Pick a Day

Bob Dylan gets in a motorcycle accident near Woodstock, New York, and pretty much disappears for nine months, leaving a void filled with rumors speculating on his condition. He clears things up in his 2004 autobiography, where he writes: "I had been in a motorcycle accident and I'd been hurt, but I recovered. Truth was that I wanted to get out of the rat race."

The acclaimed Bob Dylan documentary Don't Look Back premieres at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco. Directed by D. A. Pennebaker, it follows Dylan on his 1965 European tour.

Bob Dylan releases his eighth album, John Wesley Harding, featuring the classic tune "All Along the Watchtower." The Jimi Hendrix Experience later covers the song, which becomes the band's biggest US hit, peaking at #20 in October 1968.

Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash record some duets in Nashville, with "Girl From The North Country" eventually ending up on Dylan's Nashville Skyline album, for which Cash writes liner notes.

Bob Dylan stuns fans and critics alike by releasing Nashville Skyline, a country album sung in an entirely different voice from the one Dylan has been using.

It's the first day of the two-day Isle of Wight Festival. Performers include Bob Dylan, The Moody Blues and The Who. This is the second Isle of Wight Festival - it goes on again next year, but doesn't return until 2002.

Bob Dylan receives an honorary Doctorate of Music from Princeton University. Dylan attends the ceremony on a hot day, during which the noise made by 17-year cicadas apparently drowns out his introduction. The experience inspires his 1970 song "Day Of The Locusts."

Bob Dylan publishes his first novel, a poorly received stream-of-consciousness work called Tarantula.

Bob Dylan's documentary Eat the Document, chronicling his 1966 tour of the UK, premieres at New York's Academy of Music. The ABC television network will buy the rights to the film, although they refuse to air it after deciding it doesn't contain enough concert footage.

George Harrison hosts the Concert For Bangladesh, the first major charity concert and the precursor to Live Aid. Guests include Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston and Ringo Starr.More

Bob Dylan releases Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 2.

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, starring James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson, debuts in theaters. In addition to scoring and writing songs for the film, Bob Dylan makes his acting debut as a knife-wielding stranger named Alias. His acting is derided, but he lands a hit with "Knockin' On Heaven's Door."

Bob Dylan releases his 14th album, Planet Waves. Dylan is backed by The Band on the project, which includes two versions of his enduring song "Forever Young."

Bob Dylan begins a 6-week tour in Chicago with The Band, who do double duty: backing Dylan and then playing their own set. In July, the double album Before The Flood is released, featuring highlights from the shows.

Bob Dylan releases Blood on the Tracks, which contains the tracks "Tangled Up In Blue" and "Idiot Wind."

Bob Dylan's album Blood On The Tracks hits #1 in America, where it stays for two weeks before getting bumped by Olivia Newton-John's Have You Never Been Mellow.

Bob Dylan records "Hurricane," his song about the incarcerated boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.

Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, The Staple Singers, Ronnie Hawkins, and Dr. John join The Band for The Last Waltz, a farewell concert for the ages.More

Bob Dylan's wife, Sara Lowndes - the "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands" - files for divorce. The couple have been separated for years.

Bob Dylan and his wife of 11 years, Sara, finalize their divorce. She is given custody of their five children.

Bob Dylan's Renaldo and Clara, a semi-documentary of his famous Rolling Thunder Revue tour, premieres in Los Angeles.

Bob Dylan, a recent convert to Christianity, releases the faith-driven album Slow Train Coming. It includes "Gotta Serve Somebody," which peaks at #24, becoming Dylan's last single to crack the top 40 in the US.More

Bob Dylan makes his only appearance on Saturday Night Live, performing three songs from his Christian album Slow Train Coming.

The Songwriters Hall of Fame, formed in 1969, finally lets Bob Dylan in.

With the stars in town for the American Music Awards, "We Are The World" is recorded in Los Angeles, with cameras rolling for the video.More

The song "We are the World" is released as a single, soon achieving massive chart success all around the world. The song, written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, is recorded for charity to help battle famine in Africa. The supergroup USA for Africa brought together for the recording features a stunning list of big names in music - everyone from Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan to Ray Charles, Cyndi Lauper and Dionne Warwick.

The Live Aid concerts take place in Philadelphia and London to raise money for the hungry in Africa. The Beach Boys, The Four Tops, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Elton John, David Bowie, The Who, Queen, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan all take part.More

The first Farm Aid concert plays in Champaign, Illinois, to benefit American farmers trying to survive amidst a national agricultural crisis.More

Albert Grossman, manager to Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin, dies of a heart attack at age 59.

John Hammond, who signed both Bob Dylan (in 1961) and Bruce Springsteen (in 1972) to Columbia Records, dies at 76 after suffering from a number of strokes.