Pick a Day

Bob Dylan makes a rare return to his hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota, to attend his 10-year high school reunion. Accompanied by his wife, Sara, he joins classmates at the local Moose lodge before the event, and it proves awkward. He never makes it to the reunion itself, and makes no more public visits to the town.

Columbia Records announces its intention to prosecute the purveyors of Great White Way, an unauthorized collection of unreleased Bob Dylan demos that is often considered the first "bootleg" record.

Jakob Dylan, lead singer of The Wallflowers, is born in New York City, New York. He is the fifth and youngest child of Bob Dylan and his first wife, Sara Lownds.

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."

The Woody Guthrie tribute concert takes place at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Performers include Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Richie Havens and Joan Baez.

Bob Dylan releases his 11th album, New Morning, which includes the songs "If Not For You," "Day Of The Locusts" and "The Man In Me.

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.

Inmate George Jackson is shot dead in a bizarre escape attempt at San Quentin prison, prompting the Bob Dylan song "George Jackson."

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

The live album from the Concert For Bangladesh, held six months earlier in Madison Square Garden, is released in America. The three-disc set, which includes one of Bob Dylan's only major live appearances from the 1970-1973 time period, wins the Grammy for Album of the Year.

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 Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid, the soundtrack album for the Sam Peckinpah-directed movie of the same name. The album includes the classic Dylan song "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," which reaches #12 on the singles chart.

Bob Dylan releases his 13th studio album, Dylan. It features various covers and studio outtakes, including versions of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" and Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles."

Bob Dylan meets future president Jimmy Carter at a gathering in Georgia, where Carter is serving as governor. "Carter has his heart in the right place," Dylan would later say. "He has a sense of who he is."

Two Miami shows featuring Bob Dylan and The Band prove so popular that they cause a nine-mile-long traffic jam. Many ticket holders only get to see half of the show(s).

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.

Planet Waves becomes the first Bob Dylan album to reach #1 in the US.More

At the Forum in Los Angeles, Ringo Starr, Neil Young and Warren Beatty are in attendance for the last stop on Bob Dylan's tour with The Band.

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.

On his 34th birthday, Bob Dylan attends the annual Romani celebration of their patron saint Sarah the Black in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France. The experience inspires the song "One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)."

Bob Dylan spots Scarlet Rivera, a striking redhead with a violin, while driving in New York City. That night, he takes her to a Muddy Waters concert where they both take the stage as guest musicians. Dylan enlists her to play violin on his Desire album (most notably on the song "Hurricane"), and she joins his Rolling Thunder Revue.

The Basement Tapes, a two-disc album featuring recordings by Bob Dylan and The Band, is released. Most of the 24-track collection was recorded by Dylan and The Band in 1967, after the folk-rock legend retreated to the Woodstock, New York area following his July 1966 motorcycle accident. Eight of the songs were recorded solely by The Band between 1967 and 1975.

Bob Dylan performs the first show of his Rolling Thunder Revue at the War Memorial Auditorium in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Later the subject of two documentaries, the unusual tour is no ordinary cash grab.More

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

The benefit concert "A Night of the Hurricane" is held at Madison Square Garden. The last date on Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour, the show features many non-musical celebrities and raises over $100,000 for the release of wrongly imprisoned boxer "Hurricane" Carter and his alleged accomplice. Carter himself calls the stage from jail.

Bob Dylan's album Desire, featuring the songs "Hurricane," "Isis" and "Mozambique," hits #1 in America.

In Salt Lake City, Utah, Bob Dylan performs "Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts" live for the first and only time. He writes some of the lyrics on his shirt in case he forgets mid-performance.