth gatherings in both the United States and Mexico; in church, and with students in the classroom.
In this book, we’ll look at 100 carefully chosen Bob Dylan songs through three distinct lenses— through the lens of music criticism; through the lens of recent American history; and through the lens of personal memoir. It is my sincere wish that there is an educational element embedded herein, but, above all, this book is a heartfelt labor of love, a way for me to express both my understanding of and deep appreciation for the art of Bob Dylan and how it has moved and shaped me and, indeed, all of us, for over six decades. Bob Dylan’s profound creations have been intimately interwoven with the various strands of my personal life and with the life of the wider world we’ve all shared these past decades. My hope is that I have succeeded in capturing something of the timeless, ineffable, beating heart reality hinted at in the songs of Bob Dylan, by looking at 100 of them anew through these three lovingly polished, personal lenses.”
Down the Road with DYLAN is now available exclusively online at BookBaby Book Shop. I’d be thrilled and honored if you read it, and drop me a line letting me know what you think. Thanks, Steve