Hey Dr Tambourine Man, play a song for me

Perhaps the song, first written in 1997, could be dusted off when the legendary singer comes to St Andrews to receive an honorary degree next week.

Dylan’s acceptance of the award is a huge coup for the university, as he rarely accepts such accolades.

He has only accepted one other honorary degree - from Princeton University in the United States in 1970 - but he will become a Doctor of Music during the summer graduations at St Andrews next week, before playing two concerts in Glasgow.

The award is in honour of the enormous impact of Dylan’s music, not only on bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, but also for his unique political lyrical content which made him a poetic spokesman for the Sixties generation.

Best known for classics such as Like a Rolling Stone, Mr Tambourine Man and Blowin’ In The Wind, Dylan is credited as being one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

St Andrews University’s principal and vice-chancellor, Dr Brian Lang, said that he was delighted to be able to honour such an iconic figure.

He said: "Bob Dylan is an iconic figure for the 20th century, particularly for those of us whose formative years were the 1960s and 70s. His songs, and in particular his lyrics, are still part of our consciousness. We are very pleased to take this opportunity of honouring such a major artist."

Any member of St Andrews University, staff or student, can nominate a famous figure for an honorary degree. Dylan’s name was put forward by Neil Corcoran, professor of English Literature, who edited a collection of essays in Do You Mr Jones? Bob Dylan with the Poets and Professors, published in 2002.

Prof Corcoran, who has also written books on Irish literature, will give Dylan’s laureation address next week, and he is delighted and somewhat surprised that the star accepted the honour.

He has been fascinated by Dylan’s work for 40 years and said he was an outstanding talent whose artistry was still capable of stimulating debate today.

He added: "Leonard Cohen rightly called Bob Dylan the Picasso of song. Dylan is an extraordinary lyricist, with a variety of styles, modes and procedures that makes his work as complex and compelling as that of gifted poets of the printed page. It also rewards the same kind of critical study.

"One of Dylan’s most remarkable qualities is his persistent metamorphosis. He never stops experimenting and evolving new styles and manners. That never-ending journey of artistic redefinition, like his perennial tour of the same name, commands huge respect and stimulates debate."

The 63-year-old singer, who was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Minnesota, accepted France’s highest cultural honour in 1990, when he became a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Earlier this year, he joined forces with an Italian vineyard to produce a 35-a-bottle red wine.

Dylan taught himself to play the piano by the age of nine, but he refused to have any formal training and has never learned to read music. He arrived in New York in 1961 and played his first gig at Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village, but was so broke he had to sleep on subway trains.

He was signed by Columbia Records in 1961 and released his first album a year later and quickly began to record his own material - Blowin’ in the Wind was written in two hours.

During the 1960s, America was rocked by internal and external conflict, with Dylan’s songs providing the perfect soundtracks.

He has released more than 40 albums and plays concerts all over the world. He also received an Oscar in 2001 for Things Have Changed - the soundtrack to the Michael Douglas film, Wonder Boys. He kicks off his European tour in Cardiff tomorrow and plays the first of two nights in Glasgow after picking up his award on Wednesday in the Younger Hall.

Maybe he’ll burst into a verse from Stop The Rents A-Raising:

"Come those who comprise University Court, hear what we’re saying, we’ll not be ignored.

Why should we pay for what you can afford? Your bare-faced gall is quite brazen.

It’s not economics, it’s merely a fraud, To keep the rents a-raising."

CHANGIN' TIMES

ROBERT Allen Zimmerman was born on 24 May, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota, before later changing his name to Bob Dylan, believed to be after Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.

On 11 April, 1961, he opens for John Lee Hooker in Greenwich Village, New York. He records his eponymous debut album that year, and his second the following year - The Free-wheelin’ Bob Dylan - becomes a UK number one.

In 1964, he plays his first major London gig at the Royal Festival Hall, but the following year is booed off stage at the Newport Folk Festival for playing an electric guitar.

In 1966, Dylan is reported to have had a serious motorcycle accident and goes out of circulation, before returning in 1968 at the Woody Guthrie Memorial Concert.