Bob Dylan is an important icon whose music continues to influence rock music even six decades later, despite several top forty hits, none of which were number one hits. His music has inspired many iconic musicians like Johnny Cash and The Grateful Dead (nj101.com). What Bob Dylan brought to rock music in the sixties can be heard in music today. Bob Dylan began life as Robert Zimmerman from Duluth, Minnesota and grew up in Hibbing from the age of six. He first learned to play guitar and harmonica, deciding to start a band called Golden Chords in high school. After graduating in 1959, Bob Dylan continued his art studies at the University of Minnesota. It would be his time in college where he would start playing folk music in coffeehouses under the name Bob Dylan. He took his inspiration and even his last name from the poet Dylan Thomas. Blues musicians like Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie would influence Dylan's music. In the summer of 1960, Dylan met blues artist Jesse Fuller and Dylan picked up the harmonica and guitar combination (allmusic.com). By the time of his return, Bob Dylan had grown considerably as an artist and was now determined to turn professional. In 1961, Dylan would travel to New York. Immediately, the Greenwich Village folk community would have welcomed his presence. Next, he would visit his own idol, Guthrie, in the hospital. Back to the performances at the café. Dylan's gruff charm would win him an impressive fan base. He would open for John Lee Hooker in April and five months later he would perform at another concert at Gerde's Folk City. John Harmond found Bob Dylan and signed him in the fall of 1961. Together, they released his first album the following year. The middle of Paper's career......would mostly be an end. He would release the greatest hits album and release other completely original material through 1997 with Time Out of MInd. He would receive two Grammies for this and see his sold-out concert once again. Bob Dylan would make another album in 2001 of original material called Love and Theft, then announced he would produce his own film. Bob Dylan's contributions to rock music will live on. He got teenagers to appreciate poetry again and made people who would normally ignore politics care about it. His nasal voice and six-minute hits forced music outside the norm and opened doors for more unconventional artists. Dylan's worldview and ability to educate others through his art led many people to believe he was a prophet. The musical ideas brought by Bob Dylan will continue to flourish as long as rock music lives.