WI: No Bob Dylan?

"Elvis might never have been born, but someone else would surely have brought the world rock 'n' roll. No such logic accounts for Bob Dylan. No iron law of history demanded that a would-be Elvis from Hibbing, Minnesota, would swerve through the Greenwich Village folk revival to become the world's first and greatest rock 'n' roll beatnik bard and then—having achieved fame and adoration beyond reckoning—vanish into a folk tradition of his own making." - J. Hoberman

Naturally, a statement like this got my inner alt-historian (and music fan) thinking. What if Bob Dylan, for whatever reason, never had a musical career? What would it mean for the counter-culture of the '60s if there was no "Blowin' in the Wind" or "The Times They Are a-Changin'"? What if he hadn't pioneered the use of electric guitars in concerts? What if there were no Never Ending Tour? The possibilities are endless, so I'd like to get the board's opinion.

Thoughts?
 
What if he hadn't pioneered the use of electric guitars in concerts?

No that's just untrue. He went electric in 1965 I believe, well after bands and people like Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and, of course, the Beatles where playing rock music on electric guitar.

Now, other then that, you would see no folk rock movement. Dylan going electric is what led to Folk Rock becoming a genre, and everything that folk rock influenced and lead to would be butterflied away. This would mean 60's jam music would never be the same. :(
 
Naturally, a statement like this got my inner alt-historian (and music fan) thinking. What if Bob Dylan, for whatever reason, never had a musical career? What would it mean for the counter-culture of the '60s if there was no "Blowin' in the Wind" or "The Times They Are a-Changin'"? What if he hadn't pioneered the use of electric guitars in concerts? What if there were no Never Ending Tour? The possibilities are endless, so I'd like to get the board's opinion.

Thoughts?

I never cared much for Bob Dylan the performer though he was a great songwriter. Other people or groups did a fine job covering his works however. The Byrds' "pop-conversion" of Dylan songs are more appealing in my opinion. Some of the English covers of Dylan are spectacular.

It's a tough call, really. Many would have missed Dylan's songs even if they only knew him from the covers. Dylan certainly pushed the envelope on risky subjects, even if slightly -- I remember singing "You Ain't Going Nowhere" as a kid and glossing over the "ride me high" part. But then again, the Beatles weren't squeaky clean either, and a lot of smaller acts were even more outre.

Bob Dylan holds a mystique for high school students finding their way towards maturity. On that level alone he has inspired others and American culture is better for it.
 
I attended the "Rolling Thunder Revue" in 1975 and it was phantazmagorical.
I attended a concert at Canada's Wonderland in the '80's and I enjoyed the rollercoasters more.
With Dylan, the times were always a-changin and sometimes you win.
Jimi did "All along the Watchtower" well, but so did Dylan, and he wrote it.
Back in the pre-arthritis days, 20% of my musical repertoire was Dylan. Phil Ochs died too early.
Love or hate it, Dylan was a significant factor in music, both in content and in influence. That he influenced society any more than the Beach Boys is subject to conjecture. How much influence does music have over how we think and act? Where would we be without Woody Guthrey or Pete Seeger?
 
No that's just untrue. He went electric in 1965 I believe, well after bands and people like Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and, of course, the Beatles where playing rock music on electric guitar.

Now, other then that, you would see no folk rock movement. Dylan going electric is what led to Folk Rock becoming a genre, and everything that folk rock influenced and lead to would be butterflied away. This would mean 60's jam music would never be the same. :(

Oops, my mistake. I just knew that the first time he used an electric guitar in concert he almost got booed off the stage, so I just assumed he was at least one of the first to do it.
 
Dylan going electric was a huge deal, not because he did it first, but because folk was partially an anti-pop movement. We only think of the political aspects of folk music these days, but at the time it was also the refuge for many of the predecessors of DIY, the back-to-basics movement, anti-mass culture hipsters and the like. At the time, Dylan going electric was seen as a slap in the face to these sentiments. The closest thing I can think of today are the "everything sounds better on vinyl" crowd.

So without Dylan making that transcendent step, we wouldn't have folk rock and probably wouldn't have the singer/songwriter tradition that's bloomed in parallel with other pop music styles in the last 45 years. This isn't a given, as it's an economical way to ensure profits. You don't have to worry about the band splitting up and fans are generally more die-hard due to the more personal connection they feel with the music and musician. Record companies and the invisible hand might hit on the formula in another way (Carol King coulda been our huckleberry.)

Another effect of no Dylan...I've heard some possibly apocryphal stories that he was the one who introduced Beatles to drugs. Of course someone else might've done it later, but if they stayed clean...well, there's the end of rock n roll as we know it.
 
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