A Quick Shout at Bob

Believe it or not, Bob Dylan turns 65 today. That's right, 65, the age most people retire, but not Dylan. This is probably the busiest he's been in at least a couple of decades: he still tours (almost non-stop), he hosts a radio show on XM Radio, and his supposedly has a new album coming out later this year.

I didn't really start digging Dylan until the mid-80's, even though my good friend Joe Clarke gave me the double album Blonde on Blonde around 1978 or so. I don't know why, but one day in 1985 I was in the Music Emporium in Meridian, MS (across the street from Meridian High School, for those who remember) and decided I had to have the 3-disc Biograph. I talked the owner down from $50 to $35 and have been listening to it ever since.

I saw Dylan for the first time in 1988 in Memphis at Mud Island. I was way, way back and this nice lady told me I could borrow her binoculars for a few minutes and that was my first glimpse of Bob. I saw him again in Jackson, MS in 1992 (I believe) and on the Gulf Coast in 1995 - thanks to a friend of mine who won two second-row tickets by calling in to the radio station and singing the chorus to "Like a Rolling Stone." (Thanks, Leah B.) Once I moved to Maryland, I saw him at the MCI Center in DC in 2002 and then last summer on the "Baseball" tour at the Bowie Baysox Stadium. Each time has been great. You'd think the crowds would diminish for someone who's been around so long, but they keep coming. Most of the times I've seen him, it's been a full house or close to it.

When I saw him at the MCI Center, he performed an encore (I believe it was "Like a Rolling Stone," but I'd have to look it up) to a packed floor. When he finished, the place was going crazy and Dylan just stood there with an amazed expression on his face, kind of a Sally Field "They like me...they really like me...STILL!" look.

I could go on about Dylan, but I'll stop here and celebrate the man's birthday. Maybe blow a few notes on the harmonica. Maybe go get some white poster boards and a black marker and a video camera. Maybe call up Joan Baez.

Now Playing = The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan